SECTION 3.702. West Texas Maintenance Area

(a) The West Texas Maintenance Area shall consist of the following eleven (11) existing contiguous eradication zones: El Paso/Trans Pecos, Northern Rolling Plains, Northwest Plains, Panhandle, Permian Basin, Rolling Plains Central, Southern High Plains/Caprock, Southern Rolling Plains, Northern High Plains, St. Lawrence, and Western High Plains.

(b) In each of the eleven (11) existing contiguous eradication zones listed in subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner has determined that:

(1) the boll weevil has been eradicated;

(2) the zone has satisfied any debt owed to the Foundation;

(3) the cotton grower steering committee for each zone was consulted by the Foundation regarding the inclusion of the zone in the West Texas maintenance area; and

(4) the Foundation board has requested that each zone be included in the West Texas maintenance area.

(c) In order to support eradication efforts and to prevent re-infestation in the eleven (11) eradication zones listed in subsection (a) of this section, the following seven (7) additional counties, contiguous to the existing eradication zones within the West Texas Maintenance Area, but not previously included in an eradication zone, are included in the West Texas Maintenance Area: Sterling, Sutton, Edwards, Bandera, Real, Kimble, and Kerr.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.702 adopted to be effective January 20, 2015, 40 TexReg 326; amended to be effective January 8, 2017, 42 TexReg 11; amended to be effective September 26, 2023, 48 TexReg 5538