Chapter 19, Chapter 19

It is unlawful for any person to manufacture, distribute, sell or offer for sale, use or offer to use: (1) Product registration. — (A) Any pesticide which is not registered pursuant to the provisions of this article, or any pesticide if any of the claims made for it or any of the…

(a) Criminal penalties. -- Any person violating any provision of this article or rule adopted hereunder is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 for the first offense, and for the second offense, shall be fined…

There is continued a special fund in the state Treasury to be known as Pesticide Control Fund and may be expended on order of the commissioner. All product registration fees, dealer, commercial and private applicator license fees, pesticide application business license fees, nond…

The commissioner may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of the witnesses 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…

(a) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article, the commissioner may enter upon any public or private premises, other than a dwelling house and the curtilage thereof, at reasonable times, after reasonable notification to the owner, tenant or agent, in order to…

The commissioner shall issue and enforce a written or printed "stop-sale, use or renewal" order directed to the owner or custodian of any lot of pesticide, requiring him or her to hold the lot of pesticide at a designated place, when the commissioner finds the pesticide is being …

Nothing in this article requires the commissioner to report, for the institution of proceedings under this article, minor violations of this article whenever the commissioner believes that the public interest will be adequately served by a suitable written notice or warning to th…

(a) No person may distribute any agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds, or seed potatoes without a valid certificate of registration issued by the commissioner. Application forms shall be provided by the commissioner and the application fee shall be set forth i…

As used in this article: (1) "Active ingredient" means: (A) In the case of pesticides other than a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant, an ingredient which will prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate insects, nematodes, fungi, rodents, weeds or other pests; (B) In the case of a …

(a) The commissioner may create and administer an industrial hemp seed certification program to obtain and develop varieties of seeds which meet the purposes and provisions of §19-12E-1 et seq. of this code. The program shall be consistent with this article and applicable federal…

Each person whose name appears on the label as handling agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds subject to this article shall keep, for a period of two years, complete records of each lot of agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds handled, and sh…

The commissioner of agriculture has the power and duty to carry out the provisions of this article and is authorized to: (a) Delegate to employees of the Department of Agriculture the authority vested in the commissioner by virtue of the provisions of this article; (b) Cooperate,…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to distribute or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds, or seed potatoes within this state: (1) Which have not been tested to determine germination rates as required under §19-16-2 of this code; (2) Which…

(a) No political subdivision may regulate the registration, packaging, labeling, sale, storage, distribution, transportation or any other use of seeds. (b) No political subdivision may adopt or continue in effect any local laws, ordinances or regulations relating to the regulatin…

(a) The provisions of §19-16-2, §19-16-3, §19-16-4, and §19-16-8 of this code do not apply: (1) To seed or grain not intended for sowing purposes; (2) To seed in storage, or seed being transported or consigned to a cleaning or conditioning establishment for cleaning or conditioni…

(a) Every pesticide which is manufactured, distributed, sold or offered for sale, used or offered for use within this state, or delivered for transportation or transported in intrastate commerce or between points within this state through any point outside this state shall be reg…

(a) Each container of agricultural, vegetable, and flower seeds distributed for sowing purposes in a noncommercial setting shall bear thereon or have attached thereto in a conspicuous place a plainly written or printed label or tag in the English language, conveying the following…

The commissioner may refuse or cancel the registration of a pesticide if he or she finds, after a hearing, that use of the pesticide has demonstrated unreasonable adverse effects on the environment; or, a false or misleading statement about the pesticide has been made or implied …

The commissioner may: (a) Establish by legislative rule germination standards for agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds; (b) Enter and inspect, during reasonable hours, any location where agricultural, vegetable, tree and shrub, or flower seeds, or seed potatoe…

(a) No person may engage in the application of pesticides for hire at any time without a pesticide application business license issued by the commissioner. The commissioner shall require an annual fee for each pesticide application business license issued as prescribed by rules p…

(a) Stop sale orders or embargos: When the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe any lot of seed or seed potato is being distributed or used in this State in violation of the provisions of this article or any rule promulgated under this article, then he or she may issue an…

(a) The commissioner may not issue a pesticide application business license until the business has furnished evidence of financial security with the commissioner consisting of either: (1) A surety bond to the benefit of the State of West Virginia; or (2) A liability insurance pol…

(a) Criminal penalties. — Any person violating any of the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense…

(a) If the analysis of a sample shows a deviation from the permitted analytical variation, the registrant or other responsible person shall be penalized according to legislative rule. Penalties for multiple deficiencies within a sample shall be incremental: Provided, That in no c…

As a condition of obtaining or renewing a license, each pesticide business shall maintain such records as required by the rules promulgated hereunder. The commissioner may require a licensed pesticide business to submit records to his or her office and failure to submit requested…

Every fence of the height and description hereinafter mentioned shall be deemed a lawful fence as to any horses, mules, asses, jennets, cattle, sheep, swine, or goats, which could not creep through the same, that is to say: (a) If built of common rails, known as the worm fence, f…

When each of the adjoining owners of a partition fence has been allotted a particular part thereof to maintain, and either owner fails or refuses to keep in good repair the part of such fence so allotted to him he shall be liable in damages to the adjoining owner for all damages …

In any controversy in which the sufficiency of a fence under the provisions of this chapter shall come in question, it shall be presumed that the same was, at the time to which such controversy relates, a lawful fence and in good condition and repair, unless the contrary be prove…

All rivers and streams, and parts thereof, within this state, which are lawful fences at the time this code takes effect, under existing laws, shall continue such until otherwise ordered by the county court of the county. The county court of any county, upon the written applicati…

All hedge fences along public roads, or division hedge fences between farms or on any land or premises, shall be kept trimmed so that their branches shall not extend into the public road, or upon the lands of an adjoining owner, more than eighteen inches over the dividing line. F…

All partition fences shall be lawful fences, unless otherwise agreed upon by the adjoining owners by a writing executed in duplicate and duly acknowledge, in which case, if such fence be kept in good repair, there shall be the same liability for damages occasioned by trespass of …

Persons owning adjoining lands, both of which are used for agricultural, horticultural, grazing or livestock purposes, shall bear a just proportion of the cost of the constructing, repairing and maintaining a partition fence between such lands.

Where a person has chosen to let his land lie open, if he shall afterwards enclose or use such land, or portion thereof, for agricultural, horticultural, grazing or livestock purposes, he shall refund to the adjoining owner a just proportion of the value of the partition fence ad…

Any person desiring to build or to repair a partition fence may give notice in writing to the owner of any adjoining lands, or to his agent, of his intention to build or repair such fence and requiring him to build or repair his just portion thereof, which notice shall state the …

If a dispute arises between the owners of adjoining lands concerning the proportion or particular part of a fence to be built or maintained by either of them, or the amount to be paid by one party to the other for any fence already built or maintained, either party may proceed by…

(a) If livestock enters the property of a landowner without that landowner’s consent, the owner of the livestock is liable for damages for personal injury or property damage in a civil action in magistrate or circuit court. (b) The landowner must attempt to contact the owner of t…

(a) If the owner of trespassing livestock cannot be determined, or if the trespassing livestock has not been recovered within ten days of notifying the owner, the county sheriff shall take possession of the trespassing livestock. (b) The county sheriff may return the livestock to…

(a) While livestock may escape enclosures due to accident or unforeseen circumstances, it is unlawful for the owner of livestock to negligently permit livestock to run at large and trespass on the property of other landowners. (b) If livestock injures a person or destroys the pro…

Whereas, Agricultural production of food and fiber is a basic necessity to sustain human life, and essential to the general welfare and stability of this state and the citizens thereof, and the continued conduct of the utilization of land in the conduct of agricultural production…

For the purposes of this article: (a) "Agriculture" shall mean the production of food, fiber and woodland products, by means of cultivation, tillage of the soil and by the conduct of animal, livestock, dairy, apiary, equine or poultry husbandry, and the practice of forestry, silv…

The change of agricultural land use to a differing agricultural use, including rotation or lying fallow from time to time, shall not constitute abandonment as agricultural land or limit the change to any other agricultural use.

The conduct of agriculture upon agricultural land shall not be deemed adverse to other use or uses of adjoining or neighboring land, whether such other land be used or occupied for residential, commercial, business or for governmental, or any uses other than agricultural. No comp…

Nothing in this article shall be construed to excuse or relieve the owner or operator of any agricultural lands from any other right or duty as to any other person or persons, and shall apply only to the right to conduct the practice of agriculture upon his agricultural lands, an…

(a) Any person or legal entity who willfully and knowingly damages or destroys, or allows an instrumentality within his or her control to damage or destroy a sylvicultural or agricultural field test crop that is grown for personal purposes, commercial purposes, or for testing or …

(a) The provisions of this section are in addition to the limitations on actions brought against an agricultural operation in §19-19-4 of this code, and shall also apply to any nuisance action brought against an agricultural operation in any court of this state. (b) A person may …

(a) A person who brings a nuisance action for damages or injunctive relief against an agricultural operation that has existed for one year or more prior to the date that the action is instituted or who violates the provisions of §19-19-7(h) of this code is liable to the agricultu…

The Department of Agriculture shall establish a spay neuter assistance program that provides grants to nonprofit spay neuter organizations and programs in the state. The purpose of this program is to have more dogs and cats sterilized, thereby reducing shelter populations and cos…

The purpose of this article is to protect the public by providing a private cause of action seeking euthanasia of a dog in magistrate court to a person who has been attacked by a dog resulting in personal injuries requiring medical treatment which cost $2,000 or more, or who has …

Any dog shall be and is hereby declared to be personal property within the meaning and construction of the laws of this state, and any dog above the age of six months shall be subject to taxation.

This article may be cited as the "West Virginia Spay/Neuter Act."