Article 2. Abatement, Return, Or Treatment of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 4. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 2.

Except as otherwise provided in Sections 6523 and 6524, if any shipment of any nursery stock, plant, or container of any nursery stock or plant, or appliance, or any host or other carrier of any pest which is brought into any county or locality in the state from another county or locality within the state, is found to be infected or infested with a pest, or there is reasonable cause to believe that the shipment may be so infested or infected, the entire shipment shall be refused delivery and may be immediately destroyed by, or under the supervision of the commissioner, unless the nature of the pest is such that no damage or detriment can be caused to agriculture by the return of the shipment to the point of shipment.

The officer who makes the inspection of a shipment which is described in Section 6521 may affix a warning tag or notice to the shipment and shall notify in writing the owner or bailee of the shipment to return the shipment to the point of shipment within the time limit which the officer shall specify in the notice which shall be 48 hours, unless a longer or shorter period is determined to be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this article. The owner or bailee shall, at his own expense, return the shipment under the direction and control of the commissioner. If the owner or bailee fails to return the shipment within the time which is specified, the commissioner shall destroy it.

If the pest may be exterminated or controlled by treatment or processing which is prescribed by the commissioner, and if the commissioner determines that the nature of the pest is such that no damage can be caused to agriculture through such treatment, processing, or procedure incidental thereto, the shipment may be treated or processed, under the supervision of, and in a manner and within a time satisfactory to, the commissioner. The treatment or processing shall be at the expense of the owner or bailee of the shipment. If the shipment is so treated or processed, it may be released to the consignee.

If the commissioner determines that only a portion of the shipment is infested or infected with a pest, or that there is reasonable cause to believe that only a portion of the shipment may be so infested or infected, only such portion of the shipment may be destroyed, returned to the point of origin, or treated or processed.