If in any area the owners of a majority of the acreage to be protected from pests execute agreements with the State, the Commissioner shall be authorized to carry out control work on other adjacent or interior holdings, that, if uncontrolled, would cause a re-infestation of the controlled area. The cost of control work on such areas may be prorated among the owners who have executed agreements on the same basis as for their own lands, if they agree thereto. (Added 1977, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)