http://www.youtube.com/embed/ie3SrjLlcUY
Watch this very special story of one of the many who so courageously served our country.
We owe a BIG thank you to men like him.
18 years old, all alone, behind enemy lines, no guns, no escort ...
and he gladly did it, like so many others.
Wednesday, 11/11, PNCT will be CLOSED for Veteran's Day
Maher Terminals facilities including the Empty Depot located at Columbia will be closed for truck line activity on Wednesday, 11/11/15, Veteran’s Day
FWS Implementation of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) [Revised October 23, 2015]
U.S Fish & Wildlife
Background: In January, the Service issued a public bulletin laying out dates for FWS participation in ITDS, including pilot use of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for collection of certain FWS data. Since that time, ACE deadlines have changed, and we wish to inform the trade community of the status of FWS participation.
Currently, FWS is now scheduled to pilot the FWS message set in ACE on February 27, 2016 with mandatory filing by July 2016. This mandatory date means that FWS importers and exporters will file certain FWS data and documents as laid out in the implementation guide through ACE/AES if they file electronically with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Census. The trade community can keep track of these upcoming dates by checking CBP’s development/deployment schedule that is posted on-line at: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACE%20Development%20and%20Deployme
nt%20Schedule%20-%20August%202015_0.pdf
The current FWS implementation guide for imports can be found at: http://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-ace-requirements. We anticipate updating this guide to include export requirements, as well as provide detailed guidance for the trade on how to file the FWS data elements and documents in ACE/AES.
Action: The trade should be aware of these upcoming ACE requirements and prepare for transition next year. We will continue to provide updates as information changes Brokers filing entries for commodities subject to FWS are beginning to use the ACE Cargo Release Module for filing data with CBP and other agencies. FWS filing requirements remain the same at this time, either using FWS eDecs or paper. Brokers who file their entry electronically in ACE in lieu of Form 3461will still need to provide their entry information to FWS as part of their Form 3-177 filing until FWS is connected to ACE. We will accept CBP electronic entry information in-lieu of Form 3461 as a hardcopy document submitted either in paper or uploaded to FWS eDecs.
This bulletin supersedes and replaced the January 26, 2015 Public Bulletin.
Hazardous Toys Seized by San Juan CBP
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
SAN JUAN, P.R. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of San Juan recently seized hazardous toys in four different shipments which arrived between August and September, 2015, with a combined estimated domestic retail value of over $100K. The toys were found to contain hazardous substances that could represent a risk for children.
Working closely with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) compliance investigators, CBP officials detained several shipments of toys from China on 4 separate incidents between the months of August and September of 2015. All of the toys were seized in October 2015, after CPSC laboratory analysis determined that they contained lead in excess of the limit which may be harmful to the health and safety of children.
Children's products, including toys, which are designed or intended primarily for use by children 12 years of age or younger, must not contain a concentration of lead greater than 0.009 percent (90 parts per million) in paint or any similar surface coatings.
“Import safety is a priority trade issue for CBP,” stated Edward Ryan, San Juan Assistant Director of Field Operations in the area of Trade. “Our agency works with CPSC as well as nearly 50 other government agencies to enforce U.S. import regulations and to stop unsafe and illicit goods from entering the country.”
In the News:
FDA Orders Juice Manufacturer to Cease Operations
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered Sun Valley Juice Company of Ketchum, Idaho, to stop receiving, processing, preparing, packing, holding, and distributing juice until the agency determines that the company is in compliance with laws and regulations applicable to producing food that is safe.
Sun Valley Juice Company has received a letter ordering it to cease all operations, and confirm within five days that it has complied with the letter. The company complied with those demands of the letter.
The FDA has made several attempts to help the company comply with the applicable regulations before seeking the shutdown. In 2006, a federal judge signed a court-ordered agreement, called a consent decree, between the FDA and Sun Valley Juice Company, in which the company agreed, among other things, to establish and implement a hazard prevention plan. However, FDA investigators have repeatedly found the company out of compliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the terms of the consent decree.
“When a company repeatedly disobeys food safety laws and regulations, and does not stick to a court-ordered agreement designed to protect public health, the FDA must use the full power of the courts to protect consumers,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.
Because Sun Valley Juice Company does not pasteurize its juice, a process known to kill bacteria that could cause illness such as E. coli, the company must take other steps to prevent potentially harmful bacteria from contaminating its juice. The consent decree and subsequent inspections were intended to ensure that the company was taking these necessary steps designed to protect human health.
The company can resume operations only once the FDA is confident it can abide by the appropriate laws and regulations.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
Twice Convicted Turtle Egg Thief Sentenced to 21 Months In Prison
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA- Lewis Jackson, 61, of Brunswick, Georgia was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood to serve 21 months in prison on his second conviction for violating the Lacey Act by stealing viable sea turtle eggs from Sapelo Island, Georgia. The Lacey Act forbids the stealing and transporting of endangered species, including loggerhead sea turtle eggs. Back in 2013, Jackson was sentenced to 6 months in prison for his first Lacey Act conviction.
According to evidence presented during the guilty plea and sentencing hearings, on July 6, 2015, a Wildlife Technician with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Sea Turtle Program discovered that 84 loggerhead sea turtle eggs from a nest on Sapelo Island, Georgia were missing. Law enforcement determined that one of the visitors to the island that day was Jackson, who had stolen over 150 loggerhead turtle eggs in 2012. The next day, on July 7, Jackson was arrested trying to leave the island with a cooler full of sea turtle eggs. Jackson appeared to have wrapped the eggs with the intent to sell them. Loggerhead eggs now fetch as much as $25 per egg on the black market. Because of Jackson's handling of the turtle eggs, they were no longer viable and were therefore destroyed. Sea turtles are long-lived and slow to reach maturity. Pressures from the illegal harvesting of eggs and the poaching of adults worsen the extinction risk faced by these animals. In Georgia, the loggerhead sea turtle is listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act and is the most common sea turtle which nests on Sapelo Island.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver said, "After a prison sentence 3 (1/2) times longer than his first, this defendant should finally get the message that when you seek to profit by unlawfully exploiting our endangered species and national treasures, your next stop will be a federal prison."
"This multi-agency investigation highlights the importance the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources place on protecting our nation's most imperiled species from unlawful harvest and illegal commercialization, and the effectiveness of the Lacey Act in implementing those protections," said Luis Santiago, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement. "This case and today's sentencing demonstrate that those seeking financial gain at the expense of our protected wildlife resources will be caught and held accountable."
"We appreciate the cooperation from the other agencies in bringing this case to a successful close," said Colonel Eddie Henderson, director of Georgia DNR's Law Enforcement Division. "I hope this sends a message that crimes that negatively impact wildlife, or any of our natural resources, won't be tolerated in Georgia."
This case was investigated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the United States Probation Office. Assistant United States Attorney E. Greg Gilluly, Jr. prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. Please direct any additional questions to First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Border Patrol K-9 Alerts to Huge Drug Cache In Trailer
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico –U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Highway 70 Immigration Checkpoint outside of Alamogordo seized approximately $1-million in marijuana on October 30th that was concealed in a horse trailer.
Border Patrol Agents working at the U.S. Immigration Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 70, west of Alamogordo, New Mexico, were routinely inspecting vehicles when a Ford truck and a horse trailer containing three horses arrived. During the inspection, the canine alerted to the trailer. Agents asked for and received consent from the driver to search the trailer. A non-intrusive X-Ray was taken of the trailer, which revealed several anomalies. After a more extensive search, agents discovered 39 bundles of marijuana, weighing 1,116 pounds. The estimated value of the contraband is $893,280, and a .357 revolver was also found in the possession of the driver. The driver was identified as 66-year-old Robert Duncan, a United States Citizen from Plains, Texas. He was placed under arrest and the truck, horse trailer, handgun and marijuana were seized. The Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the driver, marijuana, truck and trailer. The New Mexico Assistant U.S. Attorney accepted the case for prosecution.
Later that evening while performing surveillance duties, agents assigned near the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso observed a grey Volkswagen that stopped directly underneath the international bridge with its lights off. A lone male exited the vehicle and appeared to pick up an unknown item off the ground. As agents approached the area, the subject quickly drove away on the U.S. 54 Hwy. on-ramp before they could stop and question him. As agents lay and waited in the area, they saw two bundles drop from atop the international bridge. The packages were confiscated and transported to the El Paso Station’s Processing Center, where the cellophane packages were unwrapped. The bundles revealed 15.8 pounds of marijuana, valued at $12,640.
Agents have taken recent notice that the Mount Cristo Rey area has also become busy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Santa Teresa Station. Early on Sunday, agents saw two individuals, one male and one female, hiking up the trails on the mountain. The two subjects made their way back down the trail, but the female did not appear to be the same person that went up. Agents approached the individuals, and after a brief investigation it was determined that the female who came down the mountain was illegally in the U.S. She was identified as 20-year-old Maria Gorteti Santillan Ortega, from Mexico. She was transported to the Border Patrol Station where she was processed for removal.
These incidents demonstrate how the immigration checkpoints provide a secondary line of defense which help in combating the furtherance of illicit drugs into our community.