|
THE
WHITE HOUSE
|
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release,
February 3, 1999
EXECUTIVE ORDER
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.
(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.
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
CoChaired 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;
(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.
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 whetherthe
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.
|
