North Dakota Noxious Weed Control Duty

Chapter 4.1-47 of the North Dakota Century Code opens its control mandate at § 4.1-47-02: every person must do all things necessary and proper to control the spread of noxious weeds, and no one may distribute, sell, or offer for sale a noxious weed anywhere in the state. The agriculture commissioner maintains the state noxious weed list under §§ 4.1-47-04 and 4.1-47-05, while county and city weed boards, created under §§ 4.1-47-06 and 4.1-47-18, can add locally noxious species to their own lists after consulting the North Dakota State University extension service.

Enforcement of the individual landowner's duty runs through § 4.1-47-28. A county or city weed control officer who finds noxious weeds may first ask the occupant to control them informally; if that fails, the officer serves the landowner written notice, personally or by certified mail, that spells out the minimum remedial work required, the deadline, the potential penalties, the cost the county or city will charge if it has to do the work itself, and the landowner's right to request a hearing before the weed board to stay enforcement.

If the landowner misses the deadline and doesn't request a hearing, the weed officer can control the weeds and charge the expense against the land; that charge becomes part of the property taxes levied for the year and is collected the same way as other real estate taxes. A landowner who does request a hearing and loses can appeal to the board of county commissioners, or the city's governing body, whose decision is final.

Penalties stack under § 4.1-47-31: a civil penalty of up to $80 per day of violation, capped at $4,000 per year, attaches to any violation of the chapter, and a landowner's unpaid remedial penalty becomes a lien on the property from the day notice is delivered under § 4.1-47-28. Selling or distributing a noxious weed draws a separate civil penalty of up to $100 per violation. On top of the civil penalties, willfully transporting, driving equipment, or disposing of material that spreads noxious weed seed on a public road is a Class B misdemeanor under § 4.1-47-30, as is violating a commissioner-ordered quarantine under § 4.1-47-29.

Any violation of chapter 4.1-47 carries a civil penalty of up to $80 per day, capped at $4,000 per year, and a landowner's unpaid remedial penalty becomes a lien on the property from the date notice was delivered (§ 4.1-47-31). Selling or distributing a noxious weed draws a separate civil penalty up to $100 per violation. Willfully transporting or dumping material that spreads noxious weed seed on a public road, or violating a quarantine order, is a Class B misdemeanor under §§ 4.1-47-29 and 4.1-47-30.