Emergency Eradication and Official Control Funding
Federal-state cooperative programs that control invasive pest species, plant and animal, benefit all states by controlling the spread of such pests and, thereby, limiting the damage to agricultural crops nationwide. States which are found to harbor an invasive pest species have recently been required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to contribute a minimum of 15% of the costs associated with controlling such pests in order to receive emergency federal assistance through USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). NASDA recommends that the cost-share requirements for funding federal-state plant pest control containment and eradication efforts be eliminated. Emergency eradication and official control funding should be negotiated on a case by case basis with the state and should take into account the damage resulting from pest activity in the affected state, the economic impact upon the state’s regulated businesses, the financial and competitive disadvantages that are inherent when a state discovers an invasive pest species within its borders and the potential economic impact on the rest of the country.
NASDA wishes to remind OMB that the Plant Protection Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with state and local governments, but does not authorize or obligate states to perform plant pest or disease emergency (eradication) project activities. The USDA alone is responsible for the eradication of federally regulated plant pests and diseases. The federal government should accept responsibility for full funding of its programs, declare its intent to cooperate with the affected state(s), implement cooperative agreements to fund state eradication and control program costs, and exercise leadership.