Title 15, AGRICULTURE AND MARKETING

The director, supervisor, and horticultural inspectors are authorized to at any time enter horticultural premises and any structure where fruit, vegetables, nursery stock, or horticultural products are grown or situated for any purpose, to inspect the same for infection. No perso…

If the premises or property inspected is found to be infected the inspecting officer shall condemn the same and serve upon the owner or person in charge thereof a written notice of the condemnation, describing the premises or property with reasonable certainty, and ordering the i…

Said notice of condemnation shall also grant permission to the owner or person in charge of infected fruit, vegetables, or nursery stock to divide the same into classes: (1) The portion not infected; (2) The infected portion which is capable of successful disinfection; and (3) Th…

In the case of fruit or vegetables which cannot be successfully disinfected the inspector may grant to the owner or person in charge thereof a written permit to use the condemned products for stock feed, or manufacture the same into by-products, or ship them to a by-product facto…

Personal service of said notice shall be made upon the person in possession or in charge of said premises or property if possible. If such person is not the owner, or personal service cannot be made on such person, then a copy of the notice shall be mailed or telegraphed to the o…

Except as hereinabove provided, upon service of said notice the owner or person in possession or charge of the premises or property shall comply with its terms within the time specified. In case of their failure so to do, the inspector may enter the premises and perform or cause …

The officer disinfecting personal property may enforce the lien thereon provided for in RCW 15.08.090 by impounding and selling the property. He or she shall give notice of the impounding and proposed sale by posting a written notice in a conspicuous place upon the premises where…

Such sales may be either at public auction or private sale, whichever, in the sound discretion of the officer, will be to the best interests of the state and owner of the property. The proceeds thereof shall be applied to payment of: First, costs of sale; second, expenses of disi…

The inspector shall make and sign a record of the proceedings, stating the name of the owner or reputed owner of the property, if known; location of the property, date of inspection and the results thereof; date and manner of giving notice to disinfect; failure to disinfect; disi…

The inspector disinfecting any horticultural premises shall make and sign a detailed record of the proceedings, stating the legal description of the premises; give the name of the owner or reputed owner; the date of inspection and the results thereof; date and manner of giving no…

The county auditor shall forthwith issue warrants in payment of the labor employed in the work, and thereupon the county shall be subrogated to all rights of the laborers so paid. He or she shall fix the day for hearing on the record before the county commissioners, which shall b…

If before or at the hearing the amount of the claim and the auditor's and sheriff's fees are paid to the county treasurer, he or she shall deliver to the auditor a duplicate receipt of the payment and the auditor shall cancel the lien and notify the county commissioners thereof. …

The lien and interest may be paid on or before the first Monday in October following the entry of the order, upon presenting to the treasurer, a statement from the auditor showing the amount due. Upon payment the treasurer shall stamp the statement and file it in his or her recor…

If the lien and interest are not paid on or before such first Monday in October the commissioners, when levying taxes for the ensuing year, shall also levy on the premises covered by the lien, a tax for the amount of the lien and interest, together with a penalty of six percent, …

If a horticultural inspector finds premises or property infected, he or she shall make a written report thereof to the inspector-at-large in his or her district stating the disease or infestation found, the estimated extent thereof, and whether in his or her opinion it is or will…

Said board shall make a written report to the inspector-at-large of its findings, signed under oath by a majority of its members and stating: (1) Whether said premises or a part thereof are infested, (2) If infested, the nature and extent of infestation, and (3) Whether the infes…

A notice containing a description of the premises, stating the objects and purposes of the petition and the time and place of presentation of the petition to the court, shall be served upon every person named as interested in the premises at least five days prior to the time of p…

At the hearing there must be competent proof that all parties interested in the premises or property have been duly served with said notice, and that the procedure prescribed in RCW 15.08.050, 15.08.060, 15.08.070, 15.08.080, 15.08.090, and 15.08.180 has been duly followed. The r…

An appeal may be taken from the decree by filing notice thereof not later than ten days after issuance of the decree. The appellant shall be required to file an appeal bond of not less than one thousand dollars and sufficient in amount to cover possible damages to neighboring pro…

The director may require the governing body of counties, cities, towns and irrigation and school districts or other political subdivisions of the state to disinfect or destroy all infected trees, shrubs, or other nursery stock growing upon public property within their respective …

It shall be unlawful for a property owner or lessee to permit the piling or dumping, or for a person to pile or dump, any infected product on any property or to pile or dump infected containers where the dumping of the infected products or containers might constitute a source of …

Whenever the director determines that a particular pest cannot be eradicated or effectively controlled by ordinary means, or that it is impractical to eradicate or control it without the destruction in whole or in part of uninfected host plants, he or she may issue a proclamation…

At the time of making the regular annual tax levy the board of county commissioners of each county shall include a tax, to be known as the "horticultural tax," upon the taxable property of the county in an amount sufficient to meet the expense of inspecting and disinfecting nurse…

In estimating the amount to be levied for said horticultural tax the board shall take into consideration the expense of such inspection and disinfection for the ensuing year, and the amount which will be collected under the provisions of this chapter on properties disinfected. [ …