AN ACT
Relating to pesticide licensing; amending RCW 15.58.030, 15.58.200, 15.58.245,
17.21.110, 17.21.122, 17.21.126, 17.21.129, 17.21.200, and 17.21.910; and
reenacting and amending RCW 15.58.210.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
15.58.030 and 1991 c 264 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
As
used in this chapter the words and phrases defined in this section shall have
the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1)
"Active ingredient" means any ingredient which will prevent, destroy,
repel, control, or mitigate pests, or which will act as a plant regulator,
defoliant, desiccant, or spray adjuvant.
(2)
"Antidote" means the most practical immediate treatment in case of
poisoning and includes first aid treatment.
(3)
"Arthropod" means any invertebrate animal that belongs to the phylum
arthropoda, which in addition to insects, includes allied classes whose members
are wingless and usually have more than six legs; for example, spiders, mites,
ticks, centipedes, and isopod crustaceans.
(4)
"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.
(5)
"Department" means the Washington state department of agriculture.
(6)
"Desiccant" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to
artificially accelerate the drying of plant tissues.
(7)
"Device" means any instrument or contrivance intended to trap,
destroy, control, repel, or mitigate pests, or to destroy, control, repel or
mitigate fungi, nematodes, or such other pests, as may be designated by the
director, but not including equipment used for the application of pesticides
when sold separately from the pesticides.
(8)
"Director" means the director of the department or a duly authorized
representative.
(9)
"Distribute" means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, barter, or
supply pesticides in this state.
(10)
"EPA" means the United States environmental protection agency.
(11)
"EPA restricted use pesticide" means any pesticide with restricted
uses as classified for restricted use by the administrator, EPA.
(12)
"FIFRA" means the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act
as amended (61 Stat. 163, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.).
(13)
"Fungi" means all nonchlorophyll‑bearing thallophytes (all
nonchlorophyll‑bearing plants of a lower order than mosses and
liverworts); for example, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, yeasts, and bacteria,
except those on or in living persons or other animals.
(14)
"Fungicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to
prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any fungi.
(15)
"Herbicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to
prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any weed.
(16)
"Inert ingredient" means an ingredient which is not an active
ingredient.
(17)
"Ingredient statement" means a statement of the name and percentage
of each active ingredient together with the total percentage of the inert
ingredients in the pesticide, and when the pesticide contains arsenic in any
form, the ingredient statement shall also include percentages of total and
water soluble arsenic, each calculated as elemental arsenic. In the case of a
spray adjuvant the ingredient statement need contain only the names of the
principal functioning agents and the total percentage of the constituents
ineffective as spray adjuvants. If more than three functioning agents are
present, only the three principal ones need by named.
(18)
"Insect" means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals whose
bodies are more or less obviously segmented, and which for the most part belong
to the class insecta, comprising six‑legged, usually winged forms, for
example, beetles, bugs, bees, flies, and to other allied classes of arthropods
whose members are wingless and usually have more than six legs, for example,
spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, and isopod crustaceans.
(19)
"Insecticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended
to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any insects which may be present in any
environment whatsoever.
(20)
"Label" means the written, printed, or graphic matter on, or attached
to, the pesticide, device, or immediate container, and the outside container or
wrapper of the retail package.
(21)
"Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic
matter:
(a)
Upon the pesticide, device, or any of its containers or wrappers;
(b)
Accompanying the pesticide, or referring to it in any other media used to
disseminate information to the public; and
(c) To
which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying or referring
to the pesticide or device except when accurate nonmisleading reference is made
to current official publications of the department, United States departments
of agriculture; interior; education; 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.
(22)
"Land" means all land and water areas, including airspace and all
plants, animals, structures, buildings, devices and contrivances, appurtenant
thereto or situated thereon, fixed or mobile, including any used for
transportation.
(23)
"Master license system" means the mechanism established by chapter
19.02 RCW by which master licenses, endorsed for individual state‑issued
licenses, are issued and renewed using a master application and a master
license expiration date common to each renewable license endorsement.
(24)
"Nematocide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to
prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate nematodes.
(25)
"Nematode" means any invertebrate animal of the phylum
nemathelminthes and class nematoda, that is, 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.
(26)
"Person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation,
or organized group of persons whether or not incorporated.
(27)
"Pest" means, but is not limited to, any insect, rodent, nematode,
snail, slug, weed and any form of plant or animal life or virus, except virus
on or in a living person or other animal, which is normally considered to be a
pest or which the director may declare to be a pest.
(28)
"Pest control consultant" means any individual who acts as a
structural pest control inspector, who sells or offers for sale at other than a
licensed pesticide dealer outlet or location where they are employed, or
who offers or supplies technical advice, supervision, or aid, or makes
recommendations to the user of:
(a)
Highly toxic pesticides, as determined under RCW 15.58.040;
(b)
EPA restricted use pesticides or restricted use pesticides which are restricted
by rule to distribution by licensed pesticide dealers only; or
(c)
Any other pesticide except those pesticides which are labeled and intended for
home and garden use only.
(29)
"Pesticide" means, but is not limited to:
(a)
Any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, control,
repel, or mitigate any insect, rodent, snail, slug, fungus, weed, and any other
form of plant or animal life or virus, except virus on or in a living person or
other animal which is normally considered to be a pest or which the director
may declare to be a pest;
(b)
Any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used as a plant
regulator, defoliant or desiccant; and
(c)
Any spray adjuvant.
(30)
"Pesticide advisory board" means the pesticide advisory board as
provided for in the Washington pesticide application act.
(31)
"Pesticide dealer" means any person who distributes any of the
following pesticides:
(a)
Highly toxic pesticides, as determined under RCW 15.58.040;
(b)
EPA restricted use pesticides or restricted use pesticides which are restricted
by rule to distribution by licensed pesticide dealers only; or
(c)
Any other pesticide except those pesticides which are labeled and intended for
home and garden use only.
(32)
"Pesticide dealer manager" means the owner or other individual
supervising pesticide distribution at one outlet holding a pesticide dealer
license.
(33)
"Plant regulator" means any substance or mixture of substances
intended through physiological action, to accelerate or retard the rate of
growth or maturation, or to otherwise alter the behavior of ornamental or crop
plants or their produce, but shall not include substances insofar as they are
intended to be used as plant nutrients, trace elements, nutritional chemicals,
plant inoculants, or soil amendments.
(34)
"Registrant" means the person registering any pesticide under the
provisions of this chapter.
(35)
"Restricted use pesticide" means any pesticide or device which, when
used as directed or in accordance with a widespread and commonly recognized
practice, the director determines, subsequent to a hearing, requires additional
restrictions for that use to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the
environment including people, lands, beneficial insects, animals, crops, and
wildlife, other than pests.
(36)
"Rodenticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended
to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate rodents, or any other vertebrate animal
which the director may declare by rule to be a pest.
(37)
"Spray adjuvant" means any wetting agent, spreading agent, deposit
builder, adhesive, emulsifying agent, deflocculating agent, water modifier, or
similar agent with or without toxic properties of its own, intended to be used
with any other pesticide as an aid to the application or to the effect of the
pesticide, and which is in a package or container separate from that of the
pesticide with which it is to be used.
(38)
"Special local needs registration" means a registration issued by the
director pursuant to provisions of section 24(c) of FIFRA.
(39)
"Structural pest control inspector" means any individual who ((commercially))
performs the service of inspecting a building for ((the presence of pests
destructive to its structural components)) wood destroying organisms,
their damage, or conditions conducive to their infestation.
(40)
"Unreasonable adverse effects on the environment" means any
unreasonable risk to people or the environment taking into account the
economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any
pesticide, or as otherwise determined by the director.
(41)
"Weed" means any plant which grows where not wanted.
Sec.
2. RCW
15.58.200 and 1991 c 109 s 38 are each amended to read as follows:
The
director shall require each pesticide dealer manager to demonstrate to the
director knowledge of pesticide laws and rules; pesticide hazards; and the safe
distribution, use and application, and disposal of pesticides by satisfactorily
passing a written examination after which the director shall issue a license of
qualification. Application for a license shall be accompanied by a license fee
of ((fifty)) fifteen dollars. The pesticide dealer manager
license shall be ((a five-year)) an annual license expiring on a
date set by rule by the director. License fees shall be prorated where
necessary to accommodate staggering of expiration dates of a license or licenses.
Sec.
3. RCW
15.58.210 and 1991 c 264 s 4 and 1991 c 109 s 39 are each reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no individual may perform
services as a pest control consultant without obtaining from the director an
annual license, which license shall expire annually on a date set by rule by
the director. License fees shall be prorated where necessary to accommodate
staggering of expiration dates ((or [of])) of a license or
licenses. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no
individual may act as a structural pest control inspector without first
obtaining from the director a pest control consultant license in the special
category of structural pest control inspector. Application for a license shall
be on a form prescribed by the director and shall be accompanied by a fee of
thirty dollars.
(2)
The following are exempt from the licensing requirements of subsection (1) of
this section when acting within the authorities of their existing licenses
issued under chapter 17.21 RCW: Licensed commercial pesticide applicators and
operators; licensed private‑commercial applicators; and licensed
demonstration and research applicators. The following are also exempt from the
licensing requirements of subsection (1) of this section: Employees of federal,
state, county, or municipal agencies when acting in their official governmental
capacities; and pesticide dealer managers and employees working under the direct
supervision of the pesticide dealer manager and only at a licensed pesticide
dealer's outlet.
(3)
The following are exempt from the structural pest control inspector licensing
requirement: Individuals inspecting for damage caused by wood destroying organisms
if such inspections are solely for the purpose of: (a) Repairing or making
specific recommendations for the repair of such damage, or (b) assessing a
monetary value for the structure inspected. Individuals performing wood
destroying organism inspections that incorporate but are not limited to the
activities described in (a) or (b) of this subsection are not exempt from the
structural pest control inspector licensing requirement.
Sec.
4. RCW
15.58.245 and 1989 c 380 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless
revoked for cause by the director, any registration, license, or permit in
effect on July 23, 1989, shall continue in full force until its expiration
date. Public pest control consultant and pesticide dealer manager licenses
valid on December 31, 1985, shall expire on December 31, 1990, and public pest
control and pesticide dealer manager licenses issued subsequent to December 31,
1985, and valid on December 31, 1986, shall expire on December 31, 1991. Unless
revoked for cause, any pesticide dealer manager license issued prior to the
effective date of this act shall be valid until its expiration date.
Sec.
5. RCW
17.21.110 and 1991 c 109 s 31 are each amended to read as follows:
It
shall be unlawful for any person to act as an employee of a commercial
pesticide applicator and apply pesticides manually or as the operator directly
in charge of any apparatus which is licensed or should be licensed under the
provisions of this chapter for the application of any pesticide, without having
obtained a commercial pesticide operator license from the director. The
commercial pesticide operator license shall be in addition to any other license
or permit required by law for the operation or use of any such apparatus.
Application for a ((license to apply pesticides manually and/or to operate
ground apparatuses)) commercial operator license shall be
accompanied by a license fee of thirty dollars. ((Application for a license
to operate an aerial apparatus shall be accompanied by a license fee of thirty
dollars.)) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any
individual who is a licensed commercial pesticide applicator. Commercial
pesticide operator licenses shall expire annually on a date set by rule by the
director. License fees shall be prorated where necessary to accommodate
staggering of expiration dates of a license or licenses.
Sec.
6. RCW
17.21.122 and 1991 c 109 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:
It
shall be unlawful for any person to act as a private-commercial applicator
without having obtained a private-commercial applicator license from the
director. Application for a private-commercial applicator license shall be
accompanied by a license fee of ((fifty)) fifteen dollars before
a license may be issued. Private-commercial applicator licenses issued by the
director shall be ((five year)) annual licenses expiring on a
date set by rule by the director. License fees shall be prorated where
necessary to accommodate staggering of expiration dates of a license or
licenses.
Sec.
7. RCW
17.21.126 and 1991 c 109 s 33 are each amended to read as follows:
It
shall be unlawful for any person to act as a private applicator without first
complying with the certification requirements determined by the director as
necessary to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, including
injury to the applicator or other persons, for that specific pesticide use.
Certification standards to determine the individual's competency with respect
to the use and handling of the pesticide or class of pesticides the private
applicator is to be certified to use shall be relative to hazards according to
RCW 17.21.030 as now or hereafter amended. In determining these standards the
director shall take into consideration standards of the EPA and is authorized
to adopt by rule these standards. Application for private applicator
certification shall be accompanied by a license fee of fifteen dollars before a
certification may be issued. Individuals with a valid certified applicator
license, pest control consultant license, or dealer manager license who qualify
in the appropriate license categories are exempt from this fee requirement
provided that licensed public operators exempted from that license fee
requirement are not exempted from the private applicator fee requirement.
Private applicator certification issued by the director shall expire annually
on a date set by rule by the director. License fees shall be prorated where
necessary to accommodate staggering of expiration dates of a license or
licenses.
Sec.
8. RCW
17.21.129 and 1991 c 109 s 34 are each amended to read as follows:
Except
as provided in RCW 17.21.203(1), it is unlawful for a person to use or
supervise the use of any pesticide which is restricted to use by certified
applicators, on small experimental plots for research purposes when no charge
is made for the pesticide and its application, without a demonstration and
research applicator's license.
A
license fee of ((fifty)) fifteen dollars shall be paid before a
demonstration and research license may be issued. The demonstration and
research applicator license shall be ((a five year)) an annual
license expiring on a date set by rule by the director. License fees shall be
prorated where necessary to accommodate staggering of expiration dates of a
license or licenses.
Sec.
9. RCW
17.21.200 and 1989 c 380 s 52 are each amended to read as follows:
The
provisions of this chapter relating to commercial pesticide applicator licenses
and requirements for their issuance shall not apply to any forest landowner, or
his or her employees, applying pesticides with ground apparatus or manually, on
his or her own lands or any lands or rights of way under his or her control or
to any farmer owner of ground apparatus applying pesticides for himself or
herself or ((other farmers)) if applied on an occasional basis
not amounting to a principal or regular occupation without compensation
other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural
commodities on the land of another person or to any grounds maintenance
person conducting grounds maintenance on an occasional basis not amounting to a
regular occupation. However, persons exempt under this section shall not use
pesticides restricted to use by certified applicators and shall not advertise
or publicly hold themselves out as pesticide applicators.
Sec.
10. RCW
17.21.910 and 1989 c 380 s 65 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless
revoked for cause by the director, any license issued under the provisions of
this chapter and in effect on June 7, 1961, shall continue in full force and
effect until its expiration date: PROVIDED, That public operator, private
commercial applicator and demonstration and research applicator licenses in
effect on December 31, 1985, shall expire on December 31, 1990, and any public
operator, private commercial applicator and demonstration and research
applicator licenses issued after December 31, 1985, and in effect on December
31, 1986, shall expire on December 31, 1991. Unless revoked for cause, any
private commercial applicator and demonstration and research licenses issued
prior to the effective date of this act shall be valid until their expiration
date.
