Title 17 — Title 17 WEEDS, RODENTS, AND PESTS

The boards of county commissioners of the respective counties may create a weed district or districts within their counties and enlarge any district, or reduce any district or create or combine or consolidate the districts, or divide or create new districts, from time to time, in…

Any one or more freeholders owning more than fifty percent of the acreage desired to be included within the proposed weed district may file a petition with the board of county commissioners praying that their land be included, either separately or with other lands included in the…

At the time and place fixed for such hearing the board of county commissioners shall determine whether such weed district shall be created and if such board determines that such district shall be created, it shall fix the boundaries thereof, but shall not modify the purposes of t…

If the board of county commissioners establish such district it shall call a special meeting to be held within such district for the purpose of electing three directors for such district. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of director who is not a qualified elector of…

The board of directors of such weed district shall have power:(1) To adopt rules and regulations, plans, methods, and means for the purpose of destroying, preventing, and exterminating the weed or weeds specified in the petition, and to supervise, carry out, and enforce such rule…

Any city or town contiguous to or surrounded by a weed district formed under this chapter shall provide for the destruction, prevention and extermination of all weeds specified in the petition which are within the boundaries of such city or town, in the same manner and to the sam…

Any lands owned by any individual wholly or partly within the United States government Indian reservation may be included within a weed district formed under this chapter, and shall be subject to the same rules, regulations and taxes as other lands within the district; and the bo…

Whenever any lands belonging to the county are included within a weed district, the county legislative authority shall determine the amount of the assessment for which the lands would be liable if they were in private ownership, and the county legislative authority shall appropri…

It shall be the duty of the weed inspector to carry out the directions of the board of directors and to see that the rules and regulations adopted by the board are carried out. He or she shall personally deliver or mail to each resident landowner within such district and to any l…

(1) If the weed inspector, or the board of directors, shall find that the rules and regulations of the weed district are not being carried out on any one or more parcels of land within such district, the weed inspector shall give forthwith a notice in writing, on a form to be pre…

The weed inspector shall keep an accurate account of expenses incurred by him or her in carrying out the provisions of this chapter with respect to each parcel of land entered upon, and the prosecuting attorney of the county or the attorney for the weed district shall cause to be…

At the time of such hearing as provided in RCW 17.04.210, or at such time to which the same may be continued or adjourned, the board of directors shall proceed to examine expenses incurred by the weed inspector in controlling weeds on the parcel of land in question, and shall hea…

Any interested party may appeal from the decision and order of the board of directors of such district to the superior court of the county in which such district is located, by serving written notice of appeal on the chair of the board of directors and by filing in the office of …

(1) The directors shall annually determine the amount of money necessary to carry on the operations of the district and shall classify the property therein in proportion to the benefits to be derived from the operations of the district and in accordance with such classification s…

Such assessments as are made under the provisions of RCW 17.04.240, by the weed district commissioners, shall be spread by the county assessor on the general tax roll in a separate item. Such assessments shall be collected and accounted for with the general taxes, with the terms …

The county treasurer shall be ex officio treasurer of such district and the county assessor and other county officers shall take notice of the formation of such district and of the tax levy and shall extend the tax on the tax roll against the property liable therefor the same as …

No weed district shall contract any obligation in any year in excess of the total of the funds which will be available during the current year from the tax levy made in the preceding year and funds received in the current year from services rendered and from any other lawful sour…

Any weed district heretofore organized under any law of the state of Washington may become a weed district under the provisions of this chapter and entitled to exercise all the powers and subject to the limitations of a weed district organized under this chapter by the election o…

All weed district directors, all weed inspectors, and all official agents of all weed districts, in the performance of their official duties, have the right to enter and go upon any of the lands within their weed district at any reasonable time for any reason necessary to effectu…

As used in this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, "principal board of county commissioners", "principal county treasurer", and "principal county auditor" mean respectively those in the county of that part of the proposed intercounty weed district in which the great…

An intercounty weed district, including all or any part of two counties or more, may be created for the purposes set forth in RCW 17.04.010 by the joint action of the boards of county commissioners of the counties in which any portion of the proposed district is located.[ 1959 c …

Any one or more freeholders owning more than fifty percent of the acreage desired to be included within the proposed intercounty weed district may file a petition with the principal board of county commissioners praying that their land be included, either separately or with other…

At the time and place fixed for such hearing, with the chair of the principal board acting as chair, the respective boards shall determine by a majority vote of each of the boards of county commissioners of the counties whether such intercounty weed district shall be created, and…

If the respective boards of county commissioners establish such district the chair of the principal board shall call a special meeting of landowners to be held within such district for the purpose of electing three directors for such district. No person shall be eligible to hold …

The board of directors of an intercounty weed district shall have the same powers and duties as the board of directors of a weed district located entirely within one county, and all the provisions of chapter 17.04 RCW are hereby made applicable to intercounty weed districts: PROV…

Whenever any action is required or may be performed by any county officer or board for all purposes essential to the maintenance, operation, and administration of the district, such action shall be performed by the respective officer or board of the county of that part of the dis…

The purpose of this chapter is to limit economic loss and adverse effects to Washington's agricultural, natural, and human resources due to the presence and spread of noxious weeds on all terrestrial and aquatic areas in the state.The intent of the legislature is that this chapte…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(1) "Agent" means any occupant or any other person acting for the owner and working or in charge of the land.(2) "Agricultural purposes" are those that are intended to prov…

(1) In each county of the state there is created a noxious weed control board, bearing the name of the county within which it is located. The jurisdictional boundaries of each board are the boundaries of the county within which it is located.(2) Each noxious weed control board is…

There is created a state noxious weed control board comprised of nine voting members and four nonvoting members. Four of the voting members shall be elected by the members of the various activated county noxious weed control boards, and shall be residents of a county in which a c…

An inactive county noxious weed control board may be activated by any one of the following methods:(1) Either within sixty days after a petition is filed by one hundred registered voters within the county or, on its own motion, the county legislative authority shall hold a hearin…

(1) Each activated county noxious weed control board consists of five voting members appointed by the county legislative authority in the manner prescribed in this section. In appointing the voting members, the county legislative authority shall divide the county into five geogra…

(1) Each activated county noxious weed control board must employ or otherwise provide a weed coordinator whose duties are fixed by the board but which shall include inspecting land to determine the presence of noxious weeds, offering technical assistance and education, and develo…

(1) In addition to the powers conferred on the state noxious weed control board under other provisions of this chapter, it has the power to:(a) Employ a state noxious weed control board executive secretary and educational specialist, and additional persons as it deems necessary, …

(1) In addition to the powers conferred on the director under other provisions of this chapter, the director, with the advice of the state noxious weed control board, has power to:(a) Require the county legislative authority or the noxious weed control board of any county or any …

(1) The state noxious weed control board shall each year or more often, following a hearing, adopt a state noxious weed list.(2) The state noxious weed control board shall adopt guidelines by rule for placing plants on the state noxious weed list. These guidelines must include cr…

(1) Each county noxious weed control board shall, within ninety days of the adoption of the state noxious weed list from the state noxious weed control board and following a hearing, select those weeds from the class C list and those weeds from the class B list not designated for…

Where any of the following occur, the state noxious weed control board must hold a hearing, then may order any county noxious weed control board or weed district to include a noxious weed from the state board's list in the county's noxious weed list:(1) Where the state noxious we…

A regional noxious weed control board comprising the area of two or more counties may be created as follows:Either the county legislative authority, or the noxious weed control board, or both, of two or more counties may, upon a determination that the purpose of this chapter will…

In any case where a regional noxious weed control board is created, the county noxious weed control boards comprising the regional board shall still remain in existence and shall retain all powers and duties provided for the boards under this chapter.The regional noxious weed con…

The powers and duties of a regional noxious weed control board are as follows:(1) The regional board shall, within ninety days of the adoption of the state noxious weed list from the state noxious weed control board and following a hearing, select those weeds from the state list …

Obligations or liabilities incurred by any county or regional noxious weed control board or any claims against a county or regional noxious weed control board are governed by chapter 4.96 RCW or RCW 4.08.120: PROVIDED, That individual members or employees of a county noxious weed…

(1) Except as is provided under subsection (2) of this section, every owner must perform or cause to be performed those acts as may be necessary to:(a) Eradicate all class A noxious weeds;(b) Control and prevent the spread of all class B noxious weeds designated for control in th…

(1) All state agencies shall control noxious weeds on lands they own, lease, or otherwise control through integrated pest management practices. Agencies shall develop plans in cooperation with county noxious weed control boards to control noxious weeds in accordance with standard…

It is recognized that the prevention, control, and eradication of noxious weeds presents a problem for immediate as well as for future action. It is further recognized that immediate prevention, control, and eradication is practicable on some lands and that prevention, control, a…

Any authorized agent or employee of the county noxious weed control board or of the state noxious weed control board or of the department of agriculture where not otherwise proscribed by law may enter upon any property for the purpose of administering this chapter and any power e…

(1) Whenever the county noxious weed control board finds that noxious weeds are present on any parcel of land, and that the owner is not taking prompt and sufficient action to control the noxious weeds, pursuant to the provisions of RCW 17.10.140, it shall notify the owner that a…

Any owner, upon request pursuant to the rules and regulation of the county noxious weed control board, is entitled to a hearing before the board on any charge or cost for which the owner is alleged to be liable pursuant to RCW 17.10.170 or 17.10.210. The board shall send notice b…

Each activated county noxious weed control board must publish annually, and at other times as may be appropriate, in at least one newspaper of general circulation within its area, a general notice. The notice shall direct attention to the need for noxious weed control and give ot…

(1) The state noxious weed control board shall:(a) Work with the various federal and tribal land management agencies to coordinate state and federal noxious weed control;(b) Encourage the various federal and tribal land management agencies to devote more time and resources to nox…