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Presidential Documents

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;

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(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 CoChairs 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.

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[FR Doc. 99–3184
Filed 2–5–99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195–01–P

THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 3, 1999.