HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1034.004 2004-2006
USDA
c
United States p P~ r y~ o O ~oOU
Department of
Agriculture .2006 NOV 'VCT 3
Animal and j",
Plant Health ^
Inspection ts~13 i - - i-'l
Service Ms. Constance R. Kiriu
4700 River Road County Clerk
Riverdale, MD County of Hawaii
20737 25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Dear Ms. Kirin:
Thank you for your letter of September 27, 2006, to Secretary Johanns transmitting
the Council of the County of Hawaii's resolution supporting H.R. 3468, the Hawaii
Invasive Species Prevention Act of 2005.
We recognize that Hawaii's environment needs appropriate protection from invasive
species, and we assure you that our Agency is committed to safeguarding the State from
exotic plant and animal pests through our existing authorities, policies, and programs.
In doing so, we wish to clarify that our authority with regard to Hawaii is the same as
for other States. While we retain the authority to prevent the movement of Federally
regulated pests between States and have done so when necessary and when resources
allow, we must also emphasize that individual States have considerable authority to
prevent the spread of other pests between States. This authority is exercised to varying
degrees by each State. For example, Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, and
several other States have used their own statutory/regulatory authorities to implement
effective programs to address concerns specific to those States.
We believe that if our Agency and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA)
use current authorities and better integrate our efforts, the purposes of H.R. 3468 can
be accomplished without additional legislation. Officials with our Agency and HDOA
have established ajoint invasive species working group to identify applicable Federal
and State authorities that support the protection of Hawaii from invasive species and
provide a comprehensive umbrella ofprotection for your State. We believe that it is
in our mutual best interest to continue this effort.
Thank you again for writing and sharing the Council's views on this issue. Please feel
free to share this letter with Council members.
Sincerely,
Ian S. Green
Exe tive Director
nt Health Programs
Plant Protection and Quarantine
Comm. No.
Safeguarding American Agriculture Ref. To:
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