(a) Whenever the Commissioner finds that an area in the State is infested or threatened to be infested with forest pests, he or she shall determine whether measures of control are needed and are available and the area over which the control measures shall be applied. The Commissioner shall prescribe a proposed zone of infestation covering the area in which control measures are to be applied, and shall publish notice of the proposal in one or more newspapers having a general circulation in the area in which control measures are to be undertaken.

(b) The notice shall include a brief description of the location of the proposed zone of infestation and the approximate time when control measures will be executed. (Added 1977, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)