S.L. 433.33 Art. 8Eradication measures.

(1) The Directorate, having established the demarcated area referred to in regulation 6, shall take in that area the measures set out in the following sub-regulations (2) to(12).

(2) The Directorate shall, within a radius of 100m around the plants which have been tested and found to be infected by the specified organism, immediately remove:

(a) host plants, regardless of their health status;

(b) plants known to be infected by the specified organism;

(c) plants showing symptoms indicating possible infection by the specified organism or suspected to be infected by that organism.

(3) By way of derogation from sub-regulation (2)(a), the Directorate may decide that individual host plants officially designated as plants with historic value do not need to be removed, provided that all of the following conditions have been fulfilled:

(a) the host plants concerned have been sampled and tested in accordance with regulation 4(3) and have been confirmed not to be infected by the specified organism;

(b) the individual host plants or the area concerned have been appropriately physically isolated from the vectors in such a way that those plants do not contribute to the further spread of the specified organism;

(c) appropriate agricultural practices for the management of the specified organism and its vectors have been applied.

Before a derogation is granted, the Directorate shall notify the Commission with the outcome of the sampling and testing referred to in sub-regulation (3)(a), the description of the measures referred to in sub-regulations (3)(b) and (3)(c) which are intended to be taken, the justification for them, and the location of the individual plants. The Commission shall publish the list and the location of the host plants for which such derogation is granted.

Each of those plants shall be officially inspected, during the flight season of the vector, for symptoms of the specified organism and for checking the appropriateness of the physical isolation. When symptoms are present, the plant shall be subject to sampling and testing for the presence of the specified organism.

(4) The Directorate shall sample and test the specified plants within a radius of 100m around each of the infected plants, in accordance with the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM No 31 - Methodologies of sampling of consignments.

(5) The Directorate shall carry out appropriate phytosanitary treatments prior to the removal of plants referred to in sub-regulation (2) against the vectors of the specified organism and plants that may host those vectors. Those treatments may include, as appropriate, removal of plants.

(6) The Directorate shall, in situ, or in a nearby location designated for this purpose within the infected zone, destroy the plants and parts of plants referred to in sub-regulation (2), in a manner ensuring that the specified organism is not spread.

(7) The Directorate shall carry out appropriate investigations to identify the origin of the infection and shall trace the specified plants associated with the case of infection concerned, including those which were moved before a demarcated area was established. The results of such investigations shall be communicated to Member States in which those plants concerned originate, to the Member States through which those plants have moved and to the Member States where those plants have moved into.

(8) The Directorate shall monitor the presence of the specified organism by annual surveys, taking into account the technical guidelines for the survey of Xylella fastidiosa provided on the Commission website. The Directorate shall carry out visual inspections of the specified plants and sample and test symptomatic plants, as well as asymptomatic plants in the proximity of the symptomatic ones in accordance with the respective provisions of regulation 4(1), (2) and (3).

In buffer zones, the surveyed area shall be based on a grid split into 100m × 100m squares within a zone of a width of at least 1km surrounding the infected zone, and a grid split into 1km × 1km squares within the rest of the buffer zone. In each of those squares, the Directorate shall carry out visual inspections of the specified plants and sample and test symptomatic plants, as well as asymptomatic plants in the proximity of the symptomatic ones.

(9) The Directorate shall raise public awareness concerning the threat of the specified organism and concerning the measures adopted to prevent its introduction into and spread within the Union and shall set up road signs indicating the delimitation of the respective demarcated area.

(10) The Directorate shall, where necessary, take measures addressing any particularity or complication that could reasonably be expected to prevent, hinder or delay eradication, in particular those related to the accessibility and adequate destruction of all plants that are infected or suspected of infection, irrespective of their location, public or private ownership or the person or entity responsible for them.

(11) The Directorate shall take any other measure, which may contribute to the eradication of the specified organism, in accordance with ISPM No 9 - Guidelines for pest eradication programmes and applying an integrated approach in accordance with the principles set out in ISPM No 14 - The use of integrated measures in a systems approach for pest risk management.

(12) The Directorate shall apply appropriate agricultural practices for the management of the specified organism and its vectors.