Executive Order on Invasive Species 1999-02-03

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 3, 1999

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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INVASIVE SPECIES

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.

(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.

Sec. 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.

Sec. 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.

Sec. 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;

(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.

Sec. 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.

Sec. 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 security
reasons.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 3, 1999

All of the above text was copied directly from www.pub.whitehouse.gov on 3 May 2000.

created: 3 May 2000
last updated: 3 May 2000