IB

Union Calendar No. 355

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1462

[Report No. 107–451, Part I]

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide

assistance through States to eligible weed management entities to control

or eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private land.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. HEFLEY (for himself, Mr. OTTER, Mr. CANNON, and Mr. KENNEDY of

Rhode Island) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

MAY 9, 2002

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

MAY 9, 2002

Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending not

later than June 10, 2002

JUNE 10, 2002

Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending not

later than July 19, 2002

JULY 19, 2002

Additional sponsors: Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mrs. CUBIN,

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr.

TANCREDO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. INSLEE,

Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA
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JULY 19, 2002

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 4, 2001]

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide assistance through States to eligible

weed management entities to control or eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private land.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Invasive Weed

5 Control Act of 2002’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

8 (1) There exists no dedicated, coordinated Fed9 eral effort to address, control, or eradicate harmful,

10 invasive terrestrial weeds.

11 (2) Public and private land in the United States

12 faces unprecedented and severe stress from harmful,

13 invasive weeds.

14 (3) The economic and resource value of the land

15 is being destroyed as harmful invasive weeds overtake
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1 native vegetation, making the land unusable for for2 age and for diverse plant and animal communities.

3 (4) Damage caused by harmful invasive weeds

4 has been estimated to run in the hundreds of millions

5 of dollars annually.

6 (5) Successfully fighting this scourge will require

7 coordinated action by all affected stakeholders, which

8 may include Federal, State, and local governments,

9 private landowners, and nongovernmental organiza10 tions.

11 (6) The fight must begin at the local level, since

12 it is at the local level that persons feel the loss caused

13 by harmful invasive weeds and will therefore have the

14 greatest motivation to take effective action.

15 (7) To date, effective action has been hampered

16 by inadequate funding at all levels of government and

17 by inadequate coordination.

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol19 lowing:

20 (1) To direct the Secretary to coordinate with the

21 National Invasive Species Council to develop a dedi22 cated program to combat harmful, invasive terrestrial

23 weeds.

24 (2) To provide assistance to eligible weed man25 agement entities in carrying out projects to control or
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1 eradicate harmful, invasive weeds on public and pri2 vate land.

3 (3) To coordinate projects with existing weed

4 management entities, areas, districts, and ongoing

5 partnerships.

6 (4) In locations in which no weed management

7 entity, area, or district exists, to stimulate the forma8 tion of additional local or regional cooperative weed

9 management entities, such as entities for weed man10 agement areas or districts, that organize locally af11 fected stakeholders to control or eradicate weeds.

12 (5) To leverage additional funds from a variety

13 of public and private sources to control or eradicate

14 weeds through local stakeholders.

15 (6) To promote healthy, diverse, and desirable

16 plant communities by abating through a variety of

17 measures the threat posed by harmful, invasive weeds.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the

21 National Invasive Species Council established by Ex22 ecutive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999.

23 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has

24 the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
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1 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

2 U.S.C. 450b).

3 (3) LOCAL STAKEHOLDER.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘local stake5 holder’’ means an interested party that partici6 pates in the establishment of a weed management

7 entity in a State.

8 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘local stake9 holder’’ includes a Federal, State, local, tribal, or

10 private landowner.

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the

14 several States of the United States, the District of Co15 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin

16 Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern

17 Mariana Islands, and any other territory or posses18 sion of the United States.

19 (6) WEED.—The term ‘‘weed’’ means any para20 sitic or other kind of plant at any living stage (in21 cluding seeds and reproductive parts of such a plant),

22 that—

23 (A) is of foreign origin;

24 (B) is new or not widely prevalent in a re25 gion, State, or the United States; and
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1 (C) can directly or indirectly impact other

2 useful plants, livestock, wildlife resources, or the

3 public health.

4 (7) WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term

5 ‘‘weed management entity’’ means an entity that—

6 (A) is recognized by the State in which it

7 is established;

8 (B) is established by and includes local

9 stakeholders;

10 (C) is established for the purpose of control11 ling or eradicating harmful, invasive weeds on

12 public or private land and increasing public

13 knowledge and education concerning the need to

14 control or eradicate harmful, invasive weeds on

15 public or private land; and

16 (D) is multijurisdictional and multidisci17 plinary in nature.

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

19 The Secretary, in coordination with the Council, shall

20 establish in the Office of the Secretary a program to provide

21 financial assistance through States to eligible weed manage22 ment entities to control or eradicate harmful, invasive

23 weeds on public and private land.
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1 SEC. 5. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO STATES AND INDIAN

2 TRIBES.

3 (a) ALLOCATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in

5 consultation with the Council, the Secretary shall al6 locate funds made available for each fiscal year under

7 section 12 to States and Indian tribes to provide

8 funding in accordance with sections 6 and 7 to weed

9 management entities to carry out projects approved

10 by States and Indian tribes to control or eradicate

11 harmful, invasive weeds on public and private land.

12 (2) FEDERAL ALLOCATION TO INDIAN TRIBES.—

13 Of the funds made available for allocation under sec14 tion 12 for each fiscal year, 5 percent shall be—

15 (A) reserved for allocation to Indian tribes;

16 and

17 (B) administered by the Council.

18 (b) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall determine the

19 amount of Federal funds allocated to a State or Indian tribe

20 for a fiscal year under this section to be used to address

21 a harmful, invasive terrestrial weed problem in the State

22 or portion of the State, or on land or in water under the

23 jurisdiction of the Indian tribe, on the basis of—

24 (1) the severity or potential severity of the harm25 ful, invasive weed problem;
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1 (2) the extent to which the Federal funds will be

2 used to leverage non-Federal funds to address the

3 harmful, invasive weed problem;

4 (3) the extent to which the State or Indian tribe

5 has made progress in addressing harmful, invasive

6 weed problems; and

7 (4) other factors recommended by the Council

8 and approved by the Secretary.

9 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS ALLOCATED TO STATES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives an allocation

11 of funds under section 5 for a fiscal year shall use—

12 (1) not more than 25 percent of the allocation to

13 make an incentive payment to each weed management

14 entity established in the State, in accordance with

15 subsection (b); and

16 (2) not less than 75 percent of the allocation to

17 make financial awards to weed management entities

18 established in the State, in accordance with subsection

19 (c).

20 (b) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

21 (1) USE BY WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Incentive payments

23 under subsection (a)(1) shall be used by weed

24 management entities—
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1 (i) to encourage the formation of new

2 weed management entities; or

3 (ii) to carry out 1 or more projects de4 scribed in subsection (d) to improve the ef5 fectiveness of existing weed management en6 tities or programs.

7 (B) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.—A weed

8 management entity is eligible to receive an in9 centive payment under subparagraph (A) for not

10 more than 3 years in the aggregate.

11 (C) FEDERAL SHARE.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

13 in clause (ii), for purposes of subparagraph

14 (A), the Federal share of the cost of carrying

15 out a project described in subsection (d)

16 shall not exceed 50 percent.

17 (ii) ADJUSTMENT.—After consultation

18 with the Secretary, the Governor of a State

19 that makes either an incentive payment or

20 financial award under subsection (a) may

21 increase, to a maximum of 100 percent,

22 such Federal share of a project that the Gov23 ernor determines is necessary to meet the

24 needs of an underserved area.
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1 (iii) FORM OF MATCHING FUNDS.—

2 Under subparagraph (A), the non-Federal

3 share of the cost of carrying out a project

4 described in subsection (d) may be

5 provided—

6 (I) in cash or in kind; or

7 (II) in the form of Federal funds

8 made available under a Federal law

9 other than this Act.

10 (2) ELIGIBILITY OF WEED MANAGEMENT ENTI11 TIES.—To be eligible to obtain an incentive payment

12 under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, a weed man13 agement entity in a State shall—

14 (A)(i) for the first fiscal year for which the

15 entity receives an incentive payment under this

16 subsection, provide to the State in which it is

17 established a description of—

18 (I) the purposes for which the entity

19 was established; and

20 (II) any projects to be carried out to

21 accomplish those purposes; and

22 (ii) for any subsequent fiscal year for which

23 the entity receives an incentive payment, provide

24 to the State—
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1 (I) a description of the activities car2 ried out by the entity in the previous fiscal

3 year—

4 (aa) to control or eradicate harm5 ful, invasive weeds on public or private

6 land; or

7 (bb) to increase public knowledge

8 and education concerning the need to

9 control or eradicate harmful, invasive

10 weeds on public or private land; and

11 (II) the results of each such activity;

12 and

13 (B) meet such additional eligibility require14 ments, and conform to such process for deter15 mining eligibility, as the State may establish.

16 (c) FINANCIAL AWARDS.—

17 (1) USE BY WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Financial awards under

19 subsection (a)(2) shall be used by weed manage20 ment entities to pay the Federal share of the cost

21 of carrying out projects described in subsection

22 (d) that are selected by the State in accordance

23 with subsection (d).

24 (B) FEDERAL SHARE.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in clause (ii), for purposes of subparagraph

3 (A), the Federal share of the cost of carrying

4 out a project described in subsection (d)

5 shall not exceed 50 percent.

6 (ii) ADJUSTMENT.—After consultation

7 with the Secretary, the Governor of a State

8 that makes either an incentive payment or

9 financial award under subsection (a) may

10 increase, to a maximum of 100 percent,

11 such Federal share of a project that the Gov12 ernor determines is necessary to meet the

13 needs of an underserved area.

14 (iii) FORM OF MATCHING FUNDS.—

15 Under subparagraph (A), the non-Federal

16 share of the cost of carrying out a project

17 described in subsection (d) may be

18 provided—

19 (I) in cash or in kind; or

20 (II) in the form of Federal funds

21 made available under a Federal law

22 other than this Act.

23 (2) ELIGIBILITY OF WEED MANAGEMENT ENTI24 TIES.—To be eligible to obtain a financial award
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1 under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, a weed man2 agement entity in a State shall—

3 (A) meet the requirements for eligibility for

4 an incentive payment under subsection (b)(2);

5 and

6 (B) submit to the State a description of the

7 project for which the financial award is sought.

8 (d) PROJECTS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A weed management entity

10 may use a financial award received under this section

11 to carry out a project to control or eradicate harmful,

12 invasive weeds on public or private land, including—

13 (A) education, inventories and mapping,

14 management, monitoring, and similar activities,

15 including the payment of the cost of personnel

16 and equipment that promote such control or

17 eradication; and

18 (B) other activities to promote such control

19 or eradication, if the results of the activities are

20 disseminated to the public.

21 (2) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—A State shall se22 lect projects for funding under this section on a com23 petitive basis, taking into consideration—
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1 (A) the seriousness of the harmful, invasive

2 weed problem or potential problem addressed by

3 the project;

4 (B) the likelihood that the project will pre5 vent or resolve the problem, or increase knowl6 edge about resolving similar problems in the fu7 ture;

8 (C) the extent to which the payment will le9 verage non-Federal funds to address the harmful,

10 invasive weed problem addressed by the project;

11 (D) the extent to which the recipient weed

12 management entity has made progress in ad13 dressing harmful, invasive weed problems;

14 (E) the extent to which the project will pro15 vide a comprehensive approach to the control or

16 eradication of harmful, invasive weeds;

17 (F) the extent to which the project will re18 duce the total population of a harmful, invasive

19 weed within the State;

20 (G) the extent to which the project uses the

21 principles of integrated vegetation management

22 and sound science; and

23 (H) other factors that the State determines

24 to be relevant.

25 (3) SCOPE OF PROJECTS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A weed management en2 tity shall determine the geographic scope of the

3 harmful, invasive weed problem to be addressed

4 through a project using an incentive payment or

5 financial award received under this section.

6 (B) MULTIPLE STATES.—A weed manage7 ment entity may use an incentive payment or fi8 nancial award under this section to carry out a

9 project to address the harmful, invasive weed

10 problem of more than 1 State only if the entity

11 meets the requirements of all applicable State

12 laws.

13 (4) LAND.—A weed management entity may use

14 an incentive payment or financial award received

15 under this section to carry out a project to control or

16 eradicate weeds on any public land, or on any pri17 vate land with the approval of the owner or operator

18 of the land.

19 (5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—An incen20 tive payment or financial award under this Act may

21 not be used to carry out a project—

22 (A) to control or eradicate animal pests or

23 submerged or floating harmful, invasive aquatic

24 weeds; or
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1 (B) to protect an agricultural commodity

2 (as defined in section 102 of the Agricultural

3 Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602)) other than—

4 (i) livestock (as defined in section 602

5 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1949 (7

6 U.S.C. 1471); or

7 (ii) an animal- or insect-based prod8 uct.

9 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 5 percent

10 of the funds made available under section 12 for a fiscal

11 year may be used by the Federal Government to pay the

12 administrative costs of the program established by this Act,

13 including the costs of complying with Federal environ14 mental laws.

15 (f) REPORT.—As a condition of the receipt of an incen16 tive payment or financial award under this Act, a weed

17 management entity in a State that received such a payment

18 or award shall submit to the Council a report that describes

19 the purposes and results of each project for which the pay20 ment or award was used, by not later than 6 months after

21 completion of the projects.

22 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS ALLOCATED TO INDIAN TRIBES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The requirements for the use of

24 funds allocated to States described in section 6 shall apply
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1 to the use of funds allocated to Indian tribes under section

2 5(a)(2).

3 (b) INSUFFICIENT OR EXCESS FUNDS.—

4 (1) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If, in any fiscal

5 year, the funds allocated to Indian tribes under sec6 tion 5(a)(2) are not sufficient to provide incentive

7 payments or financial awards to each weed manage8 ment entity of an Indian tribe, an Indian tribe may

9 seek additional funds by participating as a local

10 stakeholder in the establishment of a weed manage11 ment entity that receives assistance under section 6.

12 (2) EXCESS FUNDS.—Any excess funds remain13 ing after the provision of incentive payments or fi14 nancial awards to weed management entities of In15 dian tribes shall be reserved by the Council for use in

16 carrying out this Act in the following fiscal year.

17 (c) REPORT.—As a condition of the receipt of an in18 centive payment or financial award under this Act, not

19 later than October 30 of each year, a weed management

20 entity of an Indian tribe that received such a payment or

21 award in the preceding fiscal year shall submit to the Coun22 cil a report that describes, for that preceding fiscal year,

23 the purposes for which the payment or award was used.
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1 SEC. 8. FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS.

2 The Secretary of Agriculture and the Council shall

3 make recommendations to the Secretary regarding—

4 (1) the annual allocation of funds to States and

5 Indian tribes under section 5; and

6 (2) other issues related to funding under this

7 Act.

8 SEC. 9. LAND-RELATED CONDITIONS.

9 (a) CONSENT OF LANDOWNER.—Any activity involv10 ing real property may be carried out under this Act only

11 with the consent of the landowner.

12 (b) NO EFFECT ON PILT PAYMENTS.—The provision

13 of funds to any entity under this Act shall have no effect

14 on the amount of any payment received by a county from

15 the Federal Government under chapter 69 of title 31, United

16 States Code (commonly known as ‘‘payments in lieu of

17 taxes’’).

18 SEC. 10. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.

19 Any activity carried out under this Act shall comply

20 with all other Federal laws (including regulations), includ21 ing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531

22 et seq.).

23 SEC. 11. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.

24 Assistance authorized under this Act is intended to

25 supplement, and not replace, assistance available to weed

26 management entities, areas, and districts for control or
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1 eradication of harmful, invasive weeds on public lands and

2 private lands, including funding available under the Pull3 ing Together Initiative of the National Fish and Wildlife

4 Foundation.

5 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 To carry out this Act there is authorized to be appro7 priated to the Secretary $100,000,000 for each of fiscal

8 years 2002 through 2006.
Union Calendar No. 355

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1462

[Report No. 107–451, Part I]

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish

a program to provide assistance through Statesto eligible weed management entities to controlor eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on publicand private land.

JULY 19, 2002

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the

Committee of the Whole House on the State of theUnion and ordered to be printed