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Texas may ban most water plants

Legislators want to do the right thing- But seldom do!

Written by Gary Jones

When you think about laws and regulations most are written or proposed with good intentions. When our congressman and senators make decisions on our behalf most have good intentions. The one thing they need is to be educated on the subjects they are voting on. The information they receive comes from the people and organizations they speak with. If your representatives have not heard from you than the information they need to make decisions may be one sided. It is for this reason that your input into the Texas White List is so important.

If you sell plants in Texas, purchase plants from Texas, sell products to the water gardening industry in Texas then this legislation will affect you. If you sell plants elsewhere in North America, if you purchase plant elsewhere in North America or sell products for the water gardening industry in North America then this law will affect you. In the immediate future this new legislation will greatly impact the livelihood of those who live and work in Texas. In the not too distant future other states could be affected as legislators from other states have requested information on the white list activities and have expressed desires to copy part or all of what is being proposed in Texas. The Texas White List has passed legislation. Beginning in early 2011 most all aquatic plants will be banned for sale or possession in Texas unless the species or varieties are listed on their "White List". Unless the bureaucratic system is properly educated and you voice your concerns nothing will change.

White listing is simply an exclusive, limited list of plants that can be sold, distributed and kept within Texas. Any new hybrids or new found species of aquatic plants will not be legal to enter into Texas without approval or special permits. The actual guidelines and timelines to get any new plants added to the White List is not known or at least has not been shared with anyone at this time. In fact a fair and open process to discuss how every plant has been placed on or rejected on the proposed White List as it is today is not 100% transparent. A neutral party to consult with in the event someone has a problem or disagrees with the current White List also is not available. The Texas Parks & Wildlife talks about growers having the opportunity to obtain "special permits" to grow plants not on the White List but provides no information about such permitting or the added cost burden involved.

Today Texas has a list of known or identified plants already known to cause harm. This list has been referred to by many as the Banned Do Not Sell list or Black List. The water gardening industry has worked successfully with a Banned Do Not Sell List. The Texas retail water gardening stores have been working in unison to educate the consumers about invasive species. Water gardening stores have a vested interest to protect the environment they care so much about. Nobody has more knowledge about aquatics plants than the very people who grow and sell them but they were not consulted on this legislation before it was enacted.

Texas grows and supplies many aquatic plants for the nation's water gardeners. If you are concerned that an overly restrictive White List will negatively impact your business as well as the companies in Texas you do business with, you need to get involved NOW! Your involvement could help to stop this overly restrictive list in Texasand other states that will unwittingly copy it.

Your experience can help to show the overly restrictive nature of the list because many growers, retailers and water garden enthusiasts have seen the list of plants that have thus far failed the review process and know that many of these plants belong on the White List do not belong on it. Many of the plants banned that will not be placed on the White List have been in the state for a number of years with solid evidence of economic benefit and little or no evidence of invasiveness. Without your input things will not be corrected.

To gain a better understanding of the Texas White List visit the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society at www.iwgs.org.
You can gain the information of who you can contact to share information on plants and voice your concerns. You can provide your input on your business activities and how you, your business and your employee will be negatively be affected by such legislative enforcement.

Take action now to protect your livelihood, before the significant and long-term negative effects on our hobby and our industry are forced upon us both inside and outside the state of Texas.

Texas Tables Aquatic Plant ‘White List’ Plan
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011, 7 p.m. EST


Elephant ears represent just one of the aquatic plants that appeared on the Texas White List.

Texas appears to have scrapped its plan of developing a so-called “white list” of exotic aquatic plants suitable for sale and possession in the state and likely will revert its regulatory efforts of prohibiting only those aquatic species that are known to be invasive threats.

Heeding a state senator’s call to cease implementation of the plan, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department pulled the proposed regulations off the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission’s agenda a day before the commission was slated to finalize regulations that would have banned all aquatic plant species unless specifically listed.

“Please be advised that the Exotic Aquatic Species Rules and Fees agenda items have been removed from consideration by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission at their January 26-27 meeting,” wrote Ken Kurzawski of the TPWD Inland Fisheries in an e-mail addressed to persons interested in aquatic plants. “The commission will not consider or take action on these items at this time. At this time, no timetable has been established for reconsideration of these rules.”

The TPWD announcement followed a letter to the department from Texas State Senator Glenn Hegar (Katy) that requested the department “to forego further work and cease implementation on the proposed aquatic plant species white list and the accompanying rules.” Hegar also indicated he would sponsor a bill during the current legislative session, which runs through May, that would rescind the legislation that authorized the department to develop a white list in the first place.

The proposed rules drew much feedback, spearheaded largely by Rolf Nelson of Nelson Water Gardens & Nursery in Katy, from the water garden, aquarium and nursery industries and included criticism of the department’s risk-assessment process. Looming in the background was the much larger oil and energy industry, whose research into biofuels would have been hampered significantly by how the regulations would govern microalgae.

Hegar and others ultimately decided that the white list was not a viable approach to containing invasive species.

“I don’t believe any of us understood the full scope and significant ramifications that adoption of a white list would present,” Hegar said in rejecting the white list proposal. “It is my hope that we can continue to work toward a common-sense solution to prevent the introduction of invasive plants into Texas while still protecting the environment and economy of Texas.”

Hegar wrote the original bill that included the provision directing the department to develop the rules, so his request carries significant weight. He previously had granted the department an extension until late January 2011 to develop the rules when it became apparent that the list was not being completed as quickly or thoroughly as originally expected.

“The white list concept is just not workable,” said Jim Reaves, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association. He noted that the proposed regulations would deem plants currently produced and distributed in Texas illegal and would make people and businesses in possession of such plants subject to penalties of up to $2,000 fines and 180 days in jail for each violation.

“The TNLA staff and members agree that a different direction should be taken to combat the bad aquatic plants that could harm Texas waterways," Reaves said. “With that, we support the approach to return to a ‘black list’ model. We are committing our full cooperation to continue to work with the TPWD to identify and remove harmful plants from the waterways of the state.”

In the event that Hegar cannot successfully shepherd the rescinding legislation, the directive to develop the regulations would remain law, but it remains unclear whether anyone would pursue it.