(A) A landowner may request that the
department include the landowner's property in the spongy moth suppression
program if:
(1) The block in which
the landowner's property is located is eligible for inclusion in the
program pursuant to paragraph (B) of this rule;
(2) The landowners
designate a block coordinator who submits a completed application pursuant to
paragraph (C) of this rule;
(3) Each landowner within
the block:
(a) Signs and submits an agreement to participate in the program
pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule; and
(b) Submits payment of the total cost to be assessed to that
landowner pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule.
(4) Sufficient funds are
available to allow the department to administer the spongy moth suppression
program for the year for which the request is made.
(B) A block may be eligible for inclusion
in the spongy moth suppression program if all of the following requirements are
met:
(1) The block is located
within the regulated area of the spongy moth quarantine, as set out in rule
901:5-52-04 of the Administrative Code;
(2) The block is
comprised of no less than fifty contiguous acres of treatable
area;
(3) The tree canopy
covers no less than fifty per cent of the block;
(4) No less than
thirty-five per cent of the tree species within the block boundary is comprised
of tree species which are designated as susceptible;
(5) The density of spongy
moth egg masses within the block is no less than either:
(a) Two hundred fifty egg masses per acre in a residential
forested area; or
(b) One thousand egg masses per acre in an uninhabited forested
area.
(6) The block has
received a favorable assessment review by the Ohio department of natural
resources and the United States fish and wildlife service.
(C) A block may be eligible for
participation in the spongy moth suppression program if the director has
received the following on or before the first day of September of the calendar
year immediately preceding the year for which treatment for the block is
sought:
(1) A completed
application which can be found on the department's website
www.agri.ohio.gov. The application must contain the following information in
order to be deemed complete:
(a) The full name, mailing address and daytime telephone number
of the block coordinator;
(b) The full name and address of each participating landowner
owning property within the block;
(c) The township or municipal corporation in which the block to
be treated is located;
(d) The county where the block to be treated is
located;
(e) The preferred product for control of spongy moth in the block
to be treated;
(f) The original signature of each participating landowner owning
property within the block;
(g) The original signature of the block coordinator;
and
(h) A map detailing the boundaries of the block as described in
paragraph (C)(2) of this rule.
(2) A map detailing the
boundaries of the block to be included in the suppression program. This map
shall:
(a) Clearly outline all boundaries for each property forming the
block to be treated;
(b) Identify by full name the owners of each property contained
within the block to be treated; and
(c) Show the scale used when drawing the map. This scale shall be
one of the following:
(i) For blocks less than
two hundred acres in size, the scale shall be one inch equals two hundred feet;
or
(ii) For blocks greater
than or equal to two hundred acres, the scale shall be one inch equals four
hundred feet.
(D) When calculating the total cost to be
assessed to a landowner, the department shall:
(1) Determine the total
treatable acres contained within the qualified block;
(2) Determine the total
number of acres owned by each particular landowner;
(3) Determine the percent
owned by each particular landowner by dividing the total number of acres owned
by each landowner by the total treatable acres contained the qualified
block;
(4) Determine the total cost per acre by
determining the cost per acre of applying the insecticide as selected by the
qualified block. This will be done per the current contract between the
department and the aerial spray contractor;
(5) Multiply the percent
owned by each landowner by the total cost of applying the insecticide to the
entire qualified block. This will result in the total cost to be assessed to a
landowner; and
(6) In no case shall the total cost to be
assessed to a landowner exceed fifty per cent of the department's cost to
treat the block in which the landowner's property is located.
(E) A landowner whose block has been
approved for inclusion in the spongy moth suppression program shall sign an
agreement provided by the department, and submit the signed agreement with
payment equal to the total cost assessed to the landowner as calculated under
paragraph (D) of this rule to the department on or before the first day of
March of the calendar year in which the treatment is sought. If the agreement
and payment equal to the total cost assessed to the landowner are not received
on or before the first day of March, the treatment may not be
scheduled.
