2016 North Dakota Century Code Title 4 Agriculture Chapter 4-33 Plant Pests
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CHAPTER 4-33
PLANT PESTS
4-33-01. Definitions.
In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
1. "Certificate" means a document issued or authorized by the commissioner indicating
that a regulated article is not contaminated with a pest.
2. "Commissioner" means the agriculture commissioner or the commissioner's authorized
representative.
3. "Host" means any plant or plant product upon which a pest is dependent for
completion of any portion of its life cycle.
4. "Infested" means actually infested or infected with a pest or so exposed to infestation
that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation exists.
5. "Move" means to ship, offer for shipment, receive for transportation, carry, or otherwise
transport, move, or allow to be moved.
6. "Permit" means a document issued or authorized by the commissioner to provide for
the movement of regulated articles to restricted destinations for limited handling,
utilization, or processing.
7. "Person" means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, company,
society, or association, or other business entity.
8. "Pest" means any invertebrate animal, pathogen, parasitic plant, or similar organism
which can cause damage to a plant or part thereof or any processed, manufactured, or
other product of plants.
9. "Phytosanitary certificate" means an international document issued or authorized by
the commissioner stating that a plant or plant product is considered free from
quarantine pests and practically free from injurious pests and that they are considered
to conform with the current phytosanitary regulations of the importing country.
10. "Plant" means any part of a plant, tree, aquatic plant, plant product, plant material,
shrub, vine, fruit, rhizome, vegetable, seed, bulb, stolon, tuber, corm, pip, cutting,
scion, bud, graft, fruit pit, or agricultural commodity.
11. "Regulated article" means any article of any character as described in the quarantine
carrying or capable of carrying the plant pest against which the quarantine is directed.
4-33-02. Administration - Rulemaking authority.
The commissioner shall administer this chapter. The commissioner shall employ an
individual who has a baccalaureate degree in entomology, plant pathology, or biological
sciences. The commissioner may adopt rules to carry out this chapter.
4-33-03. Authority for voluntary measures.
The commissioner, either independently or in cooperation with counties or political
subdivisions thereof, cities, towns, farmers' associations or similar organizations, individuals,
federal agencies, or agencies of other states, is authorized to carry out operations or measures
to locate; to suppress, control, or eradicate; or to prevent or retard the spread of pests with the
consent of the owners of the property involved.
4-33-04. Authority for plant quarantine.
The commissioner is authorized to quarantine this state or any portion thereof when the
commissioner determines that such action is necessary to prevent or retard the spread of a pest
within or from this state and to quarantine any other state or portion thereof whenever the
commissioner determines that a pest exists therein and that such action is necessary to prevent
or retard its spread into this state. Before promulgating the determination that a quarantine is
necessary, the commissioner shall, after due notice to interested parties, hold a public hearing
under such rules as the commissioner shall promulgate, at which hearing any interested party
may appear and be heard either in person or by attorney, provided, the commissioner may
impose a temporary quarantine for a period not to exceed ninety days during which time a
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public hearing, as provided herein, must be held if it appears that a quarantine for more than the
ninety-day period will be necessary to prevent or retard the spread of the pest. The
commissioner shall give notice of the establishment of the quarantine in such newspapers in the
quarantined area as the commissioner selects. The commissioner may limit the application of
the quarantine to the infested portion of the quarantined area and appropriate environs, to be
known as the regulated area, and may, without further hearing, extend the regulated area to
include additional portions of the quarantined area upon publication of a notice to that effect in
such newspapers in the quarantined area as the commissioner selects or by direct written
notice to those concerned.
Following establishment of the quarantine, no person may move any regulated article
described in the quarantine or move the pest against which the quarantine is established, within,
from, into, or through this state contrary to regulations promulgated by the commissioner. Notice
of the regulations must be published in such newspapers in the quarantined area as the
commissioner may select.
The regulations may restrict the movement of the pest and any regulated articles from the
quarantined or regulated area in this state into or through other parts of this state or other states
and from the quarantined or regulated area in other states into or through this state and shall
impose such inspection, disinfection, certification, or permit and other requirements as the
commissioner deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
4-33-05. Authority for abatement and emergency measures.
Whenever the commissioner finds any article that is infested or reasonably believed to be
infested or a host or pest exists on any premise or is in transit in this state, the commissioner
may, upon giving notice to the owner or the owner's agent in possession thereof, seize,
quarantine, treat, or otherwise dispose of such pest, host, or article in such manner as the
commissioner deems necessary to suppress, control, eradicate, or to prevent or retard the
spread of a pest, or the commissioner may order such owner or agent to so treat or otherwise
dispose of the pest, host, or article. If large areas or metropolitan areas, involving many people,
are to be treated, notice may be by means of newspaper, radio, or other news media. Such
notice must prominently appear, at least ten days prior to treatment, in at least three issues of a
daily paper having local coverage.
4-33-06. Authority for inspections - Warrants.
To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the commissioner may with a warrant or the
consent of the owner make reasonable inspection of any premises in this state and any property
therein or thereon and may without a warrant with the assistance of any law enforcement
agency provided for in this code stop and inspect, in a reasonable manner, any means of
conveyance moving within this state upon probable cause to believe it contains or carries any
pest, host, or other article subject to this chapter, and may make any other reasonable
inspection of any premises or means of conveyance for which, under the Constitution of the
United States and the Constitution of North Dakota, no warrant is required.
The appropriate district courts in this state may issue warrants for such inspections upon a
showing by the commissioner that there is probable cause to believe that there exists in or on
the property to be inspected a pest, host, or other article subject to this chapter.
4-33-07. Cooperation.
1. The commissioner is authorized to cooperate with any agency of the federal
government in such operations and measures as the commissioner deems necessary
to suppress, control, eradicate, or to prevent or retard the spread of any plant pest
including the right to expend state funds on federal lands.
2. The commissioner is authorized to cooperate with agencies of adjacent states in such
operations and measures as the commissioner deems necessary to locate; to
suppress, control, or eradicate; or to prevent or retard the spread of any pest,
provided, that the use of funds appropriated to carry out this chapter, for operations in
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adjacent states, must be approved in advance by the governor or the governor's
designee.
4-33-08. Penalties.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or who uses without authority
any certificate or permit or other document provided for in this chapter or in the regulations of
the commissioner provided for in this chapter, is deemed guilty of a class A misdemeanor. Any
person who has knowingly moved any regulated article into this state from any quarantined area
of any other state, which article has not been treated or handled under provisions of the
quarantine and regulations, in effect at the point of origin, shall be guilty of a class A
misdemeanor. In addition to criminal sanctions, a person found guilty of violating this chapter or
regulations is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each violation.
The civil penalty may be adjudicated by the courts or by the commissioner through an
administrative hearing pursuant to chapter 28-32. The commissioner may, in accordance with
the laws of North Dakota, maintain an appropriate civil action in the name of the state against
any person violating this chapter.
4-33-09. Authority for compensation.
The commissioner, when determined necessary to fulfill the objectives of this chapter, may
authorize the payment of reasonable compensation to growers in infested areas for not planting
host crops pursuant to instructions issued by the commissioner prior to the planting season, for
losses resulting from the destruction of any regulated articles, provided, no payment may be
authorized for the destruction of regulated articles moved in violation of any regulation or any
host planted contrary to instructions issued by the commissioner, and further provided, that any
compensation payment program must be approved by the state legislative assembly.
4-33-10. Authority for local pest control and regulations.
The governing body of any political subdivision of North Dakota, by ordinance or resolution,
may adopt and enforce regulations to control and prevent the spread of pests. If state
regulations are in effect, any similar local regulations must be approved by the commissioner.
State regulations shall be in effect if the commissioner finds that adequate measures are not
being taken by the political subdivision. The commissioner shall notify the appropriate officials of
the political subdivision before any action is taken by the commissioner. Such regulations may
authorize appropriate officers and employees to enter and inspect any public or private place
which might harbor pests.
4-33-11. Authority for financing local control programs - County pest coordinator.
1. The board of county commissioners may appropriate money for the control of pests
under this chapter. If state funds are involved, the money must be expended according
to control plans approved by the commissioner. The board of county commissioners
shall determine the portion, if any, of control program costs to be paid by the county.
Costs of the control program may be paid from revenues derived from general fund
levy authority of the county or from the county levy authority under section 4.1-47-14.
2. The board of county commissioners for any county shall designate an individual to
serve as county pest coordinator. The county weed control officer may serve in that
capacity if approved by the board of county commissioners. The county pest
coordinator shall administer local and private funds in cooperation with state and
federal pest control programs. When state funds are involved, the county pest
coordinator shall submit county and township control plans to the agriculture
commissioner for approval.
4-33-12. Authority for domestic and export certification.
The commissioner may inspect any plant and plant product, when offered for export or
shipment from within the state and to certify to shippers and interested parties as to the freedom
of such products from injurious pests according to the phytosanitary requirements of other
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states and foreign countries. Authority for inspection and certification under this section is not
limited to plants defined in section 4-33-01. The commissioner may make reasonable charges
and use any means necessary to accomplish this objective. A portion of the fees collected may
be deposited in the commissioner's operating fund equivalent to the amount that the United
States department of agriculture assesses the department for federal plant export certificates
issued by the commissioner. A certificate may be withheld or not issued if the product does not
meet phytosanitary or import requirements and if all North Dakota licensing and bonding
requirements have not been met. Consignee names and addresses on phytosanitary certificates
are confidential.
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