Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

(a) No commercial applicator shall purchase, acquire, possess, apply, or supervise the application of any pesticide classified for use only by or under the direct supervision of a certified applicator by EPA or by the director without first becoming certified under this section a…

(a) No private applicator shall purchase, acquire, possess, apply, or supervise the application of any pesticide classified for use only by or under the direct supervision of a certified applicator by EPA or by the director without first becoming certified under this section and …

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a pesticide dealer, or advertise as, or assume or act as a pesticide dealer at any time without first becoming licensed under this section and regulations adopted under this section. A license shall be required for each location o…

(a) As part of his or her responsibility in administering this chapter, the director will carry out a program of monitoring the amounts of pesticides throughout the environment in the state. Portions of the environment to be monitored will include but will not be limited to: fres…

(a) The director may suspend pending inquiry for not longer than ten (10) days, and after opportunity for a hearing, deny, further suspend, revoke, or modify any provision on any license, permit, or certificate issued under this chapter if he or she finds that the applicant or ho…

No person shall transport, store, or dispose of any pesticide or pesticide containers in such a manner as to cause injury to humans, vegetation, crops, livestock, wildlife, beneficial insects or to pollute any waterway or water body in a way harmful to any wildlife in the waterwa…

The provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the director of environmental management of the state, referred to as the director.

(a) The sampling and examination of pesticides or devices shall be made under the direction of the director for the purpose of determining whether they comply with the requirements of this chapter. The director, or his or her designated agent, is authorized, upon presentation of …

When the director has reasonable cause to believe a pesticide or device is being distributed, stored, transported, or used in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or of any prescribed regulations under this chapter, the director may issue and serve a written “stop …

(a) After service of a “stop sale, use, or removal” order is made upon any person, either that person, the registrant, or the director may file an action in a superior court in the county in which a violation of this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter is alleged to…

(a) Any person issued a pesticide dealer’s license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required by the director to keep accurate records containing the following information: (1) The delivery, movement, or holding of any restricted use or state limited use pesticide, in…

The director may cooperate, receive grants-in-aid, and enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with any agency of the federal government, of this state and its subdivisions, or with any agency of another state, in order to: (1) Secure uniformity of regulations; (2) Enter i…

The director may publish, at least annually, and in any form that he or she may deem proper, results of analyses based on official samples as compared with the analyses guaranteed and information concerning the distribution of pesticides; provided, that individual distribution in…

The director may by regulation require the reporting of significant accidents or incidents to a designated state agency and/or the EPA.

The director may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and/or production of books, documents, and records in the state in any hearing affecting the authority or privilege granted by license, registration, certification, or permit issued under the provisions of thi…

(a) Civil penalties. (1) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each offense. In addition to any civil penalty assessed in this subsection, the director may ban businesses or commer…

(a) In submitting data required by this chapter, the applicant may: (1) Clearly mark any portion of it which in his or her opinion are trade secrets or commercial or financial information; and (2) Submit that marked material separately from other material required to be submitted…

The purpose of this chapter is to regulate, in the public interest, the labeling, distribution, sale, storage, transportation, use and application, and disposal of pesticides as defined in this chapter. The general assembly finds that pesticides are valuable to our state’s agricu…

The functions vested in the director may be delegated by the director to any employees of the department of environmental management as may be found desirable or necessary from time to time to carry out the responsibilities of this chapter.

(a) The director may waive all or part of the examination requirements prescribed in §§ 23-25-12, 23-25-13 and 23-25-14 on a reciprocal basis with any other state which has substantially the same examination requirements and standards of competency, and for federal employees qual…

(a) The director shall include in the annual budget sums of money necessary: to carry out the pesticide control program as required by this chapter and the EPA approved plan for certifying applicators, for the registration of pesticides, for office and other expenses including tr…

If any provisions of this chapter are declared unconstitutional or the applicability of these provisions to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of this chapter and applicability of this chapter to other persons and circumstances shal…

The enactment of this chapter shall not have the effect of terminating, or in any way modifying, any liability, civil or criminal, which shall already be in existence on May 28, 1976.

Jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the registration, sale, distribution, transportation, storage, use and application, disposal of pesticides and devices, and licensing and certification of applicators is, by this chapter, vested exclusively in the director, and all acts a…

The director may promulgate rules and regulations requiring the use of protective clothing and equipment by any person operating equipment for the application of any pesticide, insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, and rodenticide.

(a) The department of environmental management and the department of health shall develop regulations as follows: (1) to restrict the use of hazardous pesticides in schools, pre-schools and child care centers in Rhode Island; (2) for the promotion and implementation of integrated…

(a) On and after July 1, 2003, no application of pesticide may be made by any person other than a certified or licensed commercial applicator as defined in § 23-25-4 in any building or on the grounds of any pre-school, child day care center, group/family day care home or family d…

(a) The department of environmental management shall report to the governor, the speaker of the house and the president of the senate on or before November 1, 2007, with regard to: (1) Health risks, especially in children, associated with lawn care pesticides, as such risks have …

As used in this chapter: (1) “Active ingredient” means any ingredient that will prevent, destroy, repel, control, or mitigate pests, or that will act as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant. (2) “Adulterated” applies to any pesticide if its strength or purity falls below th…

(a) All pesticides registered in the state that contain one or more neonicotinoids and are labeled as approved for outdoor use are hereby immediately classified as state limited use pesticide. Such pesticides shall not be: (1) Sold or distributed to any person other than a certif…

The term “misbranded” applies: (1) To any pesticide or device designated under § 23-25-9(b)(4): (i) If its labeling bears any statement, design, or graphic representation relative to it or to its ingredients which is false or misleading in any particular; (ii) If it is an imitati…

(a) Every pesticide that is distributed in the state shall be registered with the director subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall be categorized for registration purposes. These categories shall be: “consumer protection and health benefits products,” which means all …

(a) In addition to the annual registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) as required by § 23-25-6, an additional two hundred fifty dollars ($250) registration surcharge fee shall be imposed upon each pesticide to be sold or used within the state, unless the director has determine…

(a) Provided the state is authorized by the administrator of EPA to issue experimental use permits, the director may: (1) Issue an experimental use permit to any person applying for an experimental use permit, if he or she determines that the applicant needs the permit in order t…

(a) Provided the state is certified by the administrator of EPA to register pesticides formulated to meet special local needs, the director shall consider the following for refusal to register, for cancellation, for suspension, or for legal recourse for those pesticides: (1) If i…

(a) The director is authorized after due notice and an opportunity for a hearing: (1) To declare as a pest any form of plant or animal life (other than humans and other than bacteria, viruses, and other micro-organisms on or in living humans or other living animals) which is inju…