Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 04/02/2007

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CASE # 2 CHANGES IN FUTURE FUNDING OF OAK WILT PROGRAM By: Chris Anderson, Environmental Coordinator Background: Section 5.14 (Tree Diseases and Firewood Storage) of City Code outlines the regulations for oak wilt (and Dutch elm disease) management. While these regulations provide the City with the authority to actively seek out diseased trees and require their removal by a property owner within a reasonable timeframe, the oak wilt program has always been carried out on a volunteer basis (residents have not been required to participate in the control program). In an effort to help offset the cost of tree removal and/or sanitation in years past, the City has applied for and received ReLeaf grant monies. While cost share dollars were available (they were allocated on a first come first served basis), residents had the opportunity to recoup up to fifty percent (50%) of the cost of tree removal, vibratory plowing, and/or chemical injections, with a maximum expenditure of $500 for removals and $500 for control work. It appears that future federal funding will no longer be available to assist with management efforts. Observations: Due to expected amended federal guidelines and an intensification of oak wilt prevalence in some areas, the DNR has revised their program guidelines. Any municipality interested in grant monies provided through the state will be required to implement/adhere to these new standards. First, the DNR has created multiple oak wilt management zones that prioritize where grant monies are allocated. Ramsey has been designated as a Suppression Zone, which means that, if grant funding is available, the DNR would provide thirty-five percent (35%) cost share funding (a reduction from the previous 50%). As of July 1, 2007, other revised standards to the grant program include: . Future grants will be awarded according to the priorities established by the oak wilt management zones. . Communities receiving grant funds for more than three years (this includes Ramsey) must have some means in place to enforce proper sanitation within the control zone(s) to remain eligible for future cost-share funding. . Proper sanitation will be required prior to cost-share reimbursement. . Partial treatments will no longer be eligible for cost-share dollars (infection pockets crossing property lines must be addressed by all landowners affected to be eligible for cost-share). . Fungicide injections will no longer be eligible for cost-share dollars. . Cut-to~the.line treatments will be required in wooded settings (sites without a lawn or other actively managed herbaceous layer). . The cost of non-symptomatic tree removal in cut-to-the-l1.ne treatments will be cost-share eligible at fifty percent (50%) of the zone rate (for Ramsey, this would be equal to seventeen and a half percent [17.5% D.