CHEMIGATION.

18C.205 CHEMIGATION. § Subdivision 1.Authorization. The commissioner may issue chemigation permits for irrigation to be used to apply fertilizers on crops and land, including agricultural, nursery, turf, golf course, and greenhouse sites. § Subd. 2.Permit required. A person may not apply fertilizers through an irrigation system without a chemigation permit from the commissioner. A chemigation permit is required for one or more wells or other sources of irrigation water that are protected from contamination by the same devices as required by rule. § Subd. 3.Application. (a) A person must apply for a chemigation permit on forms prescribed by the commissioner. (b) A person initially applying for a chemigation permit must pay a nonrefundable application fee of $50. A person who holds a valid pesticide chemigation permit as required in chapter 18B is exempt from the fee in this subdivision. § Subd. 4.Permit requirements. An irrigation system operating under a chemigation permit must be fitted with effective antisiphon devices or check valves that prevent the backflow of fertilizers or fertilizer-water mixtures into water supplies or other materials during times of irrigation system failure or equipment shutdown. The devices or valves must be installed between: (1) the irrigation system pump or other source discharge and the point of fertilizer injection; and (2) the point of fertilizer injection and the fertilizer supply. § Subd. 5.Rules. The commissioner shall adopt rules prescribing conditions and restrictions for applying fertilizers by irrigation. History: 1989 c 326 art 6 s 11; 1990 c 597 s 5