H-3887              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 2856

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representative Kirby

Read first time 1/24/90 and referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development.

AN ACT Relating to private applicators of pesticides; and amending RCW 17.21.126.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 8, chapter 92, Laws of 1979 as amended by section 42, chapter 380, Laws of 1989 and RCW 17.21.126 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, 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.  Private applicator certification issued by the director shall expire on December 31st following issuance:  PROVIDED, That private applicator certifications valid on July 1, 1989, shall expire on December 31, 1989.  If the director does not qualify a private applicator under this section, the director shall inform the applicant in writing.

(2)(a) A person may act as a private applicator under the terms of a temporary certification as provided by this subsection.  Any extension agent designated by the director of Washington State University's cooperative extension service and any employee of a county noxious weed control board designated by the director of agriculture may issue such a temporary certification.  The certification shall be for applying a particular pesticide or pesticides to not more than twenty-five acres of land in a calendar year and for the purposes identified in RCW 17.21.020(30).  The pesticide or pesticides which may be used and the land to which they may be applied under the certification shall be specified in the temporary certification.  A temporary certification shall be valid for not more than thirty days.

(b) A designated county extension agent or weed board employee may issue such a temporary certification after providing the applicant with not less than one hour of instruction with respect to the use and handling of the pesticide or pesticides to be used and the records which must be established and maintained under this chapter and RCW 49.70.119 regarding that use.

(c) The director of Washington State University's cooperative extension service and the director of agriculture shall designate a sufficient number of extension agents and weed board employees, who the designating director believes to be qualified to provide the instruction required by this subsection, to ensure that such temporary certifications are readily available in each county.

(d) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section establishing other requirements for certification, including but not limited to fees, do not apply to temporary certifications issued under this subsection.