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 Agri-
culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion 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. GIB-
BONS, 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
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 pro-
gram to provide assistance through States to eligible
weed management entities to control or eradicate harm-
ful, nonnative weeds on public and private land.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Invasive Weed
Control Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) There exists no dedicated, coordinated Fed-
eral effort to address, control, or eradicate harmful,
invasive terrestrial weeds.
(2) Public and private land in the United States
faces unprecedented and severe stress from harmful,
invasive weeds.
(3) The economic and resource value of the land
is being destroyed as harmful invasive weeds overtake
native vegetation, making the land unusable for for-
age and for diverse plant and animal communities.
(4) Damage caused by harmful invasive weeds
has been estimated to run in the hundreds of millions
of dollars annually.
(5) Successfully fighting this scourge will require
coordinated action by all affected stakeholders, which
may include Federal, State, and local governments,
private landowners, and nongovernmental organiza-
tions.
(6) The fight must begin at the local level, since
it is at the local level that persons feel the loss caused
by harmful invasive weeds and will therefore have the
greatest motivation to take effective action.
(7) To date, effective action has been hampered
by inadequate funding at all levels of government and
by inadequate coordination.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol-
lowing:
(1) To direct the Secretary to coordinate with the
National Invasive Species Council to develop a dedi-
cated program to combat harmful, invasive terrestrial
weeds.
(2) To provide assistance to eligible weed man-
agement entities in carrying out projects to control or
eradicate harmful, invasive weeds on public and pri-
vate land.
(3) To coordinate projects with existing weed
management entities, areas, districts, and ongoing
partnerships.
(4) In locations in which no weed management
entity, area, or district exists, to stimulate the forma-
tion of additional local or regional cooperative weed
management entities, such as entities for weed man-
agement areas or districts, that organize locally af-
fected stakeholders to control or eradicate weeds.
(5) To leverage additional funds from a variety
of public and private sources to control or eradicate
weeds through local stakeholders.
(6) To promote healthy, diverse, and desirable
plant communities by abating through a variety of
measures the threat posed by harmful, invasive weeds.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the
National Invasive Species Council established by Ex-
ecutive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999.
(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b).
(3) LOCAL STAKEHOLDER.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘local stake-
holder’’ means an interested party that partici-
pates in the establishment of a weed management
entity in a State.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘local stake-
holder’’ includes a Federal, State, local, tribal, or
private landowner.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the
several States of the United States, the District of Co-
lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, and any other territory or posses-
sion of the United States.
(6) WEED.—The term ‘‘weed’’ means any para-
sitic or other kind of plant at any living stage (in-
cluding seeds and reproductive parts of such a plant),
that—
(A) is of foreign origin;
(B) is new or not widely prevalent in a re-
gion, State, or the United States; and
(C) can directly or indirectly impact other
useful plants, livestock, wildlife resources, or the
public health.
(7) WEED
MANAGEMENT
ENTITY.—The term
‘‘weed management entity’’ means an entity that—
(A) is recognized by the State in which it
is established;
(B) is established by and includes local
stakeholders;
(C) is established for the purpose of control-
ling or eradicating harmful, invasive weeds on
public or private land and increasing public
knowledge and education concerning the need to
control or eradicate harmful, invasive weeds on
public or private land; and
(D) is multijurisdictional and multidisci-
plinary in nature.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
The Secretary, in coordination with the Council, shall
establish in the Office of the Secretary a program to provide
financial assistance through States to eligible weed manage-
ment entities to control or eradicate harmful, invasive
weeds on public and private land.
SEC. 5. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO STATES AND INDIAN
TRIBES.
(a) ALLOCATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in
consultation with the Council, the Secretary shall al-
locate funds made available for each fiscal year under
section 12 to States and Indian tribes to provide
funding in accordance with sections 6 and 7 to weed
management entities to carry out projects approved
by States and Indian tribes to control or eradicate
harmful, invasive weeds on public and private land.
(2) FEDERAL ALLOCATION TO INDIAN TRIBES.—
Of the funds made available for allocation under sec-
tion 12 for each fiscal year, 5 percent shall be—
(A) reserved for allocation to Indian tribes;
and
(B) administered by the Council.
(b) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall determine the
amount of Federal funds allocated to a State or Indian tribe
for a fiscal year under this section to be used to address
a harmful, invasive terrestrial weed problem in the State
or portion of the State, or on land or in water under the
jurisdiction of the Indian tribe, on the basis of—
(1) the severity or potential severity of the harm-
ful, invasive weed problem;
(2) the extent to which the Federal funds will be
used to leverage non-Federal funds to address the
harmful, invasive weed problem;
(3) the extent to which the State or Indian tribe
has made progress in addressing harmful, invasive
weed problems; and
(4) other factors recommended by the Council
and approved by the Secretary.
SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS ALLOCATED TO STATES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives an allocation
of funds under section 5 for a fiscal year shall use—
(1) not more than 25 percent of the allocation to
make an incentive payment to each weed management
entity established in the State, in accordance with
subsection (b); and
(2) not less than 75 percent of the allocation to
make financial awards to weed management entities
established in the State, in accordance with subsection
(c).
(b) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—
(1) USE BY WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—Incentive 
payments
under subsection (a)(1) shall be used by weed
management entities—
(i) to encourage the formation of new
weed management entities; or
(ii) to carry out 1 or more projects de-
scribed in subsection (d) to improve the ef-
fectiveness of existing weed management en-
tities or programs.
(B) DURATION
OF
PAYMENTS.—A weed
management entity is eligible to receive an in-
centive payment under subparagraph (A) for not
more than 3 years in the aggregate.
(C) FEDERAL SHARE.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided
in clause (ii), for purposes of subparagraph
(A), the Federal share of the cost of carrying
out a project described in subsection (d)
shall not exceed 50 percent.
(ii) ADJUSTMENT.—After consultation
with the Secretary, the Governor of a State
that makes either an incentive payment or
financial award under subsection (a) may
increase, to a maximum of 100 percent,
such Federal share of a project that the Gov-
ernor determines is necessary to meet the
needs of an underserved area.
(iii) FORM
OF
MATCHING
FUNDS.—
Under subparagraph (A), the non-Federal
share of the cost of carrying out a project
described 
in 
subsection 
(d) 
may 
be
provided—
(I) in cash or in kind; or
(II) in the form of Federal funds
made available under a Federal law
other than this Act.
(2) ELIGIBILITY OF WEED MANAGEMENT ENTI-
TIES.—To be eligible to obtain an incentive payment
under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, a weed man-
agement entity in a State shall—
(A)(i) for the first fiscal year for which the
entity receives an incentive payment under this
subsection, provide to the State in which it is
established a description of—
(I) the purposes for which the entity
was established; and
(II) any projects to be carried out to
accomplish those purposes; and
(ii) for any subsequent fiscal year for which
the entity receives an incentive payment, provide
to the State—
(I) a description of the activities car-
ried out by the entity in the previous fiscal
year—
(aa) to control or eradicate harm-
ful, invasive weeds on public or private
land; or
(bb) to increase public knowledge
and education concerning the need to
control or eradicate harmful, invasive
weeds on public or private land; and
(II) the results of each such activity;
and
(B) meet such additional eligibility require-
ments, and conform to such process for deter-
mining eligibility, as the State may establish.
(c) FINANCIAL AWARDS.—
(1) USE BY WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Financial awards under
subsection (a)(2) shall be used by weed manage-
ment entities to pay the Federal share of the cost
of carrying out projects described in subsection
(d) that are selected by the State in accordance
with subsection (d).
(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided
in clause (ii), for purposes of subparagraph
(A), the Federal share of the cost of carrying
out a project described in subsection (d)
shall not exceed 50 percent.
(ii) ADJUSTMENT.—After consultation
with the Secretary, the Governor of a State
that makes either an incentive payment or
financial award under subsection (a) may
increase, to a maximum of 100 percent,
such Federal share of a project that the Gov-
ernor determines is necessary to meet the
needs of an underserved area.
(iii) FORM
OF
MATCHING
FUNDS.—
Under subparagraph (A), the non-Federal
share of the cost of carrying out a project
described 
in 
subsection 
(d) 
may 
be
provided—
(I) in cash or in kind; or
(II) in the form of Federal funds
made available under a Federal law
other than this Act.
(2) ELIGIBILITY OF WEED MANAGEMENT ENTI-
TIES.—To be eligible to obtain a financial award
under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, a weed man-
agement entity in a State shall—
(A) meet the requirements for eligibility for
an incentive payment under subsection (b)(2);
and
(B) submit to the State a description of the
project for which the financial award is sought.
(d) PROJECTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A weed management entity
may use a financial award received under this section
to carry out a project to control or eradicate harmful,
invasive weeds on public or private land, including—
(A) education, inventories and mapping,
management, monitoring, and similar activities,
including the payment of the cost of personnel
and equipment that promote such control or
eradication; and
(B) other activities to promote such control
or eradication, if the results of the activities are
disseminated to the public.
(2) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—A State shall se-
lect projects for funding under this section on a com-
petitive basis, taking into consideration—
(A) the seriousness of the harmful, invasive
weed problem or potential problem addressed by
the project;
(B) the likelihood that the project will pre-
vent or resolve the problem, or increase knowl-
edge about resolving similar problems in the fu-
ture;
(C) the extent to which the payment will le-
verage non-Federal funds to address the harmful,
invasive weed problem addressed by the project;
(D) the extent to which the recipient weed
management entity has made progress in ad-
dressing harmful, invasive weed problems;
(E) the extent to which the project will pro-
vide a comprehensive approach to the control or
eradication of harmful, invasive weeds;
(F) the extent to which the project will re-
duce the total population of a harmful, invasive
weed within the State;
(G) the extent to which the project uses the
principles of integrated vegetation management
and sound science; and
(H) other factors that the State determines
to be relevant.
(3) SCOPE OF PROJECTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A weed management en-
tity shall determine the geographic scope of the
harmful, invasive weed problem to be addressed
through a project using an incentive payment or
financial award received under this section.
(B) MULTIPLE STATES.—A weed manage-
ment entity may use an incentive payment or fi-
nancial award under this section to carry out a
project to address the harmful, invasive weed
problem of more than 1 State only if the entity
meets the requirements of all applicable State
laws.
(4) LAND.—A weed management entity may use
an incentive payment or financial award received
under this section to carry out a project to control or
eradicate weeds on any public land, or on any pri-
vate land with the approval of the owner or operator
of the land.
(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—An incen-
tive payment or financial award under this Act may
not be used to carry out a project—
(A) to control or eradicate animal pests or
submerged or floating harmful, invasive aquatic
weeds; or
(B) to protect an agricultural commodity
(as defined in section 102 of the Agricultural
Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602)) other than—
(i) livestock (as defined in section 602
of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1949 (7
U.S.C. 1471); or
(ii) an animal- or insect-based prod-
uct.
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 5 percent
of the funds made available under section 12 for a fiscal
year may be used by the Federal Government to pay the
administrative costs of the program established by this Act,
including the costs of complying with Federal environ-
mental laws.
(f) REPORT.—As a condition of the receipt of an incen-
tive payment or financial award under this Act, a weed
management entity in a State that received such a payment
or award shall submit to the Council a report that describes
the purposes and results of each project for which the pay-
ment or award was used, by not later than 6 months after
completion of the projects.
SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS ALLOCATED TO INDIAN TRIBES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The requirements for the use of
funds allocated to States described in section 6 shall apply
to the use of funds allocated to Indian tribes under section
5(a)(2).
(b) INSUFFICIENT OR EXCESS FUNDS.—
(1) INSUFFICIENT
FUNDS.—If, in any fiscal
year, the funds allocated to Indian tribes under sec-
tion 5(a)(2) are not sufficient to provide incentive
payments or financial awards to each weed manage-
ment entity of an Indian tribe, an Indian tribe may
seek additional funds by participating as a local
stakeholder in the establishment of a weed manage-
ment entity that receives assistance under section 6.
(2) EXCESS FUNDS.—Any excess funds remain-
ing after the provision of incentive payments or fi-
nancial awards to weed management entities of In-
dian tribes shall be reserved by the Council for use in
carrying out this Act in the following fiscal year.
(c) REPORT.—As a condition of the receipt of an in-
centive payment or financial award under this Act, not
later than October 30 of each year, a weed management
entity of an Indian tribe that received such a payment or
award in the preceding fiscal year shall submit to the Coun-
cil a report that describes, for that preceding fiscal year,
the purposes for which the payment or award was used.
SEC. 8. FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS.
The Secretary of Agriculture and the Council shall
make recommendations to the Secretary regarding—
(1) the annual allocation of funds to States and
Indian tribes under section 5; and
(2) other issues related to funding under this
Act.
SEC. 9. LAND-RELATED CONDITIONS.
(a) CONSENT OF LANDOWNER.—Any activity involv-
ing real property may be carried out under this Act only
with the consent of the landowner.
(b) NO EFFECT ON PILT PAYMENTS.—The provision
of funds to any entity under this Act shall have no effect
on the amount of any payment received by a county from
the Federal Government under chapter 69 of title 31, United
States Code (commonly known as ‘‘payments in lieu of
taxes’’).
SEC. 10. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.
Any activity carried out under this Act shall comply
with all other Federal laws (including regulations), includ-
ing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
SEC. 11. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.
Assistance authorized under this Act is intended to
supplement, and not replace, assistance available to weed
management entities, areas, and districts for control or
eradication of harmful, invasive weeds on public lands and
private lands, including funding available under the Pull-
ing Together Initiative of the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation.
SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out this Act there is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary $100,000,000 for each of fiscal
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 States
to eligible weed management entities to control
or eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public
and private land.
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