PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 98-24-111.
Title of Rule: Chapter 16-200 WAC, Feeds, fertilizers and livestock remedies, WAC 16-200-695 Definitions, 16-200-705 Purpose, and 16-200-7061 What information must I include with my registration application concerning metals and application rates?
Purpose: The proposed language requires the disclosure of a maximum application rate on fertilizer registration application forms for all commercial fertilizers that contain application rates on their labels so that the department can clearly determine if the commercial fertilizer meets the Washington standards for metals.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 15.54.325 and 15.54.800.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.54 RCW.
Summary: The proposed rules adopt a definition for "maximum application rate"; require the disclosure of a maximum application rate on fertilizer registration application forms for all fertilizers with labels that contain application rates; and provide a purpose statement which encompasses this new requirement.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: Before a commercial fertilizer may be registered in Washington, the department must determine if the fertilizer meets Washington standards for total metals. A commercial fertilizer label may contain directions for fertilizer application that varies in frequency and rate by crop or site.
Currently, the department must review all of the rates on the label to determine which one is the maximum rate and often must make assumptions about the area being covered and/or the number of times a fertilizer can be applied per year to reach a maximum application rate. The department needs to be given an accurate maximum application rate to use when registering commercial fertilizers to eliminate the need to make assumptions about application rate.
Requiring a maximum application rate on the fertilizer application form will enable the person submitting the registration application to specify the one maximum application rate for each fertilizer. The department will use that rate in its calculations to determine if a commercial fertilizer may be registered. Only those fertilizers which have application rates on their labels will need to specify a maximum application rate.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Ted Maxwell, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-2026.
Name of Proponent: Department of Agriculture, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The proposed language will require that fertilizer registrants disclose a maximum application rate on their fertilizer registration product application form for each commercial fertilizer that contains application rates that they register in Washington. This disclosure will clarify a maximum application rate for commercial fertilizer that has varying application rates for different sites or crops, multiple applications in a single year, varying frequencies of application, unspecified size of areas to which the fertilizer is applied, and other vague language found on fertilizer labels regarding application rates. Currently, the department has to make many assumptions regarding the rate of application of a fertilizer. These assumptions do not allow the department to accurately determine if a fertilizer meets the Washington standards for metals adopted by the 1998 legislature. This proposed language will ensure that the department is using an accurate application rate when determining whether a commercial fertilizer meets Washington standards.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: [No information supplied by the agency.]
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. A full small business economic impact statement was completed by the department in the development of rules that would implement the new Fertilizer Regulation Act of 1998 (WSR 98-19-128). This previous small business economic impact statement took into account all of the costs associated with the registration of fertilizers according to the new rules. These costs included the cost of filling out registration application forms. The addition of one column to the form that would require a declaration of an annual application rate for each fertilizer is minimal and the cost to do so minor thus a small business economic impact statement is not needed.
Section 201, chapter 403, Laws of 1995, does not apply to this rule adoption. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency in section 201.
Hearing Location: WA Interactive Technologies, 710 Sleater-Kinney Road S.E., Suite Q, Lacey, WA 98503; at WA Interactive Technologies, North 1101 Argonne, Suite 109, Spokane, WA 99201; and at WA Interactive Technologies, Yesterday's Village, 15 West Yakima Avenue, Suite 220, Yakima, WA 98902, on March 10, 1999, at 6:00 p.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Cathy Jensen by March 9, 1999, TDD (360) 902-1996.
Submit Written Comments to: Laurie Mauerman, Washington State Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, fax (360) 902-2093, by 5:00 p.m. on March 11, 1999.
Date of Intended Adoption: March 31, 1999.
February 3, 1999
Bob Arrington
Assistant Director
The definitions set forth in this section shall apply throughout this chapter unless context otherwise requires:
(1) "Organic" means a material containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth. When the term "organic" is utilized in the label or labeling of any commercial fertilizer, it shall be qualified as either "synthetic organic" or "natural organic," with the percentage of each specified.
(2) "Natural organic" means a material derived from either plant or animal products containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth.
(3) "Synthetic organic" means a material that is manufactured chemically (by synthesis) from its elements and other chemicals, containing carbon and one or more elements (other than hydrogen and oxygen) essential for plant growth.
(4) "Unit" means one percent (by weight) of a ton.
(5) "AOAC" means the association of official analytical chemists.
(6) "Commercial fertilizer" means a substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients and that is used for its plant nutrient content or that is designated for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, and shall include limes, gypsum, and manipulated animal and vegetable manures. It does not include unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, organic waste-derived material, and other products exempted by the department by rule.
(7) "Fertigation" means a method of applying commercial fertilizers with irrigation water to fertilize land or plants.
(8) "Fertilizer component" means a commercial fertilizer ingredient containing one or more recognized plant nutrients which is incorporated in the commercial fertilizer for its plant nutrient value.
(9) "Maximum acceptable cumulative metals additions to soil" means the amount of total metals that can be added to soil over a forty-five-year period of time without exceeding the Canadian standards which have been adopted in RCW 15.54.800(3) as Washington standards for metals.
(10) "Organic waste-derived material" means grass clippings, leaves, weeds, bark, plantings, prunings, and other vegetative wastes, uncontaminated wood waste from logging and milling operations, food wastes, food processing wastes, and materials derived from these wastes through composting. "Organic waste-derived material" does not include products that include biosolids.
(11) "Maximum application rate" means the maximum amount of commercial fertilizer expressed by weight (such as: pounds, ounces, kilograms, or milligrams) or volume (such as: gallons, quarts, fluid ounces, liters, or milliliters) to be applied to an area of a specified size (such as: acres, square feet, hectares, or square meters) in a period of time stated in years.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 99-02-035, § 16-200-695, filed 12/30/98, effective 1/30/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.54.800. 91-01-015 (Order 2066), § 16-200-695, filed 12/7/90, effective 1/7/91. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 87-19-097 (Order 1952), § 16-200-695, filed 9/17/87.]
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 2066 [WSR 99-02-035], filed
12/7/90 [12/30/98], effective 1/7/91 [1/30/99])
WAC 16-200-705
Purpose.
The following sections concerning the protection of ground water, labeling requirements and examination of fertilizer minerals and limes (WAC 16-200-708 through 16-200-742) are established in this chapter under the authority of the Commercial Fertilizer Act, chapter 15.54 RCW.
This chapter also describes the requirements for
registration of commercial fertilizers, including the information
which must be submitted as part of the registration application,
the sample preparation and analysis methods which must be used,
the maximum application use rates the department will use to
determine whether a commercial fertilizer may be registered, the
Washington standards for metals (in pounds per acre per year),
and the acts which are unlawful under this chapter.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 99-02-035, § 16-200-705, filed 12/30/98, effective 1/30/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.54.800. 91-01-015 (Order 2066), § 16-200-705, filed 12/7/90, effective 1/7/91. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 87-19-097 (Order 1952), § 16-200-705, filed 9/17/87.]
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order ---- [WSR 99-02-035], filed
12/30/98, effective 1/31/98 [1/30/99])
WAC 16-200-7061
What information must I include with my
registration application concerning total metals and application
rates?
(1) You are required to submit the following metals information with your registration application:
(a) Total concentration of each metal in each commercial fertilizer reported in parts per million (PPM) which is equivalent to milligrams of metal per kilogram of fertilizer (mg/kg), or micrograms per gram;
(b) Copy of the laboratory report on total metals analysis;
(c) Method of analysis;
(d) Method of sample preparation; and
(e) Minimum detection limits for each method used.
(2) The department may request quality assurance and quality control documentation for analytical procedures and/or for the laboratory which performed the analyses.
(3) The analytical data and maximum application rate will be used to determine if a commercial fertilizer meets or exceeds the Washington standards for metals.
(4) For all commercial fertilizers that have application rates on their labels, the maximum application rate shall be disclosed for each commercial fertilizer on the registration application form.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.54 RCW. 99-02-035, § 16-200-7061, filed 12/30/98, effective 1/30/99.]
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.