Weed Law

October, 2002
KANSAS STATUTES ANNOTATED
Chapter 2. –AGRICULTURE
Article 13. -WEEDS
The Kansas Noxious Weed Law

2-1314. Noxious weeds; control and eradication; listing

It shall be the duty of persons, associations of persons, the secretary of transportation, the boards of county commissioners, the township boards, school boards, drainage boards, the governing body of incorporated cities, railroad companies and other transportation companies or corporations or their authorized agents and those supervising state- owned lands to control the spread of and to eradicate all weeds declared by legislative action to be noxious on all lands owned or supervised by them and to use such methods for that purpose and at such times as are approved and adopted by the department of agriculture. The term noxious weeds shall mean kudzu (Pueraria lobata, field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Russian knapweed (Centaurea repens), hoary cress (Cardaria draba), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), quackgrass (Agropyron repens), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), bur ragweed (Ambrosia grayii), pignut (Hoffmannseggia densiflora), musk (nodding) thistle (Carduus nutans L.), Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense)and sericea lespedeza (lespedeza cuneata).

2-1319. Control and eradication of noxious weeds; payment of costs; sale of chemicals for use on private property, price. (a) The cost of controlling and eradicating noxious weeds on all lands or highways owned or supervised by a state agency. department or commission shall be paid by the state agency, department or commission supervising such lands or highways from appropriated to its use; on county lands and county roads, on township lands and township roads, on city lands, streets and alleys by the county. township or city in which such lands, roads, streets and alleys are located. and from funds made available for that purpose; on drainage districts, irrigation districts, cemetery associations and other political subdivisions of the state, the costs shall be paid from their respective funds made available for the purpose. If the governing body of any political subdivision owning or supervising lands infested with noxious weeds within their jurisdiction shall fail to control such noxious weeds after 15 days' notice directing any such body to do so, the board of county commissioners shall proceed to have proper control and eradication methods used upon such lands. and shall notify the governing body of the political subdivision by certified mail of the costs of such operations, with a demand for payment. The governing body of the political subdivision shall pay such costs from its noxious weed fund. or if no such fund is available, from its general fund or from any other funds available for such purpose. Copy of the statement, together with proof of notification, shall at the same time be filed with the county clerk, and if the amount is not paid within 30 days. such clerk shall spread the amount upon the tax roll of the subdivision, and such amount shall become a lien against the entire territory located within the particular political subdivision, and shall be collected as other taxes are collected.

(b) All moneys collected pursuant to this section shall be paid into the county noxious weed eradication fund.

( c) As used in this section, "governing body" means the board, body. or persons in which the powers of a political subdivision as a body corporate are vested; and "political subdivision" means any agency or unit of the state authorized to levy taxes or empowered to cause taxes to be levied.

( d) On all other lands the owner thereof shall pay the cost of control and eradication of noxious weeds. Except as provided in K.S.A. 2-1333 af1d amendments thereto. chemical materials for use on privately owned lands may be purchased from the board of county commissioners at a price fixed by the board of county commissioners which shall be in an amount equal to not less than 50% nor more than 75% of the total cost incurred by the county in purchasing, storing and handling such chemical materials. However. once the tax levying body of a county, city or township has authorized a tax levy of 1.5 mils or more, the board of county commissioners may collect from the owner of privately owned lands an amount equal to 75% but not more than 100% of the total cost incurred by the county in purchasing, storing and handling of chemical materials used in the control and eradication of noxious weeds on such privately owned lands. Whenever official methods of eradication, adopted by the state board of agriculture, are not followed in applying the chemical materials so purchased, the board of county commissioners may collect the remaining portion of the total cost thereof.

2-1321. Filing of protests; hearings; appeals. If any person shall be dissatisfied with the charge made for material or rent of equipment used in the control and eradication of noxious weeds, said person shall, within ten days from the mailing of the account showing such charge, file a protest with the board of county commissioners, who shall hold a hearing thereon and shall have the power to either adjust or affirm such charge. If any person shall be dissatisfied with the decision rendered by the board of county commissioners said person shall within thirty days file a written notice of appeal with the clerk of the district court of the county and thereupon an action shall be docketed in the district court and be tried the same as other actions. Upon the final determination of any change in the account, if any, the county or city clerk shall correct the records in his or her office in accordance therewith.

2-1322. Purchase and use of equipment and chemicals; sale of chemicals, price; charges for use of machinery and equipment; record of purchases, sales and charges. (a) The board of county commissioners, or the governing body of incorporated cities, co-operating with the secretary of the state board of agriculture, shall purchase or provide for needed and necessary equipment and necessary chemical material for the control and eradication of noxious weeds. The board of county commissioners of any county or the governing body of any city may use any equipment or materials purchased as provided for in this section, upon the highways, streets and alleys, for the treatment and eradication of weeds which have not been declared noxious by legislative action. .

(b) Except as provided in K.S.A. 2-1333 and amendments thereto, the board of county commissioners shall sell chemical material to the landowners in their jurisdiction at a price fixed by the board of county commissioners which shall be in an amount equal to not less than 50% nor more than 75% of the total cost incurred by the county in purchasing, storing and handling such chemical materials used in the control and eradication of noxious weeds, and may make such charge for the use of machines or other equipment and operators as may be deemed by them sufficient to cover the actual cost of operation. However, once the tax levying body of a county, city or township has authorized a tax levy of 1.5 mills or more, the board of county commissioners may collect from the landowners in their jurisdiction an amount equal to 75% but not more than 100% of the total cost incurred by the county in purchasing, storing and handling of chemical materials used in the control and eradication of noxious weeds.

(c) Whenever official methods of eradication adopted by the state board of agriculture are not used in applying the chemical material purchased, the board of county commissioners may collect the remaining portion of the total cost thereof from the landowner .

(d) The board of county commissioners, township boards and the governing body of cities shall keep a record showing purchases of material and equipment for control and eradication of noxious weeds. The board of county commissioners and governing body of cities shall also keep a complete itemized record showing sales for cash or charge sales of material and shall maintain a record of charges and receipts for use of equipment owned by each county or city on public and private land. Such records shall be open to inspection by citizens of Kansas at all times.

2-1326. Unlawful acts; disposal of infested plants. materials or fertilizers. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or corporation to sell, barter or give away nursery stock, plants, packing materials, animal fertilizer and soil or sod for landscaping or fertilizer uses which contains or is infested with noxious weed plant material or seeds.

2-1328. Unlawful acts; infested livestock feed material. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or corporation to sell or offer for sale, barter or give away any livestock feed material which is infested with seeds of noxious weeds unless such feed material shall first have been processed and the viability of all noxious weed seeds present therein destroyed, except such feeds (1) may be sold for consumption on the same farm where grown or (2) may be sold to commercial processors or commercial feed mixers.

2.1329. Unlawful acts; unprocessed livestock feed. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or corporation to feed to livestock, except on the premises where grown or when purchased from a grower or dealer within the state, any grains, crops or other material containing the seeds of noxious weeds, without first having processed same as to destroy the viability of all such weed seeds.

2-1330. Entry upon and inspection of property. County commissioners, township boards, city officials and state, county and city weed supervisors shall have at all reasonable times, free access to enter upon premises and to inspect property. both real and personal, regardless of location, in connection with the administration of the state weed law.

2-1331. Notification of owner of lands infested with noxious weeds; inspection; notice requiring fall treatment, when; legal notice, contents. (a) When a county weed supervisor has knowledge that any land in the supervisor's county is infested, in any current year, with any noxious weed, the supervisor shall give notice, by publication of a general notice in the official county newspaper pursuant to sub section (b) or an official notice by mail, of such infestation to the person, association of persons, governmental agency, corporation or agent thereof, which owns the land. As used in this section, governmental agency means the state or any agency or political subdivision thereof or the government of the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof. In the event the land is under the control or supervision of an operator or supervising agent, the notice shall also be mailed to the operator or supervising agent. Such notice shall contain the procedures described in the Kansas official methods and regulations for the control and eradication of any noxious weed found on the land and shall contain a specified time within which the owner, operator or supervising agent shall complete the required treatment for the control or eradication of any such noxious weed.

(b) On or before March 1 of each year, the state board of agriculture shall notify in writing each county weed supervisor of a general notice of noxious weed infestation, as established by rules and regulations. On or before April 1 of each year, the county weed supervisor may publish in the official county newspaper the general notice of noxious weed infestation which shall remain in effect until March 31 of the following year. The cost of such publication shall be paid from the noxious weed eradication fund.

(c) If an inspection, by the county weed supervisor, made on or after the completion date stated in the official notice prescribed under subsection (a) or publication of the general notice under subsection (b ), reveals satisfactory treatment progress has not been made, the county weed supervisor may send, by certified mail, to the owner and to the operator or supervising agent of the noxious weed infested land a legal notice as described in subsection (e).

(d) In the event the county weed supervisor determines that musk thistle plants which are found on land in the supervisor's county have reached a stage of maturity where weed control methods applied currently would not give satisfactory results, the supervisor may give legal notice requiring fall treatment to be performed in the current year.

(e) Legal notice given to the owner and to the operator or supervising agent of any noxious weed infested land shall include, but not be limited to, the following: "

(1) A legal description of the noxious weed infested land;

(2) the name of the owner and operator or supervising agent of the noxious weed infested land, as shown by records of the county clerk;

(3) the approximate acreage of each noxious weed in the infestation or infestations involved;

(4) a copy of the Kansas official methods and regulations applicable for controlling each named noxious weed; (5) a specified time, within which noxious weed control methods are required to be completed; such specified time shall not be less than five days after mailing of the notice;

(6) a statement that unless the owner, operator or supervising agent completes the required noxious weed control methods within the specified time, the county weed supervisor may enter or cause to be entered upon the noxious weed infested land as often as is necessary and use such approved methods as are best adapted for the eradication and control of noxious weeds on the particular area of land.

(7) a statement to inform the owner, operator or supervising agent that they may be prosecuted pursuant to K.S.A. 2-1323, and amendments thereto, and if convicted, fined as established by law.

(1) Prior to issuing any legal notice pursuant to subsection (c) or (d), the county weed supervisor shall notify the owner, operator or supervising agent by telephone call, personal contact or first class mail of the noxious weed infestation.