[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6183-6186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3184]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 1999 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 6183]]
Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999
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.
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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;
[[Page 6185]]
(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
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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.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 3, 1999.
[FR Doc. 99-3184
Filed 2-5-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P