Within what boundries of a section of the state did the MDA determine an eradication should be done?

Updated April 2, 2005

Section 20 states that after the hearing the MDA shall give public notice of the findings including the "boundaries of the section of the state from which such species or variety of plant shall be eradicated." This was not done.

"Boundaries" are limits, edges or borders. "Section" means a distinct area. "Boundaries of the section of the state" therefore means "Limits, edges or borders of a distinct area of the state." The closest the Determination Order comes to describing the "boundaries of the section of the state" is when it says "the state where necessary" or "within a half mile from the last known EAB positive ash tree in sites scheduled for an eradication action." We think that the MDA's description of "the boundaries of the section of the state" was so vague that it really provided no boundaries or limits at all and it never described what section of the state was involved.

In the Determination Order the MDA adopted an "Eradication Strategy" to decide where they were going to eradicate the nuisance. The eradication Act 189 does not give the MDA the power to eradicate based on a "strategy." They can eradicate based on the results of a public hearing which describes the boundaries of a section of the state, and then it is their responsibility to proceed to eradicate all of the host plant nuisances within those boundaries.