16 U.S.C. § 4723 — Regional coordination

Page 2509 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 4723 Subsec. (j)(1). Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(e)(4), substituted ‘‘The Director, the Secretary,’’ for ‘‘Not later than 18 months after November 29, 1990, the Director’’. Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(g), substituted ‘‘Con- gress’’ for ‘‘appropriate Committees’’ in pars. (1) and (2). § 4723. Regional coordination (a) Great Lakes panel (1) In general Not later than 30 days following November 29, 1990, the Task Force shall request that the Great Lakes Commission (established under Article IV of the Great Lakes Compact to which the Congress granted consent in the Act of July 24, 1968, P.L. 90–419) convene a panel of Great Lakes region representatives from Fed- eral, State and local agencies and from private environmental and commercial interests to— (A) identify priorities for the Great Lakes region with respect to aquatic nuisance spe- cies; (B) make recommendations to the Task Force regarding programs to carry out sec- tion 4722(i) of this title; (C) assist the Task Force in coordinating Federal aquatic nuisance species program activities in the Great Lakes region; (D) coordinate, where possible, aquatic nuisance species program activities in the Great Lakes region that are not conducted pursuant to this chapter; (E) provide advice to public and private in- dividuals and entities concerning methods of controlling aquatic nuisance species; and (F) submit annually a report to the Task Force describing activities within the Great Lakes region related to aquatic nuisance species prevention, research, and control. (2) Consultation The Task Force shall request that the Great Lakes Fishery Commission provide informa- tion to the panel convened under this sub- section on technical and policy matters re- lated to the international fishery resources of the Great Lakes. (3) Canadian participation The panel convened under this subsection is encouraged to invite representatives from the Federal, provincial or territorial governments of Canada to participate as observers. (b) Western regional panel Not later than 30 days after October 26, 1996, the Task Force shall request a Western regional panel, comprised of Western region representa- tives from Federal, State, and local agencies and from private environmental and commercial in- terests, to— (1) identify priorities for the Western region with respect to aquatic nuisance species; (2) make recommendations to the Task Force regarding an education, monitoring (in- cluding inspection), prevention, and control program to prevent the spread of the zebra mussel west of the 100th Meridian pursuant to section 4722(i) of this title; (3) coordinate, where possible, other aquatic nuisance species program activities in the Western region that are not conducted pursu- ant to this chapter; (4) develop an emergency response strategy for Federal, State, and local entities for stem- ming new invasions of aquatic nuisance spe- cies in the region; (5) provide advice to public and private indi- viduals and entities concerning methods of preventing and controlling aquatic nuisance species infestations; and (6) submit annually a report to the Task Force describing activities within the Western region related to aquatic nuisance species pre- vention, research, and control. (c) Additional regional panels The Task Force shall— (1) encourage the development and use of re- gional panels and other similar entities in re- gions in addition to the Great Lakes and West- ern regions (including providing financial as- sistance for the development and use of such entities) to carry out, with respect to those re- gions, activities that are similar to the activi- ties described in subsections (a) and (b); and (2) cooperate with regional panels and simi- lar entities that carry out the activities de- scribed in paragraph (1). (Pub. L. 101–646, title I, § 1203, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4769; Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(e)(5), (h)(1), Oct. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 4087, 4091; Pub. L. 117–263, div. K, title CXIII, § 11327(e)(3), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 4098.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Act of July 24, 1968, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is Pub. L. 90–419, July 24, 1968, 82 Stat. 414, which is not classified to the Code. This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1)(D) and (b)(3), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, which, to reflect the probable intent of Congress, was translated as read- ing ‘‘this title’’ meaning title I of Pub. L. 101–646, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4761, known as the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of title I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 4701 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (a)(1)(F). Pub. L. 117–263, § 11327(e)(3)(A), inserted ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘research,’’. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 117–263, § 11327(e)(3)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘encouraged’’ for ‘‘encourage’’. 1996—Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(h)(1), made technical amend- ment to Pub. L. 101–646, § 1203, which enacted this sec- tion. Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(e)(5)(A), substituted ‘‘Regional’’ for ‘‘Great Lakes regional’’ in section catchline. Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(e)(5)(B)–(F), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and inserted subsec. heading, redesignated former subsec. (a) as par. (1), and former pars. (1) to (6) as subpars. (A) to (F), respectively, of par. (1), in par. (1) inserted ‘‘region’’ before ‘‘represent- atives’’ in introductory provisions and after ‘‘Great Lakes’’ in subpars. (A), (C), (D), and (F), redesignated subsecs. (b) and (c) as pars. (2) and (3), respectively, of subsec. (a), substituted ‘‘this subsection’’ for ‘‘this sec- tion’’ in those pars., and added subsecs. (b) and (c). Page 2510 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 4724 1 See References in Text note below. § 4724. State aquatic nuisance species manage- ment plans (a) State or interstate invasive species manage- ment plans (1) In general After providing notice and opportunity for public comment, the Governor of each State may prepare and submit, or the Governors of the States and the governments of the Indian tribes involved in an interstate organization, may jointly prepare and submit— (A) a comprehensive management plan to the Task Force for approval which identifies those areas or activities within the State or within the interstate region involved, other than those related to public facilities, for which technical, enforcement, or financial assistance (or any combination thereof) is needed to eliminate or reduce the environ- mental, public health, and safety risks asso- ciated with aquatic nuisance species, par- ticularly the zebra mussel; and (B) a public facility management plan to the Assistant Secretary for approval which is limited solely to identifying those public facilities within the State or within the interstate region involved for which tech- nical and financial assistance is needed to reduce infestations of zebra mussels. (2) Content Each plan shall, to the extent possible, iden- tify the management practices and measures that will be undertaken to reduce infestations of aquatic nuisance species. Each plan shall— (A) identify and describe State and local programs for environmentally sound preven- tion and control of the target aquatic nui- sance species; (B) identify Federal activities that may be needed for environmentally sound preven- tion and control of aquatic nuisance species and a description of the manner in which those activities should be coordinated with State and local government activities; (C) identify any authority that the State (or any State or Indian tribe involved in the interstate organization) does not have at the time of the development of the plan that may be necessary for the State (or any State or Indian tribe involved in the interstate or- ganization) to protect public health, prop- erty, and the environment from harm by aquatic nuisance species; and (D) a schedule of implementing the plan, including a schedule of annual objectives, and enabling legislation. (3) Consultation (A) In developing and implementing a man- agement plan, the State or interstate organi- zation should, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, involve local governments and re- gional entities, Indian tribes, and public and private organizations that have expertise in the control of aquatic nuisance species. (B) Upon the request of a State or the appro- priate official of an interstate organization, the Task Force or the Assistant Secretary, as appropriate under paragraph (1), may provide technical assistance in developing and imple- menting a management plan. (4) Plan approval Within 90 days after the submission of a management plan, the Task Force or the As- sistant Secretary in consultation with the Task Force, as appropriate under paragraph (1), shall review the proposed plan and approve it if it meets the requirements of this sub- section or return the plan to the Governor or the interstate organization with recommended modifications. (b) Grant program (1) State grants The Director may, at the recommendation of the Task Force, make grants to States with management plans approved under subsection (a) for the implementation of those plans. (2) Application An application for a grant under this sub- section shall include an identification and de- scription of the best management practices and measures which the State proposes to uti- lize in implementing an approved management plan with any Federal assistance to be pro- vided under the grant. (3) Federal share (A) The Federal share of the cost of each comprehensive management plan implemented with Federal assistance under this section in any fiscal year shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost incurred by the State in imple- menting such management program and the non-Federal share of such costs shall be pro- vided from non-Federal sources. (B) The Federal share of the cost of each public facility management plan implemented with Federal assistance under this section in any fiscal year shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost incurred by the State in imple- menting such management program and the non-Federal share of such costs shall be pro- vided from non-Federal sources. (4) Administrative costs For the purposes of this section, administra- tive costs for activities and programs carried out with a grant in any fiscal year shall not exceed 5 percent of the amount of the grant in that year. (5) In-kind contributions In addition to cash outlays and payments, in-kind contributions of property or personnel services by non-Federal interests for activities under this section may be used for the non- Federal share of the cost of those activities. (c) Enforcement assistance Upon request of a State or Indian tribe, the Director or the Under Secretary, to the extent allowable by law and in a manner consistent with section 141 1 of title 14, may provide assist- ance to a State or Indian tribe in enforcing an approved State or interstate invasive species management plan. (Pub. L. 101–646, title I, § 1204, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4770; Pub. L. 104–332, § 2(e)(6), (h)(1), Oct. 26,