19-20.1 Fertilizer and Soil Conditioner Law - North Dakota Statutes

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CHAPTER 19-20.1FERTILIZER AND SOIL CONDITIONER LAW19-20.1-01. Enforcing official. This chapter must be administered by the agriculturecommissioner, hereinafter referred to as the commissioner.19-20.1-02. Definitions of words and terms. When used in this chapter:1."Brand" means a term, design, or trademark used in connection with one or several
grades of fertilizer, soil amendments, or plant amendments.2."Bulk" means in a nonpackaged form.3."Compost" means a material derived primarily or entirely from biological
decomposition of vegetative organic matter or animal manure that does not have
inorganic fertilizer added other than to promote decomposition.4."Deficiency" means that amount of plant nutrient or active ingredient found by
analysis is less than the amount guaranteed resulting from a lack of nutrient or
active ingredients or from lack of uniformity.5."Distributor" means any person who imports, consigns, manufactures, produces,
compounds, mixes, or blends fertilizer, soil amendments, or plant amendments, or
who sells or offers for sale fertilizer, soil amendments, or plant amendments in this
state.6."End user" means a person who uses a fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment in a manner for which the product was intended.7."Fertilizer" means any substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients
which is used for its plant nutrient content and which is designed for use or claimed
to have value in promoting plant growth, except unmanipulated animal and
vegetable manures, marl, lime, limestone, wood ashes, and other products excluded
by the commissioner by rule.8."Fertilizer material" means a fertilizer which:a.Contains no more than one of the primary plant nutrients;b.Has approximately eighty-five percent of its primary plant nutrient content
present in the form of a single chemical compound; orc.Is derived from a plant or animal residue or byproduct or a natural material
deposit which has been processed in such a way that its content of primary
plant nutrients has not been materially changed except by purification or
concentration.9."Foliar fertilizer" means a fertilizer designed and ordinarily applied directly to growing
plant foliage to stimulate further growth.10."Grade" means the percentages of total nitrogen, available phosphate, and soluble
potassium or soluble potash stated in the same terms, order, and percentages as in
the "guaranteed analysis". "Guaranteed analysis" means the minimum percentage
of plant nutrients claimed.11."Inert" means any ingredient not active.Page No. 112."Investigational allowance" means an allowance for variations inherent in the taking,
preparation, and analysis of an official sample of fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment.13."Label" means all written, printed, or graphic matter upon or accompanying any
fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment and any printed material or media
announcements used in promoting the sale thereof.14."Licensee" means any person licensed by the commissioner to distribute a fertilizer,
soil amendment, or plant amendment.15."Manipulated" means fertilizers, soil amendments, or plant amendments that are
manufactured, blended, or mixed, or animal or vegetable manures that have been
treated in any manner, including mechanical drying, grinding, pelleting, and other
means, or by adding other chemicals or substances.16."Micronutrient" means a fertilizer that contains only essential chemical elements that
are required at low levels for normal plant growth.17."Mobile mechanical unit" means any portable machine or apparatus used to blend,
mix, or manufacture fertilizers, soil amendments, or plant amendments.18."Official sample" means any sample of fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment, taken by the commissioner and designated as "official" by the
commissioner.19."Organic" in reference to fertilizer nutrients refers only to naturally occurring
substances generally recognized as the hydrogen compounds of carbon and their
derivatives or synthetic products of similar composition with a water insoluble
nitrogen content of at least sixty percent of the guaranteed total nitrogen.20."Percent" or "percentage" means the percentage by weight.21."Plant amendment" means a substance applied to plants or seeds which is intended
to improve germination, growth, yield, product quality, reproduction, flavor, or other
desirable characteristics of plants except fertilizers, unless the fertilizer is
represented to contain, as an active ingredient, a substance other than a primary
plant nutrient or micronutrient, or is represented as promoting plant growth by
supplying something other than a primary plant nutrient or micronutrient.22."Plant nutrient" means a nutrient generally recognized as beneficial for plant growth,
including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron,
chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, and zinc.23."Primary plant nutrients" means nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.24."Registrant" means the person who registers fertilizers, soil amendments, or plant
amendments under the provisions of this chapter.25."Sell" when applied to fertilizers, soil amendments, or plant amendments includes:a.The act of selling or transferring ownership.b.The offering and exposing for sale, exchange, or distribution.c.Giving away.d.Receiving, accepting, holding, or possessing for sale, exchange, or distribution.Page No. 226."Small package fertilizer" means fertilizer sold exclusively in packages of twenty-five
pounds [11.34 kilograms] or less.27."Soil amendment" means any substance which is intended to improve the
characteristics of the soil except fertilizers, unmanipulated animal manures,
unmanipulated vegetable manures, and pesticides. The term includes fertilizer if the
fertilizer is represented to contain, as an active ingredient, a substance other than a
primary plant nutrient or micronutrient or is represented as promoting plant growth
by supplying something other than a primary plant nutrient or micronutrient.28."Specialty fertilizer" means a fertilizer distributed primarily for nonfarm use.29."Ton" means a net weight of two thousand pounds avoirdupois [907.18 kilograms].19-20.1-03. Registration. Each brand and grade of fertilizer, material, foliar fertilizer,micronutrient, specialty fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment must be registered in the
name of the person whose name appears upon the label before being offered for sale or
distributed in this state. The application for registration must be submitted to the commissioner
on a form furnished by the commissioner and must be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars.
Upon approval by the commissioner, a certificate of registration must be furnished to the
applicant. Registrations cover a two-year period beginning July first and ending June thirtieth of
every even-numbered year. Distribution of fertilizer products without prior registration or renewal
received after July thirty-first must be assessed a penalty of twenty-five dollars per product. A
distributor is not required to register any brand of fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment
that is already registered under this chapter by another person, providing the label complies with
the issued registration. Compost that is transferred between parties without compensation is
exempt from these requirements.19-20.1-03.1. License required - Penalty. A person may not distribute any fertilizer, soilamendment, or plant amendment in this state without first obtaining a distributor's license from
the commissioner. However, a distributor's license is not required for those distributors selling
only specialty fertilizers. A license must be obtained for each location or mobile mechanical unit
used by a distributor in the state. The application for the license must be submitted on a form
furnished by the commissioner and must be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars. A
license covers a two-year period beginning July first and ending June thirtieth of every
even-numbered year.License renewal applications received after July thirty-first may beassessed a penalty fee of twenty dollars. Licenses are not transferable, and each license must
be conspicuously posted at each location and must accompany each mobile mechanical unit
operating in the state.19-20.1-03.2. Proof of effectiveness. The commissioner may require proof of claimsmade for any product covered by this chapter and may require proof of value when used as
directed or recommended. The commissioner must rely on data from scientifically designed and
reported studies conducted under conditions similar to those in this state under which the product
is intended to be used.The commissioner may accept or reject other sources of proof asadditional evidence.19-20.1-03.3. Protected information. In submitting data required by this chapter, theapplicant may clearly mark any portions that in the applicant's opinion are trade secrets or
commercial or financial information and submit the marked material separately from other
material.After consideration of the applicant's request, the commissioner may decide not to allowthe information to become public that the commissioner determines to contain or relate to trade
secrets or to commercial or financial information obtained from an applicant.If necessary,information relating to formulas of products may be revealed to a state or federal agency
consulted with similar protection of trade secret authority and may be revealed at a public hearing
or in findings of facts issued by the commissioner. If the commissioner proposes to release
information that the applicant or registrant believes to be protected from disclosure, thePage No. 3commissioner shall notify the applicant or registrant by certified mail. The commissioner may not
make the information available for inspection until thirty days after receipt of the notice by the
applicant or registrant. During this period, the applicant or registrant may begin an action in an
appropriate court for a declaratory judgment as to whether the information is subject to protection
under this section.19-20.1-03.4. Guaranteed analysis. Until the commissioner prescribes the alternativeform of guaranteed analysis in accordance with the provisions of this section, guaranteed
analysis must be claimed in the following order and form:1.Total Nitrogen (N) _____ percentAvailable Phosphate (P2O5) _____ percentSoluble Potash (K2O) _____ percent2.For unacidulated mineral phosphatic materials and basic slag, bone, tankage, and
other organic phosphatic materials, the total phosphate or degree of fineness, or
both, may also be guaranteed.3.Guarantees for plant nutrients other than nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium may
be permitted or required by rules adopted by the commissioner. The guarantees for
any other nutrients must be expressed in the form of the element. The sources of
other nutrients, including oxides, salt, and chelates, may be required to be stated on
the application for registration and may be included as a parenthetical statement on
the label. Other beneficial substances or compounds, determinable by laboratory
methods, also may be guaranteed by permission of the commissioner and with the
advice of the director of the agricultural experiment station.When any plantnutrients or other substances or compounds are guaranteed, they are subject to
inspection and analysis in accord with the methods and rules prescribed by the
commissioner.4.The commissioner may, by rule, require potential basicity or acidity expressed in
terms of calcium carbonate equivalent in multiples of one hundred pounds [45.36
kilograms] per ton [907.18 kilograms].5.The guaranteed analysis of a soil amendment or plant amendment must be an
accurate statement of composition, including the percentages of each ingredient. If
the product is a microbiological product, the number of viable micro-organisms per
milliliter for a liquid or the number of viable micro-organisms per gram for a dry
product must also be listed.19-20.1-04. Labeling.1.Any fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment distributed in this state in
containers must have placed on or affixed to the container a label setting forth in
clearly legible and conspicuous form the information required by the commissioner.2.If distributed in bulk, a written or printed statement showing the net weight, brand
and grade, guaranteed analysis, name and address of the distributor, and the
sources from which the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are derived must
accompany delivery and be supplied to the purchaser at time of delivery.3.A fertilizer formulated according to specifications that are furnished by a consumer
prior to mixing must be labeled to show the net weight, guaranteed analysis or
number of pounds [kilograms] of each plant nutrient it contains, and the name and
address of the distributor.Page No. 44.The commissioner may require the labels of specialty fertilizer sold in packages of
fifty pounds [22.68 kilograms] or more, or sold in bulk, to contain the prominent
statement "Not intended for farm use".19-20.1-05. Labeling soil conditioners. Repealed by S.L. 1977, ch. 198,