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CHAPTER 4-35PESTICIDE ACT4-35-01. Title. This chapter must be known as the North Dakota Pesticide Act of 1975.4-35-02. Creation of pesticide control board. There is hereby created the pesticidecontrol board, hereinafter also called the "board", consisting of the agriculture commissioner, the
director of the cooperative extension division of the North Dakota state university of agriculture
and applied science, and the director of the agricultural experiment station at North Dakota state
university of agriculture and applied science. The agriculture commissioner must be chairman of
the board and is responsible for the enforcement of this chapter. The board shall meet at the call
of the chair. The members of the board must be compensated for their expenses in performing
their duties under this chapter at the same rate as other state officials and the board's expenses
must be paid from funds provided for the administration of this chapter to the agriculture
commissioner. The board may act through the office of the agriculture commissioner, and one
person on the commissioner's staff may be specifically responsible to, or act as the state-level
agent of, the board.4-35-03. Enforcing agency. This chapter must be administered by the pesticide controlboard, hereinafter referred to as the "board".4-35-04. Declaration of purpose. The legislative assembly hereby finds that pesticidesare valuable to our state's agricultural production and to the protection of man and the
environment from insects, rodents, weeds, and other forms of life which may be pests; but it is
essential to the public health and welfare that they be regulated to prevent adverse effects on
human life and the environment. The purpose of this chapter is to regulate, in the public interest,
the distribution, storage, transportation, disposal, and use and application of pesticides to control
pests as hereinafter defined. New pesticides are continually being discovered or synthesized
which are valuable for the control of pests, and for use as defoliants, desiccants, plant regulators,
and for related purposes. The dissemination of accurate scientific information as to the proper
use or nonuse of any pesticide is vital to the public health and welfare and the environment, both
immediate and future. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to provide for regulation of their use
and application.4-35-05. Definitions. As used in this chapter:1."Animal" means all vertebrate and invertebrate species, including humans and other
mammals, birds, fish, and shellfish.2."Applicator" means any person who applies a pesticide to land.3."Certified applicator" means any individual who is certified under this chapter to
purchase or use a restricted use pesticide.4."Commercial applicator" means a person who by contract or for hire engages in the
business of applying pesticides for compensation.5."Defoliant" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to cause the
leaves or foliage to drop from a plant, with or without causing abscission.6."Desiccant" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to artificially
accelerate the drying of plant tissue.7."Device" means any instrument or contrivance, other than a firearm, which is
intended for trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest or any other form
of plant or animal life, other than human and other than bacteria, virus, or other
micro-organism on or in living humans or other living animals, but not including
equipment used for the application of pesticides when sold separately therefrom.Page No. 18."Distribute" means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, barter, ship, deliver, or supply
pesticides in this state.9."Environment" includes water, air, land, and all plants and humans and other
animals living therein, and the interrelationships which exist among these.10."Equipment" means any type of ground, water, or aerial equipment or contrivance
using motorized, mechanical, or pressurized power and used to apply any pesticide
on land and anything that may be growing, habitating, or stored on or in such land.
The term does not include any pressurized hand-sized household apparatus used to
apply any pesticide, or any equipment or contrivance of which the person who is
applying the pesticide is the source of power or energy in making such pesticide
application.11."Fungus"meansanynon-chlorophyll-bearingthallophytes,i.e.,anynon-chlorophyll-bearing plant of a lower order than mosses and liverworts as, for
example, rust, smut, mildew, mold, yeast, and bacteria, except those on or in living
humans or other living animals, and except those on or in processed food,
beverages, or pharmaceuticals.12."Insect" means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals generally having the
body more or less obviously segmented, for the most part belonging to the class of
insecta, comprising six-legged, usually winged forms, and to other allied classes of
arthropods whose members are wingless and usually have more than six legs.13."Label" means the written, printed, or graphic matter on, or attached to, the pesticide
or device or any of its containers or wrappers.14."Labeling" means the label and all other written, printed, or graphic matter:a.Accompanying the pesticide or device; andb.To which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying or
referring to the pesticide, except when accurate nonmisleading references are
made to current official publications of the board; the United States
environmental protection agency; the United States departments of agriculture
and interior; the United States department of health and human services; state
agricultural colleges; and other similar federal or state institutions or agencies
authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides.15."Land" means all land and water areas, including airspace, and all plants, animals,
structures, buildings, contrivances, and machinery, appurtenant thereto or situated
thereon, fixed or mobile, including any used for transportation.16."Nematode" means invertebrate animals of the phylum nemathelminthes, and class
nematoda, i.e., unsegmented round worms with elongated, fusiform, or saclike
bodies covered with cuticle, and inhabiting soil, water, plants, or plant parts, may
also be called nemas or eelworms.17."Pest" means any insect, rodent, nematode, fungus, or weed; or any other form of
terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life, viruses, bacteria, or other micro-organism,
except viruses, bacteria, or other micro-organisms on or in living humans or other
living animals.18."Pesticide" means:a.Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying,
repelling, or mitigating any pest; andPage No. 2b.Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator,
defoliant, or desiccant.19."Pesticide dealer" means any person, other than a pesticide wholesaler, distributing
pesticides.20."Plant regulator" means any substance or mixture of substances intended, through
physiological action, to accelerate or retard the rate of growth or rate of maturation,
or to otherwise alter the behavior of plants or the produce thereof, but does not
include substances to the extent that they are intended as plant nutrients, trace
elements, nutritional chemicals, plant inoculants, and soil amendments.21."Private applicator" means an individual who is required to be a certified applicator to
buy or use a restricted use pesticide on property owned or rented by the applicator
or the applicator's employer or, if applied without compensation other than trading of
personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of
another person.22."Public applicator" means an applicator who applies pesticides, other than
ready-to-use pesticides, as an employee of:a.A governmental agency, municipal corporation, or public utility; orb.A hospital, privately owned golf course, nursery, or greenhouse.23."Ready-to-use pesticide" means a pesticide other than a restricted use pesticide
which is applied directly from its original container consistent with label directions,
and includes aerosol spray cans, ready-to-use spray containers, bait packs, and
other types of containers that do not require mixing or loading before application.24."Restricted use pesticide" means any pesticide formulation that is classified as
restricted use by the United States environmental protection agency or the
agriculture commissioner under section 19-18-05.25."Rinsate" means a diluted mixture of pesticide obtained from triple rinsing or
pressure rinsing pesticide containers or from rinsing the inside and outside of spray
equipment.26."Tank mix" means any pesticidal formulation used alone or in combination with
another pesticide and mixed with a liquid carrier prior to application.27."Unreasonable adverse effects on the environment" means any unreasonable risk to
humans or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and
environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide.28."Weed" means any plant which grows where not wanted.29."Wildlife" means all living things that are neither human, domesticated, nor, as
defined in this chapter, pests, including mammals, birds, and aquatic life.4-35-06. Pesticide control board to administer chapter and adopt regulations.1.a.The pesticide control board shall administer this chapter and may adopt rules in
accordance with chapter 28-32 to implement this chapter.The rules mayprescribe methods to be used in the application of pesticides. The rules may
relate to the time, place, manner, methods, materials, and amounts and
concentrations, in connection with the application of the pesticide, and may
restrict or prohibit use of pesticides in designated areas during specified periodsPage No. 3of time and shall encompass all reasonable factors which the board deems
necessary to prevent damage or injury by drift or misapplication to:(1)Plants, including forage plants, on adjacent or nearby lands.(2)Wildlife in the adjoining or nearby areas.(3)Fish and other aquatic life in waters in proximity to the area to be treated.(4)Persons, animals, or beneficial insects.b.In adopting rules, the board shall give consideration to pertinent research
findings and recommendations of other agencies of this state, the federal
government, or other reliable sources.2.The board, in adopting rules under this chapter, shall prescribe standards and
requirements for the certification of applicators of pesticides. These standards and
requirements must relate to the use and handling of pesticides.In determiningthese standards and requirements, the board shall take into consideration standards
and requirements prescribed by the environmental protection agency.3.Rules adopted under this chapter may not permit any pesticide use which is
prohibited by the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or regulations
or orders issued thereunder.4.In order to comply with section 4 of the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act, the board may make such reports to the United States
environmental protection agency in such form and containing such information as
that agency may from time to time require.5.Rules to implement this chapter may provide for:a.The collection, examination, and reporting of samples of pesticides.b.The safe handling, transportation, storage, display, distribution, and disposal of
pesticides and their containers.c.The identification of pests under this chapter when the board finds particular
organisms to be annoying or otherwise injurious or harmful to agriculture,
health, and the environment.4-35-06.1. Limitation on authority of political subdivisions regarding pesticides.No political subdivision, including a home rule city or county, may adopt or continue in effect any
ordinance, resolution, or home rule charter regarding the registration, labeling, distribution, sale,
handling, use, application, transportation, or disposal of pesticides. This section does not apply
to city zoning ordinances.4-35-06.2.Crop protection product harmonization and registration board -Recovery of funds.The crop protection product harmonization and registration board mayaccept funds received for expenses paid relating to the registration of pesticides or donations
offered to or for the benefit of the board.All moneys received under this section must bedeposited in the minor use pesticide fund to pay expenses relating to the registration of
pesticides or for the specific purpose for which they are given.The board shall attempt,whenever possible, to recover funds expended relating to the registration of pesticides and shall
adopt rules to administer this section.4-35-06.3.Minor use pesticide fund - Continuing appropriation.The minor usepesticide fund is created as a special fund in the state treasury. All moneys in the fund are
appropriated on a continuing basis to the crop protection product harmonization and registrationPage No. 4board for the purpose of conducting or commissioning studies, investigations, and evaluations
regarding the registration and use of pesticides for minor crops, minor uses, and other uses as
determined by the board.4-35-07. Experimental use permits. Repealed by S.L. 2003, ch. 188,