H-0304.3 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1703
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 55th Legislature 1997 Regular Session
By Representatives McMorris, Koster and Wood
Read first time 02/05/97. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.
AN ACT Relating to noxious weed control; and adding a new section to chapter 17.10 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 17.10 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The director of the department of agriculture may control class A or class B noxious weeds, or cause the weeds to be controlled, on state-owned or managed land located anywhere in the state if:
(a) The director finds that the state-owned or managed land is infested with class A noxious weeds or class B noxious weeds designated for control in the region in which the land is located;
(b) The director notifies the state agency responsible for the management of the state land regarding the infestation, identifies the weeds that must be controlled on the land and the approximate location or locations of the infestation, and requests that the weeds be controlled within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the director; and
(c) The agency fails to control the infestation within the period of time identified in the notice.
(2) Each notice sent under subsection (1) of this section shall specify a reasonable period of time within which the noxious weed control must be accomplished. Only class A noxious weeds or class B noxious weeds designated for control in the region in which the land is located may be identified in such a notice.
(3) The noxious weed control conducted or caused to be conducted by the director under this section shall be consistent with the weed control that the director or a county noxious weed control board would require under this chapter if the infestation of the noxious weeds were located on privately owned land of the same type and similarly situated. The agency receiving the notice may request dispute resolution under RCW 43.17.330. However, the dispute resolution may not have the effect of postponing the date by which noxious weed control must be accomplished as specified in the notice for any noxious weed identified in the notice unless it is determined during the dispute resolution process that the noxious weeds designated for control on the land are not actually present on the land.
(4) The control of noxious weeds conducted by the director of the department of agriculture or caused to be conducted by the director under this section on state-owned or managed land is the financial responsibility of the state agency owning or managing the land. The director shall bill the agency for the costs the director incurs in controlling the noxious weeds or causing them to be controlled and the agency shall fully reimburse the department of agriculture for those costs within sixty days of receiving the bill. An agency receiving such a bill and disputing the amount owed may request dispute resolution under RCW 43.17.330. The dispute resolution may postpone the date by which the department is to be reimbursed for the director's costs to a date that is not later than one hundred twenty days after the date the agency received the bill that is the subject of the dispute resolution.
(5) If a county weed board or a weed district finds that state land located within its jurisdiction is infested with class A noxious weeds or class B noxious weeds designated for control in the region in which the land is located, the board or district may, in addition to any other authorities the board or district may possess under this chapter or chapter 17.04 or 17.06 RCW, notify the director of the department of agriculture regarding the infestation and request control of the infestation. The director shall promptly investigate each instance of infestation for which a notice is received under this subsection, shall determine whether the notice set forth in subsection (1) of this section is to be sent to a state agency in response to the board's or district's request, and shall notify the requesting board or district of the director's determination in the matter.
--- END ---