Bill to fight milfoil passes state House

BOISE – Money to fight a noxious aquatic weed infesting bodies of water throughout Idaho was approved by the House 61-3 Wednesday.

Under House Bill 869, the state Department of Agriculture would get $4 million starting July 1 to fight Eurasian milfoil, a “silent monster,” according to Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake.

The Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of eradicating the current infestation to be about $12 million over three years.

Post Falls Republican Rep. Frank Henderson, a member of the legislative budgeting committee, said Idaho’s congressmen are being urged to find federal funding for Eurasian milfoil because many of the state’s bodies of water are under federal control, “but that’s going to take some time, and frankly this can’t wait.”

The bill now goes to the Senate.