Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 3-27 Compliance agreements

(a) Apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella, is a serious apple pest not known to occur in the Cuyama Valley or the Cebada Canyon areas of Santa Barbara County. To protect the county's apple industry, it is necessary to restrict movement of hosts and possible carriers of apple maggot into these regions and to treat any commercial orchards in which apple maggot is detected.

(b) The Cuyama Valley and the Cebada Canyon areas are geographically isolated from any population centers and are not traversed by any major highways. There are no certified farmer's markets in these areas and no known noncommercial apple production or roadside vending. The areas are secluded and rural in nature, making it practical to maintain apple maggot-free status. In addition, portions of the Cuyama Valley in San Luis Obispo and Kern Counties are currently regulated under their respective county ordinances for apple maggot.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)

The following terms shall have the following meanings set forth below for the purposes of this article VI:

(a) Agricultural Commissioner. "Agricultural commissioner" means the Santa Barbara County agricultural commissioner/sealer of weights and measures.

(b) Apple Maggot. "Apple maggot" means Rhagoletis pomonella, commonly known as apple maggot which is a two-winged fly whose larva burrows and feeds in apples.

(c) Apple Maggot Hosts and Possible Maggot Carriers. "Apple maggot hosts and possible apple maggot carriers" means the following articles and commodities which are hosts and possible carriers of apple maggot for purposes of this article VI:

(1) Apple fruit, of both commercial and noncommercial production; and

(2) Apple trees.

(d) Carry. "Carry" means to transport or transfer from one place to another.

(e) Compliance Agreements. "Compliance agreements" are agreements between the importing company and the agricultural commissioner which specify the conditions under which bulk fruit may enter the regulated area and the manner in which fruit and fruit waste shall be handled by the importing company.

(f) Conventional Pest Control Practices. "Conventional pest control practices" means treatment with pesticides at label dosages and on a schedule effective against apple maggot.

(g) Person. "Person" includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, joint venture, business trust, corporation or company.

(h) Regulated Areas. For the purposes of this article VI, "regulated areas" means and consists of:

(1) Cebada Canyon: that portion of Santa Barbara County, Township 7N Range 33W, limited to the southern third of Section 8, the western third of Section 16, all of Section 17, the eastern third of Section 18, and the northern third of Section 20; and

(2) Cuyama Valley: that portion of Santa Barbara County within Township 8N Range 24W S.B.M., Township 9N Ranges 24—27W, Township 10N Ranges 25—29W, Township 11N Ranges 29—30W, Township 12N Range 30W, and Township 32S Range 18E M.D.M.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)

No person shall carry apple maggot hosts and possible apple maggot carriers into the regulated area, except as follows:

(a) Commercially packed apples produced using conventional pest control practices are not restricted into the regulated area.

(b) Commercially packed organic apples (apples produced by growers in compliance with and registered under the California Organic Foods Act of 1990) may enter the regulated area if the producing orchard was trapped and found negative for apple maggot.

(c) Commercially produced apples may enter the regulated area in bulk for packing, juicing, and processing under a compliance agreement.

(d) Apple trees which are free of fruit and bareroot or free of fruit and certified by origin agricultural officials as being treated with a soil drench effective against apple maggot may enter the regulated area subject to inspection.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)

Compliance agreements shall specify the conditions under which bulk fruit may enter the regulated area and the manner in which fruit and fruit waste shall be handled by the importing company. Costs incurred by the County of Santa Barbara, including the agricultural commissioner, for monitoring compliance with the agreement and for inspection of incoming shipments shall be reimbursed to the agricultural commissioner by the importer.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)

(a) If apple maggot is detected in a commercial orchard in the regulated area, the orchard shall be treated by the orchard owner at the orchard owner's costs using conventional pest control practices in a manner approved by and under the supervision of the agricultural commissioner. The owner shall also reimburse the agricultural commissioner for the cost of supervising the treatment.

(b) If apple maggot is detected in an orchard in the regulated area and the aforementioned treatment specified in subsection (a) of this section is not conducted as required, the pest shall be abated as provided in section 5401, California Food and Agricultural Code.

(c) No person shall carry, convey or otherwise move fruit from an orchard in the regulated area in which apple maggot has been detected, unless the treatment performed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section is conducted before the carriage, movement or conveyance of said fruit, or the fruit is carried, conveyed or moved for processing under written authorization of the agricultural commissioner.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)

Any person who violates or causes the violation of any provision of this article VI shall be guilty of a misdemeanor which, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine up to the maximum amount allowed for a misdemeanor by section 19, California Penal Code, or by imprisonment in the Santa Barbara County jail for a period of up to the maximum period allowed for a misdemeanor by section 19, California Penal Code, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. No. 4221, § 1)