Summer residents will begin to be fined for hogweed on their property — when?

The federal law obliging land owners to combat hogweed and other dangerous plants came into force on March 1. The new rules apply to summer cottages and garden plots. Previously, the fight against weeds and invasive plants was regulated only in relation to agricultural land.

From March 1, citizens will be fined for violating this law, said Elena Grin, director of the Academy of Modern Jurisprudence. The fine for individuals will range from 20 to 50 thousand rubles. The fine for officials will range from 50 to 100 thousand rubles. Legal entities will face a fine of 400 to 700 thousand rubles.

The new rules come into force in the spring, but the real threat of fines will arise from May-June, said Evgeny Zharov, managing partner of the Zharov Group law office. By the beginning of summer, the plants will begin to grow and become noticeable. Rosselkhoznadzor employees and municipal inspectors will begin to actively conduct raids and inspections of land plots. The expert explained that land owners will be fined not for the presence of hogweed or other dangerous plants, but for failure to take measures to destroy them.

Three government agencies will monitor compliance with the requirements for combating invasive plant species, said Elena Grin. She clarified that Rosselkhoznadzor will monitor agricultural land, and local land control inspectorates will monitor municipal lands. Rosreestr is responsible for compliance with land legislation in general. According to the lawyer, the reason for the inspection could be a planned raid or a complaint from neighbors. In addition, a violation may be detected during monitoring of the territory with photographic recording.

The size of the fine depends on whether the region has its own law on combating dangerous plants, said Dmitry Abrosimov, an adviser to the law firm Intellect. If special amendments do not apply in the region, Article 8.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation will be applied. In this case, the fine for individuals will range from 20 to 50 thousand rubles. If a region has its own rules, the fine may be lower. Abrosimov is confident that in the near future regional fines will be equal to federal ones.

Land plots overgrown with dangerous plants may begin to be confiscated from unscrupulous large landowners, believes Vladimir Kashin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues. He is confident that this problem cannot be solved with fines. The expert added that for owners of small plots of land the problem of hogweed is not so pressing. Sosnovsky’s hogweed actively grows on farmland that is not used for its intended purpose. Currently, about 20 million hectares of such land have been identified in the country.

Lawyers interviewed by the agency recommend that landowners take proactive measures to combat invasive plants without waiting for official regulations. Zharov recalled that the current list of plants that land owners are required to control can be found on the official portal of the region or the district administration. The expert recommends photographing the condition of the land plot before starting work. In addition, you should keep receipts for the purchase of herbicides and mowing services. If checked, they will serve as the main evidence that the owner of the site has been fighting weeds.

source: CYANOGEN