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Your grocer lied to you. Sichuan peppercorns were hard to find between 2002 and 2005 when the USDA was enforcing the ban, but they changed the rules in 2005 so as to allow importation of the spice provided it's heat-sterlized to kill a bacteria potentially ruinous to the citrus industries of Florida and California.
The Chinese supermarkets in the Los Angeles area all carry Sichuan peppercorns, usually a couple different brands in packages ranging from one or two ounces to large kilogram-sized bags for restaurant use.
Oh, and you'd have been able to find most of this information yourself if you'd done a quick websearch on the topic before switching recipes.
