PRESS RELEASE

March 12, 2024 (USDA APHIS) - Effective immediately, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is expanding the areas quarantined for Huanglongbing (HLB; citrus greening), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in California.

APHIS is adding portions of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura Counties in California to the quarantined areas in DA-2023-19.

APHIS is taking this action because of HLB detections in plant tissue samples collected from multiple locations during routine surveys in California.

As a result of these detections, APHIS is establishing a new quarantine area of 86 square miles in the Valley Center area of San Diego County; it includes 1,756 acres of commercial citrus.

There are no changes to the Oceanside and San Diego quarantine areas in San Diego County. APHIS is also adding portions of the Azusa and San Gabriel areas in Los Angeles County.

This addition expands the quarantine area in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties by 23 square miles to 1,885 square miles; it includes 2,222 acres of commercial citrus. Additionally, APHIS is expanding the Santa Paula area quarantine in Ventura County by two square miles to 102 square miles; it includes 8,707 acres of commercial citrus.

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in California. These measures parallel changes in the intrastate quarantine established by CDFA between October 2023 and January 2024. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of HLB to non-infested areas of the United States.

The specific changes to the quarantined areas in California can be found on the APHIS Citrus Greening website. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

For additional information, you may contact: 

Abby R. Stilwell                                                Avraham Eitam
National Policy Manager                                   Assistant National Policy Manager
(919) 323-6296                                                  (614) 205-5465
Abby.R.Stilwell@usda.gov                                Avraham.Eitam@usda.gov