NUISANCE PLANTS REQUIRED REMOVAL PROGRAM
Administrative Rule Adopted by Bureau of Development Services and Bureau of Environmental Services Pursuant to Rule-Making Authority
ARB-ENN-7.04
What follows is the Table of Contents and Chapter 1 of the administrative rule:
- Applicability
- Purpose
- Definitions
- Regulatory Authority
- Requirements
- BES Response Strategy
- Public Notices
- Enforcement
- Appeals
APPENDICIES
A. Authorizing Statute
B. Sample Notice Letter
C. Eradication Entry Permission Form
D. City of Portland Nuisance Plants List, Required Eradication List
E. Title 29 Nuisance Abatement Flow Chart
These rules are presented in a Commentary and Regulations alternative page format. The intent is to provide informational items on the Explanatory Information page and limit the Regulatory Text page to the legal requirements of the program.
Explanatory Information
Applicability
All of the plants on the City's Nuisance Plants List are considered invasive plants. However, some species are more aggressive than others. Several species are just beginning to emerge here and could be prevented from spreading if detected early. To help set management priorities, the City is assigning specific priority ranks to the plants on the Nuisance Plants List.
Rank "A" plants on the Nuisance Plants List are designated for their ability to spread rapidly and to cause public safety and environmental hazards. Rank "A" plants are specifically targeted for removal because they currently have limited distribution in natural areas and eradication will prevent the spread of these plants. Rank "B" plants are more abundant and widely spread than "A" plants; however, their distribution is currently limited to specific habitats or patches. Common nuisance plants, such as Himalayan blackberry and English ivy, are so abundant and widely distributed they would take a considerable amount of time and money to eradicate; therefore, they are rank "C" plants.
The City has identified a subset of the rank "A" plants on the Nuisance Plants List as plants that are such a concern that they must be eradicated if they are found on a property. In accordance with these administrative rules, property owners, whether private or public, whose property is found to contain plants with rank "A" on the Nuisance Plants List, Required Eradication List, shall receive notice to work with City staff to eradicate such plants from their property. It is possible that multiple eradication efforts may be needed for some plant species.
Rather than immediately involve citizens in an abatement process, the City will direct staff to provide resources and education to property owners to remove the plants. Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) staff will provide the resources and education to property owners. BES is responsible for implementing or ensuring implementation of these administrative rules except where the responsibilities of the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) are identified. Should funding become unavailable for either bureau, then implementation may become limited. An intergovernmental agreement provides funding details related to these administrative rules.
The City will only proceed with abatement on rank "A" species on the City's Nuisance Plants List, Required Eradication List, if the plants are also on the Oregon Department of Agriculture noxious weed list. See the City of Portland Nuisance Plants List, Required Eradication List for the plants with required eradication and, if necessary, abatement. These administrative rules apply to property within the City of Portland and within the unincorporated areas of Multnomah County per the intergovernmental agreement between the City of Portland and Multnomah County called the "Intergovernmental Agreement to Provide for the Coordinated Regulation and Management of Invasive Plants Between City of Portland and Multnomah County" which provides details related to funding and other responsibilities.
HISTORY
Adopted by the Director of the Bureau of Development Services March 15, 2010 and adopted by the Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services April 14, 2010.
Filed for inclusion in PPD April 14, 2010 and effective July 1, 2010.