Title 17 — Title 17 WEEDS, RODENTS, AND PESTS

The application and the control of the use of various pesticides is important and vital to the maintenance of a high level of public health and welfare both immediate and future, and is hereby declared to be affected with the public interest. The provisions of this chapter are en…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Agricultural commodity" means any plant or part of a plant, or animal, or animal product, produced by a person (including farmers, ranchers, vineyardists, plant propag…

The director shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter.(1) The director may adopt rules:(a) Governing the loading, mixing, application and use, or prohibiting the loading, mixing, application, or use of any pesticide;(b) Gove…

All rules adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW as enacted or hereafter amended, concerning the adoption of rules.[ 1989 c 380 s 35; 1961 c 249 s 4.]

All hearings for the imposition of a civil penalty and/or the suspension, denial, or revocation of a license, certification, or permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW concerning adjudicative proceedings.[ 1994 c …

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

The director may classify licenses to be issued under the provisions of this chapter. These classifications may include but are not limited to pest control operators, ornamental sprayers, agricultural crop sprayers or right-of-way sprayers; separate classifications may be specifi…

It is unlawful for any person to engage in the business of applying pesticides to the land of another without a commercial pesticide applicator license. Application for a commercial applicator license must be accompanied by a fee of two hundred forty-three dollars and in addition…

Application for a commercial pesticide applicator license provided for in RCW 17.21.070 shall be on a form prescribed by the director.(1) The application shall include the following information:(a) The full name of the individual applying for such license.(b) The full name of the…

(1) No commercial pesticide applicator shall allow a person to apply pesticides under the authority of the commercial pesticide applicator's license unless the commercial pesticide applicator has, by mail or facsimile transmissions, submitted the name to the department on a form …

(1) Certified applicators licensed under the provisions of this chapter, persons required to be licensed under this chapter, all persons applying pesticides to more than one acre of agricultural land in a calendar year, including public entities engaged in roadside spraying of pe…

It is 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 this chapter for the application of any pesticide, without h…

It is unlawful for any person to act as a private-commercial pesticide applicator without having obtained a private-commercial pesticide applicator license from the director. Application for a private-commercial pesticide applicator license must be accompanied by a fee of thirty-…

It is unlawful for any person to act as a private applicator, limited private applicator, or rancher private applicator without first complying with requirements determined by the director as necessary to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, including injury t…

(1) The director may renew any certification or license issued under authority of this chapter subject to the recertification standards identified in subsection (2) of this section or an examination requiring new knowledge that may be required to apply pesticides.(2) Except as pr…

Except as provided in RCW 17.21.203, it is unlawful for a person to use or supervise the use of any experimental use pesticide or any restricted use pesticide on small experimental plots for research purposes when no charge is made for the pesticide and its application without a …

(1) Any license, permit, or certification provided for in this chapter may be revoked or suspended, and any license, permit, or certification application may be denied by the director for cause. If the director suspends a license under this chapter with respect to activity of a c…

Any person applying for a license or certification authorized under the provisions of this chapter shall file an application on a form prescribed by the director.(1) The application shall state the license or certification and the classification(s) for which the applicant is appl…

(1) The director shall not issue a commercial pesticide applicator license until the applicant, if he or she is the sole owner and manager of the business has passed examinations in all classifications that the business operates. If there is more than one owner or the owner does …

(1) If the application for renewal of any license provided for in this chapter is not filed on or prior to the expiration date of the license under this chapter or as set by rule by the director, a penalty of twenty-five dollars for the commercial pesticide applicator's license a…

A person who has committed any of the following acts is declared to be in violation of this chapter:(1) Made false or fraudulent claims through any media, misrepresenting the effect of materials or methods to be utilized;(2) Applied worthless or improper pesticides;(3) Operated a…

The director shall not issue a commercial pesticide applicator license until the applicant has furnished evidence of financial responsibility.(1) Evidence of financial responsibility shall consist of either a surety bond; or a liability insurance policy or certification thereof, …

The following requirements apply to the amount of bond or insurance required for commercial applicators:(1) The amount of the surety bond or liability insurance, as provided for in RCW 17.21.160, shall be not less than fifty thousand dollars for property damage and public liabili…

The commercial pesticide applicator license shall, whenever the licensee's surety bond or insurance policy is reduced below the requirements of RCW 17.21.170 or whenever the commercial applicator has not supplied evidence of financial responsibility, as required by RCW 17.21.160 …

Any person suffering property loss or damage resulting from the use or application by others of any pesticide shall file with the director a verified report of loss.(1) The report shall set forth, so far as known to the claimant, the following:(a) The name and address of the clai…

The provisions of this chapter relating to commercial pesticide applicator licenses and requirements for their issuance shall not apply to:(1) Any forestland owner, or his or her employees, applying pesticides with ground apparatus or manually, on his or her own lands or any land…

The licensing provisions of this chapter shall not apply to research personnel of federal, state, county, or municipal agencies when performing pesticide research in their official capacities, however when such persons are applying restricted use pesticides, they shall be license…

(1) All state agencies, municipal corporations, and public utilities or any other governmental agencies are subject to this chapter and its rules.(2) It is unlawful for any employee of a state agency, municipal corporation, public utility, or any other government agency to use or…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (4) of this section, all moneys collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid to the director and deposited in the agricultural local fund, RCW 43.23.230, for use exclusively in the enforcement of this chapter.(2) In ad…

All licensed apparatuses shall be identified by a license plate furnished by the director, at no cost to the licensee, which plate shall be affixed in a location and manner upon such apparatus as prescribed in rule.[ 1994 c 283 s 30; 1989 c 380 s 60; 1967 c 177 s 15; 1961 c 249 s…

The director is authorized to cooperate with and enter into agreements with any other agency of the state, the United States, and any other state or agency thereof for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter and securing uniformity of regulation.[ 1961 c 249 s …

The provisions of this chapter requiring all structural pest control operators, exterminators and fumigators to license with the department shall not preclude a city of the first class with a population of one hundred thousand people or more, or the county in which it is situated…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any person who violates any provisions or requirements of this chapter or rules adopted hereunder is guilty of a misdemeanor.(2) A second or subsequent offense is a gross misdemeanor. Any offense committed more than five y…

Every person who fails to comply with this chapter or the rules adopted under it may be subjected to a civil penalty, as determined by the director, in an amount of not more than seven thousand five hundred dollars for every such violation. Each and every such violation shall be …

(1) For purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter the director may enter upon any public or private premises at reasonable times, in order:(a) To have access for the purpose of inspecting any equipment subject to this chapter and such premises on which such equipment…

(1) A person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter or the rules adopted under this chapter:(a) May request an inspection of the area in which the violation is believed to have occurred. If there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, the department sh…

By February 1st of each year the department shall report to the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate on the activities of the department under this chapter. The report shall include, at a minimum: (1) A review of the department's pesticide inciden…

(1)(a) A certified applicator making a landscape application shall display the name and telephone number of the applicator or the applicator's employer on any power application apparatus. The applicator shall also carry the material safety data sheet for each pesticide being appl…

(1) A certified applicator making a landscape application to:(a) Residential property shall at the time of the application place a marker at the usual point of entry to the property. If the application is made to an isolated spot that is not a substantial portion of the property,…

(1) As used in this section, "school" means a licensed day care center or a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school.(2) A school shall provide written notification, upon request, to parents or guardians of students and employees describing the school's pest…

(1) The department shall develop a list of pesticide-sensitive individuals. The list shall include any person with a documented pesticide sensitivity who submits information to the department on an application form developed by the department indicating the person's pesticide sen…

(1) A certified applicator making a landscape application or a right-of-way application to the pesticide notification area, as defined in RCW 17.21.420(2), of a person on the pesticide-sensitive list shall notify the listed pesticide-sensitive individual of the application. Notif…

(1) As used in this section, "federal worker protection standard" or "federal standard" means the worker protection standard for agricultural workers and handlers of agricultural pesticides adopted by the United States environmental protection agency in 40 C.F.R., part 170 as it …

(1) The department shall continue to evaluate and update, as necessary, pesticide regulatory and education programs focused on measures to protect pollinator health. This work by the department, when appropriate, must be coordinated with Washington State University pesticide educ…

The department shall adopt by rule standards for pesticide applications made by noncertified applicators of restricted use pesticides under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. Standards must be at least as effective as the federal certification and training standard…

(1) The pesticide advisory board is established to advise the director on any or all problems relating to the use and application of pesticides in the state except for matters covered by the pesticide application safety committee created in RCW 70.104.110, with members as provide…

The pesticide advisory board established in RCW 17.21.455 shall elect a chair from among its membership. The pesticide advisory board shall meet from time to time at the call of the director, chair of the board, or a majority of the board.[ 2023 c 378 s 3.]Notes:Finding—Intent—20…

The enactment of this act shall not have the effect of terminating, or in any way modifying, any liability, civil or criminal, which shall already be in existence on the date this act becomes effective.[ 1961 c 249 s 31.]

This chapter may be cited as the Washington pesticide application act.[ 1961 c 249 s 33.]