Executive Order
13112 of February 3, 1999 -- Invasive Species
Laws
& Regulations
--> Executive Order 13112
National
Invasive Species Council --> Executive Order 13112
On February 3, 1999, Executive
Order 13112 was signed establishing the National Invasive Species
Council. The Executive Order requires that a Council of Departments
dealing with invasive species be created. Currently there are
12 Departments and Agencies on the Council.
Executive
Order 13112 of February 3, 1999 - Invasive Species
Federal Register: February 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 25)
Executive Order
13112
By the authority vested in me
as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, including the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Nonindigenous
Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990, as amended
(16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.), Lacey Act, as amended (18 U.S.C.
42), Federal Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.),
Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974, as amended (7 U.S.C. 2801 et
seq.), Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), and other pertinent statutes, to prevent
the introduction of invasive species and provide for their control
and to minimize the economic, ecological, and human health impacts
that invasive species cause, it is ordered as follows:
Section
1. Definitions.
(a) "Alien species"
means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, any species, including
its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material capable
of propagating that species, that is not native to that ecosystem.
(b) "Control" means,
as appropriate, eradicating, suppressing, reducing, or managing
invasive species populations, preventing spread of invasive species
from areas where they are present, and taking steps such as restoration
of native species and habitats to reduce the effects of invasive
species and to prevent further invasions.
(c) "Ecosystem" means
the complex of a community of organisms and its environment.
(d) "Federal agency"
means an executive department or agency, but does not include
independent establishments as defined by 5 U.S.C. 104.
(e) "Introduction"
means the intentional or unintentional escape, release, dissemination,
or placement of a species into an ecosystem as a result of human
activity.
(f) "Invasive species"
means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to
cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
(g) "Native species"
means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, a species that,
other than as a result of an introduction, historically occurred
or currently occurs in that ecosystem.
(h) "Species" means
a group of organisms all of which have a high degree of physical
and genetic similarity, generally interbreed only among themselves,
and show persistent differences from members of allied groups
of organisms.
(i) "Stakeholders"
means, but is not limited to, State, tribal, and local government
agencies, academic institutions, the scientific community, nongovernmental
entities including environmental, agricultural, and conservation
organizations, trade groups, commercial interests, and private
landowners.
(j) "United States"
means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam,
and all possessions, territories, and the territorial sea of
the United States.
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Section
2. Federal Agency Duties.
(a) Each Federal agency whose
actions may affect the status of invasive species shall, to the
extent practicable and permitted by law,
(1) identify such actions;
(2) subject to the availability
of appropriations, and within Administration budgetary limits,
use relevant programs and authorities to: (i) prevent the introduction
of invasive species; (ii) detect and respond rapidly to and control
populations of such species in a cost-effective and environmentally
sound manner; (iii) monitor invasive species populations accurately
and reliably; (iv) provide for restoration of native species
and habitat conditions in ecosystems that have been invaded;
(v) conduct research on invasive species and develop technologies
to prevent introduction and provide for environmentally sound
control of invasive species; and (vi) promote public education
on invasive species and the means to address them; and
(3) not authorize, fund, or carry
out actions that it believes are likely to cause or promote the
introduction or spread of invasive species in the United States
or elsewhere unless, pursuant to guidelines that it has prescribed,
the agency has determined and made public its determination that
the benefits of such actions clearly outweigh the potential harm
caused by invasive species; and that all feasible and prudent
measures to minimize risk of harm will be taken in conjunction
with the actions.
(b) Federal agencies shall pursue
the duties set forth in this section in consultation with the
Invasive Species Council, consistent with the Invasive Species
Management Plan and in cooperation with stakeholders, as appropriate,
and, as approved by the Department of State, when Federal agencies
are working with international organizations and foreign nations.
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Section
3. Invasive Species Council.
(a) An Invasive Species Council
(Council) is hereby established whose members shall include the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture,
the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, and
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The
Council shall be Co-Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior,
the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce.
The Council may invite additional Federal agency representatives
to be members, including representatives from subcabinet bureaus
or offices with significant responsibilities concerning invasive
species, and may prescribe special procedures for their participation.
The Secretary of the Interior shall, with concurrence of the
Co-Chairs, appoint an Executive Director of the Council and shall
provide the staff and administrative support for the Council.
(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall establish an advisory
committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C.
App., to provide information and advice for consideration by
the Council, and shall, after consultation with other members
of the Council, appoint members of the advisory committee representing
stakeholders. Among other things, the advisory committee shall
recommend plans and actions at local, tribal, State, regional,
and ecosystem-based levels to achieve the goals and objectives
of the Management Plan in section 5 of this order. The advisory
committee shall act in cooperation with stakeholders and existing
organizations addressing invasive species. The Department of
the Interior shall provide the administrative and financial support
for the advisory committee.
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Section
4. Duties of the Invasive Species Council. The Invasive Species Council shall provide national
leadership regarding invasive species, and shall:
(a) oversee the implementation
of this order and see that the Federal agency activities concerning
invasive species are coordinated, complementary, cost-efficient,
and effective, relying to the extent feasible and appropriate
on existing organizations addressing invasive species, such as
the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, the Federal Interagency
Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds, and
the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources;
(b) encourage planning and action
at local, tribal, State, regional, and ecosystem-based levels
to achieve the goals and objectives of the Management Plan in
section 5 of this order, in cooperation with stakeholders and
existing organizations addressing invasive species;
(c) develop recommendations for
international cooperation in addressing invasive species;
(d) develop, in consultation
with the Council on Environmental Quality, guidance to Federal
agencies pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act on
prevention and control of invasive species, including the procurement,
use, and maintenance of native species as they affect invasive
species;
(e) facilitate development of
a coordinated network among Federal agencies to document, evaluate,
and monitor impacts from invasive species on the economy, the
environment, and human health;
(f) facilitate establishment
of a coordinated, up-to-date information-sharing system that
utilizes, to the greatest extent practicable, the Internet; this
system shall facilitate access to and exchange of information
concerning invasive species, including, but not limited to, information
on distribution and abundance of invasive species; life histories
of such species and invasive characteristics; economic, environmental,
and human health impacts; management techniques, and laws and
programs for management, research, and public education; and
(g) prepare and issue a national
Invasive Species Management Plan as set forth in section 5 of
this order.
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Section
5. Invasive Species Management Plan.
(a) Within 18 months after issuance
of this order, the Council shall prepare and issue the first
edition of a National Invasive Species Management Plan (Management
Plan), which shall detail and recommend performance-oriented
goals and objectives and specific measures of success for Federal
agency efforts concerning invasive species. The Management Plan
shall recommend specific objectives and measures for carrying
out each of the Federal agency duties established in section
2(a) of this order and shall set forth steps to be taken by the
Council to carry out the duties assigned to it under section
4 of this order. The Management Plan shall be developed through
a public process and in consultation with Federal agencies and
stakeholders.
(b) The first edition of the
Management Plan shall include a review of existing and prospective
approaches and authorities for preventing the introduction and
spread of invasive species, including those for identifying pathways
by which invasive species are introduced and for minimizing the
risk of introductions via those pathways, and shall identify
research needs and recommend measures to minimize the risk that
introductions will occur. Such recommended measures shall provide
for a science-based process to evaluate risks associated with
introduction and spread of invasive species and a coordinated
and systematic risk-based process to identify, monitor, and interdict
pathways that may be involved in the introduction of invasive
species. If recommended measures are not authorized by current
law, the Council shall develop and recommend to the President
through its Co-Chairs legislative proposals for necessary changes
in authority.
(c) The Council shall update
the Management Plan biennially and shall concurrently evaluate
and report on success in achieving the goals and objectives set
forth in the Management Plan. The Management Plan shall identify
the personnel, other resources, and additional levels of coordination
needed to achieve the Management Plan's identified goals and
objectives, and the Council shall provide each edition of the
Management Plan and each report on it to the Office of Management
and Budget. Within 18 months after measures have been recommended
by the Council in any edition of the Management Plan, each Federal
agency whose action is required to implement such measures shall
either take the action recommended or shall provide the Council
with an explanation of why the action is not feasible. The Council
shall assess the effectiveness of this order no less than once
each 5 years after the order is issued and shall report to the
Office of Management and Budget on whether the order should be
revised.
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Section
6. Judicial Review and Administration.
(a) This order is intended only
to improve the internal management of the executive branch and
is not intended to create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a
party against the United States, its agencies, its officers,
or any other person.
(b) Executive Order 11987 of
May 24, 1977, is hereby revoked.
(c) The requirements of this
order do not affect the obligations of Federal agencies under
16 U.S.C. 4713 with respect to ballast water programs.
(d) The requirements of section
2(a)(3) of this order shall not apply to any action of the Department
of State or Department of Defense if the Secretary of State or
the Secretary of Defense finds that exemption from such requirements
is necessary for foreign policy or national securityreasons.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 3, 1999.
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