Title 17, WEEDS, RODENTS, AND PESTS

(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 o…

(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 a…

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 …

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 …

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 equipmen…

(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 s…

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 pes…

(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…

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.]

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a strong system for the exclusion of plant and bee pests and diseases through regulation of movement and quarantines of infested areas to protect the forest, agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, and apiary industries of the state; …

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter. (1) "Department" means the state department of agriculture. (2) "Director" means the director of the state department of agriculture or the director's designee. (3) "Quar…

Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 17.24.041, the director may: (1) Make rules under which plants, plant products, bees, hives and beekeeping equipment, and noxious weeds may be brought into this state from other states, territories, or foreign countries; and (2) Make rules wi…

(1) The director may intercept and hold or order held for inspection, or cause to be inspected while in transit or after arrival at their destination, all plants, plant products, bees, or other articles likely to carry plant pests, bee pests, or noxious weeds being moved into thi…

The director may demand of a person who has in his or her possession or under his or her control, plants, bees, plant products, or other articles that may carry plant pests, bee pests, or noxious weeds, full information as to the origin and source of these items. Failure to provi…

If determined to be necessary to protect the forest, agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, beekeeping, or environmental interests of this state, the director may declare a quarantine against an area, place, nursery, orchard, vineyard, apiary, or other agricultural establish…

(1) The introduction into or release within the state of a plant pest, noxious weeds, bee pest, or any other organism that may directly or indirectly affect the plant life of the state as an injurious pest, parasite, predator, or other organism is prohibited, except under special…

(1) In submitting data required by this chapter, the applicant may: (a) Mark clearly portions of data which in his or her opinion are trade secrets or commercial or financial information; and (b) submit the marked material separately from other material required to be submitted u…

The director may enter into compliance agreements with a person engaged in growing, handling, or moving articles, bees, plants, or plant products regulated under this chapter. [ 1991 c 257 s 11.]

It shall be unlawful for a person to: (1) Sell, offer for sale, or distribute a noxious weed or a plant or plant product or regulated article infested or infected with a plant pest declared by rule to be a threat to the state's forest, agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, …

(1) If upon inspection, the director finds that an inspected plant or plant product or bees are infected or infested or that a regulated article is being held or transported in violation of a rule or quarantine of the department, the director shall notify the owner that a violati…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, every person who violates or fails to comply with any rule or regulation adopted and promulgated by the director of agriculture in accordance with and under the provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. (2) A s…

If there is reason to believe that a plant or bee pest may adversely impact the forestry, agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, or related industries of the state; or may cause harm to the environment of the state; or such information is needed to facilitate or allow the mo…

The director may enter into cooperative arrangements with a person, municipality, county, Washington State University or any of its experiment stations, or other agencies of this state, and with boards, officers, and authorities of other states and the United States, including th…

The director may acquire, in fee or in trust, by gift, or whenever funds are appropriated for such purposes, by purchase, easement, lease, or condemnation, lands or other property, water supplies, as may be deemed necessary for use by the department for establishing quarantine st…

To facilitate the movement or sale of forest, agricultural, floricultural, horticultural and related products, or bees and related products, the director may provide, if requested by farmers, growers, or other interested persons, special inspections, pest identifications, plant i…

Whenever the director finds that a person has committed a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, and that violation has not been punished pursuant to RCW 17.24.100, the director may impose upon and collect from the violator a civil penalty not exceeding five thousand…

A person who, through a knowing and willful violation of a quarantine established under this chapter, causes an infestation to become established, may be required to pay the costs of public control or eradication measures caused as a result of that violation. [ 1991 c 257 s 19.]

The director may, at the director's discretion, provide funds for technical or scientific services, labor, materials and supplies, and biological control agents for the control of plant pests, bee pests, and noxious weeds. [ 1991 c 257 s 20.]

(1) If the director determines that there exists an imminent danger of an infestation of plant pests or plant diseases that seriously endangers the agricultural or horticultural industries of the state, or that seriously threatens life, health, economic well-being, or the environ…

The director of agriculture may, on the behalf of the state of Washington, enter into indemnity contracts wherein the state of Washington agrees to repay any person, firm, corporation, or other entity acting under the direction or control of the proper authority to provide plant …

The department and the department of natural resources shall coordinate their sudden oak death syndrome response efforts with other plant pest agencies and private organizations to exchange information, monitor the confirmed incidences of the disease, and take action as appropria…

The legislature finds that: (1) Spartina alterniflora, Spartina anglica, Spartina x townsendii, and Spartina patens which are collectively called spartina are not native to the state of Washington nor to the west coast of North America. This noxious weed was inadvertently introdu…

This state is facing an environmental disaster that will affect other states as well as other nations. The legislature finds that six years is sufficient time for state agencies to debate solutions to the spartina and purple loosestrife problems that are occurring in state waters…