As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
"APHIS" means the United States department of agriculture animal and plant healthinspection, plant protection, and quarantine programs.
(1.5) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.
"County" includes a city and county.
"District" means an area as provided for in section 35-5-104.
"District advisory committee" means the committee appointed as provided in section35-5-105.
"Insect pest", as determined by the commissioner, means any of the small invertebrate animals generally having the body more or less obviously segmented, for the most part belonging to the class insecta, and which, upon investigation by the commissioner, are found to be in epidemic proportions.
"Inspector" means a county pest inspector.
"Landowner" means a person who owns five or more acres of land within the boundaries of the proposed district.
"Lessee" means a person leasing five or more acres of state-owned land controlledby the state board of land commissioners within the boundaries of the proposed district.
"Noxious weeds", as determined by the commissioner, means those weeds which areespecially troublesome and detrimental and which may cause damage or loss to a considerable portion of the land or livestock of a community.
"Person" includes person, firm, corporation, or association.
"Pest", as determined by the commissioner, means a noxious, destructive, or troublesome plant, insect, or plant disease, when found to be in epidemic proportions and of sufficient economic importance to threaten the public welfare.
"Plant diseases", as determined by the commissioner, means injurious action causedby the continuous or intermittent damage of all plants by any causal agent and expressed through symptoms.
"Resident landowner" means a person who owns five or more acres of land withinthe boundaries of the proposed district and has his legal residence within the county where the proposed district is located or within an adjacent county.
"Resident lessee" means a person leasing five or more acres of state-owned landcontrolled by the state board of land commissioners within the boundaries of the proposed district and having his legal residence within the county where the proposed district is located or within an adjacent county.
Source: L. 59: p. 176, § 1. CRS 53: § 6-16-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 6-5-1. L. 77: (1) and (1.5) R&RE and (7.1) and (12.1) added, p. 1577, §§ 1, 2, effective June 4.
Duty to control weeds. It is the duty of all persons owning land or any interest therein in the district, the department of transportation, the boards of county commissioners, school boards, the governing authorities of incorporated towns and cities and of railroads and ditch companies, and those persons supervising state-owned lands to use reasonable means to control the noxious weeds if the same are likely to be materially damaging to the land of neighboring landowners.
Source: L. 59: p. 177, § 2. CRS 53: § 6-16-2. C.R.S. 1963: § 6-5-2. L. 83: Entire section amended, p. 1311, § 1, effective May 10. L. 91: Entire section amended, p. 1074, § 56, effective July 1.
Methods of control - rules and regulations. The commissioner is empowered to designate the methods to be used for the control or eradication of the various noxious weeds, insect pests, and plant diseases and to publish such methods and make and publish such reasonable rules and regulations as are proper and necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this article. The commissioner is authorized to enter into agreements with any landowner, lessee, district, city, or town, or with federal, state, or county agencies for cooperation and for cost-sharing in the control and eradication of noxious weeds, insect pests, or plant diseases located upon land that they control or administer within the district in keeping with the provisions of this article. The commissioner, with the approval of the governor, is authorized to advance funds, which may be appropriated for this purpose subject to reimbursement, to carry into effect the provisions of this article.
Source: L. 59: p. 177, § 3. CRS 53: § 6-16-3. C.R.S. 1963: § 6-5-3. L. 83: Entire section amended, p. 1311, § 2, effective May 10.
Cross references: For rule-making procedures, see article 4 of title 24; for intergovernmental relationships, see part 2 of article 1 of title 29.
Pest control district - procedure to establish. (1) Whenever twenty-five percent of the resident landowners and resident lessees within a contiguous territory desire to form a pest control district, as defined in this subsection (1), they may file a petition for that purpose with the board of county commissioners of the county in which the land is located. Such petition shall be addressed to the board of county commissioners of such county, and shall contain a description of the boundaries of the proposed district and a description of the land of each person signing such petition, and shall state that the said proposed district has been invaded, or is in danger of being invaded, by noxious weeds, insect pests, or plant diseases injurious to agricultural crops, trees, fruits, or pasture, and shall name the specific pests or diseases against which said petitioners desire to be protected, and shall state the termination date of the proposed district. Such petition shall be signed by each resident landowner and resident lessee joining in the petition by his proper signature, together with his address, and the date of the petition shall be the date of its filing in the office of the board of county commissioners. Any petitioner may revoke and cancel his signature to such petition at any time before said petition is filed, but not after such filing has been made.
Such petition shall be filed with the board of county commissioners during a regularor special session of the board, and shall be verified under oath by at least one of the persons signing it, setting forth that the said petition was signed within ninety days last preceding the making of said verification, and that all matters and things stated in said petition are true to the best of the knowledge and belief of the affiant, and that all signers have had an opportunity to read said petition.
After examination of the petition, if the board of county commissioners finds thepetition in order and properly signed by twenty-five percent of the resident landowners and resident lessees within the proposed district, the board shall, within fifteen days after receipt of the petition, mail ballots to all landowners and lessees in the proposed district, to the addresses as shown by the records of the county assessor or state board of land commissioners, stating that said ballots are to be returned to the board's office within ten days from date of mailing. If, after a tally of the votes has been made, the board finds that sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the landowners and lessees voting have voted in favor of the district, and the landowners and lessees voting own or lease fifty percent of the land in the proposed district, the board shall declare the district established. Acreage owned by the federal government or acreage owned by the state government not subject to a lease shall not be considered in determining the percentage of land voted.
Such petition may, in addition to the matters set forth in this section, request theboard of county commissioners to take charge of and supervise the work in connection with the control or eradication of the pests named. The board, if a pest control district is created upon the petition in accordance with this article, shall proceed during the existence of said district, through the county pest inspector, to control or destroy such pests at the times and in the manner and by the aid of such means and additional help as the commissioner and county pest inspector recommend, and the board may enter into contracts to have the necessary work done in the district where noxious weeds, insect pests, or plant diseases occur in epidemic proportion. Such contracts shall be let through competitive bidding, and the board may pay for the work and materials expended. Said contracts may be let for periods not to exceed one year and may be renewed if necessary. The board of county commissioners also may enter into contracts with landowners and lessees in which the landowners and lessees are obligated for their share of the total cost of control operations.
If the owner or lessee of any lands adjoining an established pest control district desires to have such lands included within the district, he may petition the board of county commissioners of the county in which the district is located and to which district annexation of his land is desired. The petition shall contain a description of the boundaries of the lands so desired to be annexed and shall be signed by the petitioner. The board shall act on said petition within ten days after the receipt thereof. If the board finds that the petition is in order, that the boundaries of the lands described in the petition are accurate, that the lands adjoin the established district, and that the petition is properly signed, it shall, by order, declare that the lands petitioned to be annexed to the district shall be included as a part of the district. Within ten days after such action upon the petition, the board shall notify the petitioner, the county assessor, the district advisory committee of the district in which such lands are to be included, and the department of agriculture of its action. Two or more owners and lessees of lands adjoining an established pest control district may join in and sign a single petition for annexation of their adjoining lands to an established district in the manner prescribed in this subsection (5).
The district advisory committees of two or more adjoining pest control districts maypetition the board of county commissioners of the county in which such districts are located, requesting the consolidation of such districts. The board shall schedule a public hearing on the petition within ten days after the receipt thereof. The public hearing shall be held within thirty days after receipt of the petition. If, after such hearing, the board determines that through such consolidation the districts could be more economically and efficiently operated, the board shall immediately, by order, declare the dissolution of the districts to be consolidated and the establishment of the consolidated new district, and shall thereupon notify the county assessor and district advisory committees of the dissolved districts of the termination of their respective committees, and shall appoint a new five-member district advisory committee for the consolidated district.
When a pest control district which was established for the control and eradication ofspecified pests desires to extend the termination date of the district, the district advisory committee shall petition the board of county commissioners of the county in which such district is located, requesting the extension of the termination date. Upon receipt of said petition, the board of county commissioners shall set a date for a hearing on the matter and shall publish notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not less than ten days nor more than thirty days before the date of the hearing. If, after notice and hearing, the board of county commissioners determines that such extension of the termination date is advisable and is needed for adequate pest control in the district, the board of county commissioners shall immediately declare the extension of the termination date and shall so inform the district advisory committee, the county assessor, and the state board of land commissioners.
When a pest control district which was established for the control and eradication ofspecified pests desires to add additional pests to be controlled within the district, the district advisory committee shall petition the board of county commissioners of the county in which such district is located, requesting that a stipulated pest or pests should be added to the pests to be controlled in the district. The board of county commissioners shall act on the petition within ten days after receipt thereof. If the board of county commissioners determines that such pests should be controlled within the district, said board shall submit the question to all landowners and lessees of the district by causing to be mailed to each landowner and lessee, to the address as shown by the records of the county assessor or state board of land commissioners, a ballot requesting his vote for or against the addition of the stipulated pests to be controlled within the district and the return of such ballot within ten days to the board. If fifty-one percent of the landowners and lessees voting in the district vote in favor of the inclusion of said pests within those to be controlled, the board shall immediately declare that the stipulated pests shall be controlled within the district and shall so inform the district advisory committee.
Source: L. 59: p. 178, § 4. CRS 53: § 6-16-4. L. 61: p. 155, §§ 1, 2. L. 63: p. 160, § 1.
C.R.S. 1963: § 6-5-4. L. 75: (7) amended, p. 1340, § 1, effective May 31. L. 83: (1) and (3) to
(8) amended, p. 1312, § 3, effective May 10. L. 2000: (6) amended, p. 5, § 1, effective August 2.