EXECUTIVE
ORDER EO 83-14
ESTABLISHING
AN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON MILFOIL CONTROL
Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum
spicatum), first noted in this state in 1977, impairs the beneficial uses
of many lakes and rivers in Washington, including Lake Osoyoos, the Okanogan
River, the Columbia River as far downstream as Crescent Bar, the Pend Oreille
River, Lake Washington, Banks Lake, and also to a lesser degree Lake Sammamish,
Lake Whatcom as well as other lakes in Western Washington and the Columbia Basin.
The spread of milfoil threatens hydropower generation, fisheries resources, and
recreational uses of the waters. Since 1980, the Washington Department
of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have operated a cooperative,
cost-shared program of milfoil control and prevention in conjunction with
local sponsors. Seventy percent is paid by the Corps of Engineers with the
local sponsor and the Department of Ecology providing the other thirty percent.
While this cooperative program has sought to control milfoil in lakes and other
river stretches, the extent and cost of the program have increased each year,
and it has become increasingly difficult for the state and local sponsors to
provide necessary funding.
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, John Spellman, Governor of the State of Washington, do hereby order and
direct that:
A. An
interagency task force on Milfoil Control is hereby established, composed of
the Directors of the Departments of
Agriculture, Ecology, Game and the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Supervisor
of the Department of Natural Resources. The Director of the Department of
Ecology shall chair the task force.
B. The
task force shall invite participation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Seattle District, and such local agencies as appropriate in the task force
functions.
C. The
interagency task force on Milfoil Control shall:
1. Examine and evaluate the existing
Milfoil Control program;
2. Evaluate the potential economic impacts
of the spread of Milfoil;
3. Investigate the feasibility of increased
state involvement in financing, managing, and evaluating new control
methodologies;
4. Conduct public meetings at which
interested and affected citizens may express views on the extent and
seriousness of the milfoil problem and the environmental impacts of various
control methodologies;
5. Formulate recommendations by December
1, 1983, for future milfoil control programs. These should identify the
appropriate state lead agency, the resources needed to provide a continued cost-share
program with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and any legislative action
needed to implement an expanded program.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
set my hand and caused
the seal of the State
of Washington to be
affixed at Olympia
this 20th day of
September A.D., Nineteen hundred and eighty-three.
JOHN SPELLMAN
Governor of Washington
BY THE GOVERNOR:
_________________________________
Deputy Secretary of
State
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