Working together to strengthen and support noxious weed management efforts in Montana.
Montana has a law on the books to manage noxious weeds. An excerpt from the law: “It is unlawful for any person to permit any noxious weed to propagate or go to seed on the person’s land, except that any person who adheres to the noxious weed management program of the person’s weed management district or who has entered into and is in compliance with a noxious weed management agreement is considered to be in compliance with this section.”
Download a copy of the “County Weed Control Act” – Title 7, Chapter 22, Part 21 Revised October 2011
For additional information regarding the enforcement, how weeds are priorities and more visit our online library in the FAQ section.
US HR.872 Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 is active again. We know that many of you are closely watching this.
In a nutshell a 2009 court ruling required pesticide applicators get a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is legislation already in place that is effective and comprehensive and currently regulates pesticides. This proposed legislation will reduce redundancy of regulation caused by this court ruling.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has put out a single page informational document for your reference on HR 872. It contains information that you may use to write to your legislatures letting them know how you want to them to vote on this legislation. Download it here.
As many of you know by now, House bills 166 and 133 which dealt with the county weed act were signed into law by the governor. For details about HB 133, we have provided a download for this bill and for details about HB166, we have provided a download with more information. Both of these documents explain the changes in the act.
HB 621, the legislation to give funding to three agencies for aquatic invasive management and to work together, has been signed into law by the Governor, however, the governor and the directors of the three agencies are still meeting to determine how they will work together. Funds and jurisdiction may be changed or moved within those agencies at the discretion of the governor.
As a reminder, DNRC, MDA and FWP are receiving, or have been allocated to use, over $1.5 million for aquatic invasive species management in the biennium, which is great news for Montana.
This year the Montana state legislature took up many bills dealing with invasive species, terrestrial and aquatic. Weed control and invasives are not a new issue for Montana. Bulletin number 30 from the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station of Montana College of Agriculture issued June 1901 titled Weeds of Montana, told about the weed law. We have provided a download of page 22 and 23 of this publication for the section about the then current weed law. The penal code for weeds was approved March 18, 1895. The first listed weeds were Canada thistle, the Scotch bull thistle and the Russian thistle. Fines to be assessed were not less than $5 and not more than $50 ($1,292 adjusted for inflation today), pretty steep fines. They had provisions for noncompliance.
The names may have changed, but the fight is still the same. Thanks to Dave Brink, Mineral County Weed Coordinator, for sharing his find.
The Healthy Habitats Coalition (HHC) promotes conservation of the nation’s natural resources and economic interests by efficient management of invasive species thus curtailing the associated harm. Through state and federal leadership, HHC seeks legislation and appropriations that improves private, local, state, and federal land managers with on-the-ground control tools.
HHC is a committee under the North American Weed Management Association and recently, with considerable efforts from 16 state teams, over 1/3 of congress was approached with the HHC’s solution to jump starting invasive control programs: the five asks.
1. Over five years, federal land management agencies shall increase their on-the-ground control obligation by fivefold and decrease current infested acres by 25%. In examining federal agency budgets for invasive species, HHC has determined that 5-7% of every dollar is actually used on-the-ground. For example, if $500,000 has been allocated for invasive weeds, about $25000 is used for actual control. HHC is asking for better fiscal accountability from agencies.
2. Federal agencies shall provide a state pass through fund assessed at 25 cents on each state’s federally managed acre. A state entity shall submit a request for this critical pool of money based on a consistent set of criteria with a measurable control strategy to reduce current infestation levels or stop new invasions on any land in the state. Federal funds may be passed to the governor annually. 70% of the funds shall be utilized for on-the-ground control to manage taxes as prioritized by the state. Money may be appropriated directly to state Invasive species programs in order to maximize impact and avoid costly overhead. An example of “re-directing” federal dollars may be to examine Grants.gov as HHC has been told not all of those funds are expended in a year. In Montana, it is estimated this would amount to 6.8 million dollars for invasive management.
3. To stop the conduit for invasive species spread, the FHWA should authorize a line item at $300 per state center line mile of highway. Annual funds shall pass to each state DOT Maintenance Section as authorized in Section 329 of the 2005 SAFETEA Reauthorization Act to improve control, stop introductions and/or educate the public about invasive harm. In Montana, it is estimated this would amount to 1.2 million dollars for invasive management.
4. Each state should develop and implement an invasive species plan and law to receive and manage invasive species funding with control tactics equivalent to Montana or Idaho laws.
5. States are encouraged to work in regional and national concert to educate the public through television and social media methods in metro areas. To reduce redundancy, all natural resource management agencies, state/local governments, universities, nonprofit organizations, industry, and the private sector should collaborate to form partnerships to protect land and water assets and resources.
These five asks have been supported in the Western Governors Association through resolution and by the National Department of Agriculture Association. Your Montana state team consists of Montana Department of Ag Weed Coordinator, Dave Burch, dburch@mt.gov, Montana Weed Control Association MACo Representative, Dave Schulz, dschulz@madison.mt.gov and Montana Weed Control Association Executive Director, Becky Kington, becky.kington@mtweed.org. Please contact any of these individuals for more information.
The courts did grant a stay for this permit meaning it won’t go into effect until Halloween; weed districts and mosquito folks won’t have to worry about this permit this season (information attached). Of course it isn’t the best news, as that would be having House Bill 872 in Congress pass to eliminate the permit all together! Please get contact Representative Rehberg to encourage him to sign on as a co-sponsor of this legislation!
Today, Reps. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), and Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced H.R. 872, a bipartisan bill to reduce the regulatory burdens posed by the case National Cotton Council v. EPA (6th Cir. 2009). Joining in this effort as original cosponsors were House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), as well as Reps. Collin Peterson (D-MN), John Mica (R-FL), and Mike Simpson (R-ID).
Under the court ruling, pesticide users, which include farmers, ranchers, forest managers, state agencies, city and county municipalities, mosquito control districts, and water districts, among others would have to obtain a duplicative permit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for the use of pesticides. Pesticide applications are already highly regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The order of the court goes into effect on April 9, 2011. At that time, pesticide applications not covered by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit are subject to a fine of up to $37,500 per day per violation. In addition to the cost of compliance, pesticide users will be subject to an increased risk of litigation under the citizen suit provision of the CWA.
The legislation would amend FIFRA and the CWA to clarify Congressional intent and eliminate the requirement of a NPDES permit for the use of FIFRA-registered pesticides.
Read the rest of the article on the US House Committee on Agriculture page. Please let members of the committee and your legislature know what you think about this legislation.
Montana is required to implement a Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) permit program for the application of pesticides to or over water, by April 9, 2011. (The EPA released the draft of their federal Pesticide General Permit in June 2010 and the latest information indicates their final permit should be released in February 2011 and effective April 9th.)
There are two actions related to Montana’s Pesticide General Permit that are currently open for public comment:
(1) Fee Rule Notice (MAR Notice 17-309). Public Comment Period December 23rd – January 24th, 2011. Public Hearing on January 12, 2011 at 1:30 PM in Room 111, Metcalf Building. (Note: the public hearing is a platform for the public to provide oral comments, in addition to the opportunity to submit written comments. It does not involve any debate or direct response from the Department at that time.) See information@ http://www.deq.mt.gov/dir/legal/hearing.mcpx (organized by public hearing date)
The Fee Rule Notice includes proposed definitions for pesticide fee classifications and fee amounts under ARM 17.30.201 and general permit category clarification under ARM 17.30.1341.
(2) Draft Pesticide General Permit. Public Comment Period January 10th – March 2, 2011. Public Hearing on February 15, 2011 at 1:30 PM in Room 111, Metcalf Building. See information@ http://www.deq.mt.gov/dir/legal/hearing.mcpx (will be posted by January 10th, organized by public hearing date) Public comment includes the Fact Sheet, Draft Pesticide General Permit, Environmental Assessment, and Forms.
These will also be available for review on the Department’s working group webpage on January 10th @ http://deq.mt.gov/wqinfo/mpdes/pesticides.mcpx These are official public comment periods, and submittals must be made in accordance with the public notice information.
If you have questions please contact Christine Weaver at 406-444-3927 or cweaver@mt.gov or Jenny Chambers, Bureau Chief at 406-444-4969 or jchambers@mt.gov
This was introduced by Verdell Jackson
This legislation would allow for mandatory check stations.
Click to view the most curent status of this bill on the Montana Legislature website.