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NEW RULES FOR PLANT NURSERIES, NURSERY DEALERS AND NOXIOUS WEEDS TO GO INTO EFFECT
Charleston, W.Va. – New rules passed by the West Virginia Legislature in March will add a huge number of plants to the state’s noxious weed list and will raise registration fees for the state’s plant nurseries and nursery dealers.
Under the new rules, which go into effect July 1, the annual registration fee for nurseries will be increased from $20 to $30 per year. The annual registration fee for nursery dealers will be increased from $40 to $60 per year for each dealership up to and including five dealerships and $80 for each dealership thereafter.
“I have tried to hold the line on registration fees as much as possible, but these increases are necessary to maintain the quality of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s (WVDA) programming,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. Plant Industries Division staff inspect nursery stock that could carry serious plant pests to the Mountain State’s native plant life. Nursery and nursery dealer fees were last raised in 1986.
A nursery registration is needed prior to distribution of nursery stock grown by the individual selling it. A nursery dealer registration is needed by those selling or distributing nursery stock they did not grow, but which was bought, received on consignment, or otherwise acquired.
If you operate a nursery where you grow nursery stock and also operate a landscape business, garden center or other outlet where you distribute nursery stock obtained from other sources, you must register as both a nursery and a nursery dealer.
All registration certificates expire on the 13th day of June of the year following issue. Renewals must be received or postmarked no later than June 30, 2007, or they will be subject to the new registration fees. Applications for registration may be obtained by calling the WVDA’s Plant Industries Division at 304-558-2212 or from their webpage at http://www.wvagriculture.org/Division_Webpages/plant_industries.html.
Amendments to the noxious weed rules simply add a number of plants to the list, bringing West Virginia’s list in line with the federal list. Items on the West Virginia and/or federal noxious weed lists may not be cultivated or distributed.
For more information about noxious weeds, contact the WVDA’s Plant Industries Division at 304-558-2212 or http://www.wvagriculture.org/Division_Webpages/plant_industries.html.
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The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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