The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a revision to the heat treatment schedule for ash logs and all hardwood firewood moving interstate from an emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantined area.

APHIS policy is to revise treatments to make them less stringent when scientific evidence supports the action.

Therefore, effective immediately the revised heat treatment schedule requires ash logs and firewood to be heat treated to a minimum core temperature of 60.0 degrees Centigrade (140 °F) for 60 minutes.  Previously the heat treatment schedule was 71.1 °C for 75 minutes.

Full USDA article on heat treatment for EAB  

MDA provides a heat treatment certification to the USDA standards for firewood producers anywhere in Minnesota. For more information on heat treatment facilities in Minnesota, please visit:

MDA's certified firewood dealers 

• Completed 38 firewood inspections

• Conducted commercial vehicle inspections at a local scale with vehicles hauling lumber from states known to have EAB

• Discovered firewood labeling violation

• Collected and mapped firewood inspection survey data from the 400 inspections completed in 2010

• Re-signing compliance agreements for tree care companies
   

Compliance agreement: A written agreement between a person and APHIS, and/or the Commissioner to achieve compliance with the Minnesota state quarantine and the USDA APHIS quarantine.