(1) The board of county commissioners of each county in which the governor has declared an emergency resulting from a major grasshopper or range caterpillar infestation is hereby authorized and directed to establish a system of priorities for any operation involving the control of grasshoppers or range caterpillars in infested areas. Such board of county commissioners shall certify to the commissioner any area within a county which has established a grasshopper or range caterpillar control district in areas infested with grasshoppers or range caterpillars and in which sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the landowners and lessees have agreed to pay a proportionate share of the cost per acre for grasshopper or range caterpillar control, as determined by the commissioner, as a contribution to pay the cost of controlling the grasshoppers or range caterpillars which are infesting said area.
Upon receipt by the commissioner of a certification of such an area, and upon depositwith the commissioner of the landowner's and lessee's projected share of the cost of control for grasshoppers or range caterpillars, the commissioner shall immediately direct operations to commence to control the grasshoppers or range caterpillars in such area.
In attempting to control grasshoppers or range caterpillars in established control districts, the commissioner shall not be required to conduct control operations on other than range acreage.
If the commissioner, with approval of the district advisory committee as establishedin section 35-5-105, determines at any time that control operations would not significantly reduce the grasshopper or range caterpillar populations in the established control districts, he may order that said operations be suspended or terminated.
Source: L. 75: Entire section added, p. 1344, § 1, effective May 30. L. 77: Entire section amended, p. 1579, § 6, effective June 4. L. 83: (2) amended, p. 1316, § 8, effective May 10.