11-5-109.

11-5-109.

11-5-109. Inspection of land; remedial requirements; cost to landowner.

(a) Whenever the district board has probable cause to believe that a landowner's property is infested by weeds or pests which are liable to spread and contribute to the injury or detriment of others and the board has provided written notice of probable cause to the landowner, it shall make or have made an inspection of the suspected premises through the use of lawful entry procedures. No entry upon any premises, lands or places shall be permitted under this subsection until the landowner or occupant has been notified by certified mail and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner or occupant that the inspection is pending at least fifteen (15) days prior to the inspection. If possible, inspections shall be scheduled and conducted with the concurrence of the landowner or occupant. If, after receiving notice that an inspection is pending, the landowner or occupant denies access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee, the supervisor may seek an administrative inspection warrant issued by a municipal, circuit or district court having jurisdiction over the land. No landowner shall deny access to land when presented with an administrative inspection warrant issued by a court. The court shall issue an administrative inspection warrant upon presentation by the district board, through its agent or employee, of an affidavit stating:

(i) The information that gives the district board probable cause to believe that any provision of this chapter is being or has been violated;

(ii) That the landowner or occupant has denied access to the district supervisor or the supervisor's designee or has not responded within fifteen (15) days of receiving notice; and

(iii) A particularized description of the location of the affected land.

(b) If the suspected area is found to be infested, the district board, by resolution adopted by two-thirds (2/3) of its members, shall confirm such fact. The resolution may set forth minimum remedial requirements for control of the infested area, provided that:

(i) The remedial requirements are likely to be effective in controlling an infestation of the species in question at the infested area;

(ii) The board includes potential estimated costs if available;

(iii) The benefits, both economic and environmental, exceed the estimated costs of the remedial requirements;

(iv) The board may assist the landowner in developing an integrated pest management plan for the species in question; and

(v) The landowner may propose alternate remedial requirements.

(c) The district board shall deliver, by certified mail, to the address of the landowner appearing on the most recent tax rolls of the district and, if the landowner has consented to receive notices electronically, by electronic means that provide actual notice to the landowner all of the following:

(i) A copy of the resolution;  (ii) A statement of the estimated cost to the landowner of fulfilling the requirements and the amount that may be shared with the landowner, as determined by district board policy.

(iii) Repealed by Laws 2020, ch. 135, § 2.

(d) At the request of the landowner, the district board shall hold a hearing in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The landowner may appeal the board's resolution to the district court.

(e) A landowner who is responsible for an infestation and fails or refuses to perform the remedial requirements for the control of the weed or pest on the infested area within the time designated in the district board's resolution may be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day of violation and not more than a total of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per year as determined by the court. Any person accused under this act is entitled to a trial by jury. The accumulated fines under this section are a lien against the property of the landowner from the day notice is delivered to the landowner by the district board. All fines shall be deposited with the county treasurer and credited to the county school fund.

11-5-110. Appraisal of damage to landowner; hearing.

When the district board determines by resolution that the landowner's property has been damaged as a result of carrying out its requirements, the district board shall by resolution appoint three (3) disinterested freeholders within the district to appraise the amount of damage, upon which the district shall forthwith compensate the landowner. The landowner may file a claim for damages and is entitled to a hearing relative to the amount of damages pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

11-5-111. Tax levied on property in district; maximum amount; weed and pest control fund.

The county commissioners shall annually levy a tax to carry out this act. The tax shall be levied upon all property in the district and shall not exceed one (1) mill on each one dollar ($1.00) of assessed valuation. The tax is not part of the general county or city mill levies. All taxes levied and collected shall be remitted to the district for a separate fund to be known as the weed and pest control fund, which shall be used only to carry out this act.

11-5-112. Repealed by Laws 1979, ch. 135, § 3.

11-5-113. Allocation of funds; formula; special funding.

(a) An allocation committee composed of the director of the department of agriculture, three (3) members appointed by the Wyoming weed and pest council and one (1) member of the board shall allocate the funds of any legislative appropriation to the district boards pursuant to a formula adopted by the committee. No district board shall receive an amount in excess of one-third (1/3) of its actual expenditures from any appropriation, unless the appropriation provides assistance in control to a district board under subsection (b) of this section.

(b) If the district board determines a weed or pest is seriously endangering areas of a district or the state, assistance in control may be provided by legislative appropriation for this purpose, and the allocation committee shall allocate the appropriation accordingly, and the allocation committee and each affected district board shall be responsible for insuring that the funds are properly expended.

11-5-114. Allocated funds; procedure to disburse.

A request for allocated funds pursuant to W.S. 11-5-113 shall be initiated by the district board by submitting a voucher and documentation. Upon the approval of the voucher by the allocation committee, payment shall be made by the state auditor out of funds provided for control of weeds and pests.

11-5-115. Program in cities and towns authorized; funding; use of monies.

(a) The governing body of any city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more may establish and administer a program for the control of weeds and pests within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town. If such a program is not established, the district board shall administer a program for the city or town.

(b) A district having a city or town with a population of five thousand (5,000) or more which establishes a program shall, within thirty (30) days after receipt of any funds collected pursuant to W.S. 11-5-111, transfer eighty-five percent (85%) of the funds attributed to the property within the corporate limits of the city or town to the governing body of the city or town, retaining fifteen percent (15%) of the funds for administration of the district and for technical assistance rendered to the city or town by the district board.

(c) Monies received by the cities from the district shall be used to control noxious weeds and pests as determined by the governing body of the city or town. The city or town shall provide an annual report to the district board on designated and declared weed and pest work completed within the jurisdictional limits of the city or town.

(d) The governing body of a city or town which establishes a control program may petition the district board for special assistance and funding authorized by W.S. 11-5-113 and 11-5-114.

11-5-116. Quarantine by director; request by district.

(a) Whenever the director, the district board or their agents find any section of the state to be infested with insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases, and it is established that farm products from that section are liable to spread the insects, pests, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases into other sections to the injury of others, the director shall without unnecessary delay, declare a quarantine against such section to prevent the transfer of farm products from the quarantined area. When it is ascertained that insects, pests, weed seed, poisonous or injurious plants or plant diseases are likely to be introduced into Wyoming by the importation of farm products, domestic animals or other objects, the director shall declare a quarantine against the importation of such farm products.

(b) A district may initiate a district-wide quarantine by one (1) of the following procedures:

(i) A district may request in writing that the director declare a district-wide quarantine. Upon receipt of the request, the director shall instruct the district to circulate a petition for ninety (90) days within the district to obtain signatures of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all resident landowners owning at least fifty-one percent (51%) of all resident-owned land. Upon receipt of the properly executed petition, the director shall declare a district-wide quarantine;  (ii) A district board may hold a hearing in compliance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine when the district has provided the director with proper documentation that a hearing has been held and the district has found a need for a district-wide quarantine;

(iii) The district board may hold a district-wide referendum. The director shall declare a district-wide quarantine upon receipt of a certified document indicating that the referendum was accepted by a majority of the electors who voted in the election.

(c) The director shall declare an individual quarantine when requested by resolution adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the board.

(d) The district board in compliance with W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-119 may request a quarantine against the entry of infested farm products that may be injurious and detrimental to the state and enter into agreements with the law enforcing agencies to carry out the quarantine provision:

(i) Farm products and equipment shall be certified free of designated noxious weed seeds or infested farm products prior to entry into the state, with the exception of any processed feed or grain to be reprocessed and fed to livestock;

(ii) Farm products and equipment are to be certified in the state of origin by the proper officials;

(iii) Interstate shipment of farm products through the state need not be certified if covered in a prescribed manner as not to allow the dissemination of infested farm products.

11-5-117. Criminal provision; penalty; civil penalties; limitations; necessary proof.

(a) Any person violating any provision of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) in addition to fines provided for in W.S. 11-5-109(e).

(b) In any proceeding to impose any fine or penalty for any failure to perform a remedial requirement ordered by a district board for control of a weed or pest in any infested area, the district board shall have the burden of proving:

(i) That the proposed remedial action would control the target weed or pest;

(ii) That the remedial action would be a cost effective action and would be more cost effective than any alternative action proposed or adopted by the landowner; and

(iii) That the weed or pest to be controlled was at risk of spreading to the land of others in the area.

11-5-118. Inspection for contamination.

Farm products and agricultural, commercial or industrial equipment entering or moving within the district are subject to inspection for contamination of designated weeds and pests by the district board through its designated agents. The board and the Wyoming weed and pest council may promulgate rules and regulations which establish inspection standards and remedial requirements under this section.

11-5-119. Rules and regulations.

The board, with the approval of a majority of the districts, may promulgate, adopt and publish rules and regulations in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this act.

11-5-120. Wyoming weed and pest council duties.

(a) In addition to other duties prescribed by law, the Wyoming weed and pest council shall aid county weed and pest control districts in creating, managing and enhancing coordinated and comprehensive invasive plant species control programs by:

(i) Developing and implementing data systems to support each district in making invasive plant species management decisions informed by accurate, timely data, local experts, cultural practices and best available science;

(ii) Coordinating with the University of Wyoming and community colleges to assess, to the extent practicable, the impacts that invasive plant species can have on socio-ecological systems. As used in this paragraph, "socio-ecological system" means a dynamic system encompassing interactions between people and nature within a defined geographical area;

(iii) Coordinating with the University of Wyoming, community colleges and government agencies to support and expand outreach and provide applied research on the best use of existing tools to control invasive plant species and the development of new invasive plant species management methods;

(iv) Working with federal partners to reduce barriers to timely, effective invasive plant species management on federal lands and adjoining nonfederal lands;

(v) On a biennial basis, reporting to the joint agriculture, state and public lands and water resources interim committee on the status of current funding models, existing or new funding challenges and opportunities to improve funding for designated or declared invasive plant species;

(vi) Encouraging and incentivizing cooperative, landscape-scale projects to control invasive plant species that include multi-jurisdictional partnerships with clear, long-term strategies;

(vii) Coordinating with other state and federal agencies to increase public awareness of the challenges presented by invasive plant species and to encourage prevention and mitigation practices.

(b) The Wyoming weed and pest council may, with the approval of the majority of the board, adopt and publish rules in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, W.S. 16-3-101 et seq. to carry out the purposes of this act.

ARTICLE 2 - LEAFY SPURGE CONTROL

11-5-201. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 87, § 1.

11-5-202. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 87, § 2.

ARTICLE 3 - SPECIAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

11-5-301. Authorization of program.

A weed and pest special management program may be carried out as provided by this article and legislative appropriation acts. All state and local governmental entities shall comply with the program.

11-5-302. Definitions.

(a) As used in this article:

(i) "District" means any county weed and pest control district;

(ii) "Integrated management system" means the planning and implementation of a coordinated program utilizing all proven methods for containing and controlling undesirable plants and pests, including but not limited to education, preventive measures, physical methods, biological agents, pesticide methods, cultural methods and management;

(iii) "Management zone" means a geographical area within a district;

(iv) "Materials" means materials used in carrying out the objectives of integrated management system;

(v) "Method" means a procedure or process for carrying out the application method prescribed;

(vi) "Pest" means any declared pest or designated pest defined by W.S. 11-5-102(a);

(vii) "Treatment program" means the use of an integrated management system prescribed by the district board or the board's designated representative;

(viii) "Undesirable plant" means any declared weed or designated noxious weed as defined by W.S. 11-5-102(a).

11-5-303. Program components; funding; rulemaking authority; penalties.

(a) Any district may carry out a weed and pest special management program in accordance with this article. If a district initiates a program, leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) shall receive priority in the program. A district may also implement an integrated management system under W.S. 11-5-101 through 11-5-119 using funds specified by W.S. 11-5-111, provided leafy spurge shall receive priority pursuant to this article.  (b) Repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 2, § 3.

(c) Any district which implements a special management program under this article shall:

(i) Establish one (1) or more management zones within the district. A management zone can only be formed with the written consent of a majority of the landowners in the proposed management zone;

(ii) Complete an inventory on lands within each management zone to determine the scope of infestation;

(iii) Establish management criteria for the special management program;

(iv) Select the materials and methods for the special management program based upon best available scientific facts, current technology and economic considerations;

(v) At least ten (10) days before final approval of the program by the district board, give notice to the public in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation within the county describing the special management program and approximating the cost of the program. Notice shall also be given through another medium if the board determines additional publication is necessary to ensure sufficient notice to the public.

(d) Programs under this article shall be funded as follows:

(i) Landowners shall contribute to the cost of the treatment program on their land as determined by the district board not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total cost;

(ii) The district shall contribute to the cost of the treatment program within the limitation of district funds available under subsection (e) of this section;

(iii) State or federal agencies owning lands or administering lands, which are untaxed for the purposes of this act, shall contribute to the total cost of the special management program;  (iv) Assistance to a district's coordinated program may be provided by legislative appropriation pursuant to W.S.