Eradication measures
Article 8
1. In the demarcated areas for eradication, the competent authorities shall take all of the following measures: (a) immediate felling of infested plants and plants suspected to be infested, and complete removal of their roots; (b) immediate felling of all specified plants and removal of their roots within a radius of 100 m around infested plants, and examination of those specified plants for any sign of infestation, except in cases where the infested plants were found outside the flying period of the specified pest, when the felling and removal shall be carried out in time before the start of the next flying period; (c) removal, examination and safe disposal of plants felled in accordance with points (a) and (b) and of their roots, taking all necessary precautions to avoid spreading of the specified pest during and after felling; (d) prohibition of any movement of potentially infested material out of the demarcated area; (e) investigation of the origin of the infestation by the tracing of plants, as far as possible, and the examination of those plants for any sign of infestation, including targeted destructive sampling; (f) replacement of specified plants by other non-susceptible plant species, where appropriate; (g) prohibition of planting of new specified plants in the open air in the area referred to in point (b), except for the places of production referred to in Article 10(1); (h) surveys carried out in accordance with Article 3(2) and (3), of the host plants in the demarcated area, with specific focus on the buffer zone, for the presence of the specified pest and including, where appropriate, targeted destructive sampling carried out by the competent authority and with an indication of the number of samples in the report referred to in Article 13(1); (i) in the cases of sentinel plants, those plants shall be subject of inspections at least once a month and shall be destroyed and examined after two years at the latest; (j) raising public awareness of the threat of the specified pest and the measures adopted to prevent its introduction into and spread within the Union territory, including the conditions regarding movement of specified plants from the demarcated area; (k) where necessary, specific measures to address any particularity or complication that could reasonably be expected to prevent, hinder or delay eradication, in particular those related to the accessibility and adequate eradication of all plants that are infested or suspected of infestation, irrespective of their location, public or private ownership or the person or entity responsible for them; (l) any other measure which may contribute to the eradication of the specified pest, in accordance with International Standard for Phytosanitary Measure (‘ISPM’) No 9 ( 8 ) and to applying a systems approach in accordance with the principles set out in ISPM No 14 ( 9 ) . In the case of the first subparagraph, point (a), where it is not possible to remove deeply seated stumps and surface roots, they shall be ground to not less than 40 cm, below the surface level, or covered by insect-proof material. The surveys referred to in paragraph (1), point (h), shall be intensified compared to the surveys referred to in Article 3. The surveys in the buffer zone shall be based on the Authority’s General guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys for plant pests and the survey design and sampling scheme used in the buffer zone shall be able to identify with at least 95 % of confidence, a level of presence of infested plants of 1 %. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (b), where a competent authority concludes that felling is inappropriate for a limited number of individual plants, due to their particular social, cultural or environmental value, those individual plants shall be subject to a monthly individual examination for any sign of infestation and measures alternative to felling ensuring high level of protection shall be taken to prevent any possible spread of the specified pest from those plants. The reasons for such conclusion and the measures taken as a result of it shall be communicated to the Commission in the report under Article 13.