Sec. 22a-54. Pesticide applicators, certification, classification, notice, fees; reciprocity; financial responsibility; aircraft, tree, public employee applicators.
Sec. 22a-54. Pesticide applicators, certification, classification, notice, fees;
reciprocity; financial responsibility; aircraft, tree, public employee applicators.
(a) No individual shall use or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide within
this state at any time without a private or commercial certificate or permit issued in
accordance with the provisions of this section, unless the use is under the direct supervision of a certified applicator; provided, any pesticide classified for restricted use by the
administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall be used only
by a certified applicator or under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. The
commissioner shall have exclusive authority in the regulation of pesticide spraying,
including, but not limited to, practices and procedures prior to and during any spraying,
except as provided in section 22a-66z. The commissioner may by regulations adopted
in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 establish procedures for municipalities
to designate watercourses or other sources of water which applicators may draw upon
for pesticide spraying.
(b) There shall be two classifications for commercial applicators, supervisory and
operational. Supervisory certification shall be required for commercial applicators who
are responsible for deciding whether or not pesticides are to be employed, how they are
to be mixed, where they are to be employed, what pesticides are to be used, the dosages
and timing involved in the pesticide use and the methods of application and precautions
to be taken in the use of such pesticides. Operational certification shall be required for
commercial applicators who actively use pesticides in other than a supervisory capacity.
(c) The following provisions shall govern the certification of applicators:
(1) No person shall engage in commercial application of pesticides within this state
at any time without a certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this section.
No person shall engage in the private application of restricted use pesticides without a
certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this section. Application for such
certificate shall be made to the commissioner and shall contain such information regarding the applicant's qualifications and proposed operations and other relevant matters
including, but not limited to, a knowledge of integrated pest management and the role
of honey bees in agriculture, pesticides that are especially toxic to honey bees, and
methods of application which minimize damage to honey bees, as the commissioner
may require.
(2) The commissioner shall require the applicant to demonstrate, upon examination,
that he possesses adequate knowledge concerning the proper use and application of
pesticides and the dangers involved and precautions to be taken in connection with their
application.
(3) If the commissioner finds that the applicant is competent with respect to the use
and handling of a pesticide or pesticides or a class or classes of pesticides, he shall certify
the applicant to perform application within this state of such pesticide or pesticides or
class or classes of pesticides. The certification shall be valid for five years and may be
renewed by the commissioner with or without further examination. The commissioner
may establish regulations for applicator certification so that one-fifth of the certificates
expires each year. The commissioner may certify an applicator for less than five years
and prorate the registration fee accordingly to implement the regulations established
pursuant to this subsection. The certificate may restrict the applicant to the use of a certain
type or types of equipment or materials, if the commissioner finds that the applicant is
qualified to use only such type or types of equipment or materials.
(4) If the commissioner finds that the applicant is not competent with respect to the
use and handling of a pesticide or pesticides or a class or classes of pesticides, the
commissioner shall refuse to issue the applicant a certificate. The commissioner shall
inform the applicant of the refusal in writing, giving the reasons for such refusal. Any
person aggrieved by such a decision to deny certification may, within thirty days from
date of issuance of such denial, request a hearing before the commissioner, which hearing
shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 54.
(5) The commissioner may certify without examination any nonresident who is
certified in another state under a law which provides substantially similar qualifications
for certification and which grants similar privileges of certification without examination
to residents of this state certified under the provisions of this section.
(d) When establishing standards for certification, the commissioner shall establish
separate standards for supervisory and operational certificates for commercial applicators and separate standards for private applicators.
(e) The following provisions shall govern the certification of aircraft applicators:
(1) No person shall apply, offer to apply or cause to be applied any pesticide or
fertilizer by aircraft without a certificate or permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
(2) Upon application of any person qualified to fly an aircraft, the commissioner
may issue a certificate for the application of pesticides or fertilizers by aircraft. Application for said certificate shall be on forms provided by the commissioner and shall be
accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars.
(3) The commissioner may issue a permit to the owner of any crop or land, or to a
representative designated by such owner, for application of pesticides or fertilizers by
a certified aircraft applicator. Application for said permit shall be on forms provided
by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a fee established by the commissioner
by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 provided the fee
shall be not less than ten dollars. The commissioner may waive the application form
and fee requirements imposed pursuant to regulations adopted in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 54 in circumstances where application of broad spectrum chemical
pesticides from the air is necessary to control specific vectors of human disease which
pose an imminent threat to public health. The commissioner may require inspection of
the crop or area and its immediate environs and approval as follows:
(A) For agricultural crops, nurseries and orchards, by the director of the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station;
(B) For rodent control, woodland spraying and mosquito control spraying, by the
commissioner;
(C) For control of vectors of human disease, by the Commissioner of Public Health.
(4) The commissioner shall designate the kind and amount of pesticides permitted
for use by aircraft. Permits for aircraft spraying in congested areas shall be issued only
with the approval of the director of health of the municipality in which the operation is
to be conducted except in circumstances where the commissioner determines that the
application of broad spectrum chemical pesticides from the air is necessary to control
specific vectors of human disease which pose an imminent threat to public health.
(5) The commissioner, with the advice of the Commissioner of Transportation, may
adopt such regulations as he deems necessary for the protection of public health, aquatic
and animal life and public and private property, governing:
(A) The type of aircraft to be used;
(B) The hours during which aircraft may be so used;
(C) The wind and weather conditions under which aircraft spraying or dusting may
be performed;
(D) The minimum area on which aircraft spraying or dusting may be done; and
(E) The amount of public liability and property damage insurance to be carried by
the aircraft applicator.
(6) No person may apply pesticides or fungicides by aircraft or by misting-type
devices to shade tobacco crops within three hundred feet of an inhabited residential
building for which a certificate of occupancy was issued prior to January 1, 1997, without
the written permission of the owner of such building, except spray applications may be
administered within the confines of the netting. This subdivision shall not apply to an
application of pesticides or fungicides to land which was poled for the cultivation of
shade tobacco between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 1997.
(f) The commissioner may by regulation prescribe fees for applicants to defray the
cost of administering examinations and assisting in carrying out the purposes of section
22a-451, except the fees for certification and renewal of a certification shall be as follows: (1) For supervisory certification as a commercial applicator, two hundred twenty-five dollars; (2) for operational certification as a commercial applicator, forty dollars,
and (3) for certification as a private applicator, fifty dollars. A federal, state or municipal
employee who applies pesticides solely as part of his employment shall be exempt from
payment of a fee. Any certificate issued to a federal, state or municipal employee for
which a fee has not been paid shall be void if the holder leaves government employment.
The fees collected in accordance with this section shall be deposited in the General
Fund.
(g) The commissioner may require any person engaged in the commercial or aircraft
application of pesticides to furnish proof of financial responsibility to satisfy claims for
damages on account of any physical injuries suffered by any person or damage to property by reason of any act or omission on the part of the applicator, or the agents or
employees of the applicator. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection in consultation with the Insurance Commissioner shall determine the amount, character and form
of financial responsibility. No person shall engage in the aircraft application of pesticides
or fertilizers until the Insurance Commissioner has reviewed and approved such applicator's proof of financial responsibility.
(h) The commissioner shall prescribe standards for certification of arborists, as defined in subsection (a) of section 23-61a, with respect to the application of pesticides.
The standards shall provide that in order to be certified, an individual shall be competent
with respect to the use and handling of the pesticide or class of pesticides covered by
such individual's application. The commissioner may designate as his agent the Tree
Protection Examining Board for the administration of any standards or examinations
prescribed by the commissioner pursuant to this section.
(i) Federal, state and municipal employees who use or supervise the use of restricted
or permit use pesticides shall be certified in conformance with this section.
(j) The commissioner may require the display of a decal or other evidence, indicating that a commercial applicator has met the requirements of this part, in a prominent
place on any licensed vehicle used in the applicator's spraying operations. A fee may
be charged to the certified applicator by the commissioner to cover the cost of the decals
or other evidence.
(P.A. 73-540, S. 6, 28; P.A. 75-551, S. 3-6; P.A. 77-206, S. 11; 77-529, S. 9-14; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 82-158, S.
1, 6; P.A. 83-108, S. 1; 83-193; 83-587, S. 45, 46, 73, 96; P.A. 85-407, S. 5, 9; P.A. 86-364, S. 2; P.A. 88-247, S. 8, 12;
P.A. 91-369, S. 8, 36; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 36, 55; P.A. 92-162, S. 3, 25; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-208, S.
2, 13; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 97-289, S. 6, 9; P.A. 98-171, S. 1, 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 110, 111.)
History: P.A. 75-551 amended Subsec. (a) to prohibit use of pesticide without a license unless use is under direct
supervision of a certified applicator, amended Subsec. (c)(3) to allow commissioner to establish licensure guidelines and
to prorate fees for licenses issued for less than five years, amended Subsec. (h) to clarify nature of "standards for commercial
tree workers" and amended Subsec. (i) to require licensure in conformity with Sec. 22a-54 rather than in conformity with
"standards for operational licenses for commercial applicators"; P.A. 77-206 substituted "arborists" for "commercial tree
workers" in Subsec. (h); P.A. 77-529 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provisions empowering commissioner to prescribe
licensing standards for private, commercial and aircraft applicators and detailing the nature of such standards, to refer to
private or commercial certificates or permits rather than to licenses and to add proviso re pesticides classified for restricted
use, rephrased Subsecs. (b), (c), (f) and (h) to conform to changes made in Subsec. (a) and for clarity, added provision re
appeals in Subsec. (c)(4) and added Subsec. (j) re decals; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of health services for
commissioner of health in Subsec. (e)(3)(iii), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 82-158 substituted references to certificates
and certification for references to licenses and licensure and made other technical corrections; P.A. 83-108 amended Subsec.
(g) by replacing provision authorizing environmental protection commissioner to determine nature of proof of financial
responsibility with provision including insurance commissioner in determination process and adding provision prohibiting
the aircraft application of pesticides until the commissioner of insurance has approved proof of financial responsibility;
P.A. 83-193 amended Subsec. (a) by giving the commissioner exclusive authority in the regulation of pesticide spraying;
P.A. 83-587 made technical changes in Subsecs. (b), (g) and (j); P.A. 85-407 amended Subsec. (f) by adding provisions
authorizing regulations concerning Sec. 22a-451 and requiring fees to be deposited in the emergency spill response fund;
P.A. 86-364 amended Subsec. (f) by deleting reference to use of fees to defray the cost of processing applications for
certification and establishing fee schedule for certification and renewal of various types of certification; P.A. 88-247
amended Subsec. (c)(1) to authorize that applicants be tested for knowledge of integrated pest management; P.A. 91-369
amended Subsec. (f) to delete changes in the amount of the fees which would have taken effect after December 31, 1991;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 in Subsec. (e)(2) and (3) established a fee for a certificate to apply pesticides; P.A. 92-162
amended Subsec. (e) to make crop inspections prior to issuance of permits under this section discretionary rather than
mandatory; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction
services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-208 amended Subsec. (f) to require that fees collected in accordance with section
be deposited in General Fund, rather than Emergency Spill Response Fund and deleted provision authorizing commissioner
to expend up to 5% of such fees for administrative expenses related to collection of such fees, effective July 1, 1995;
P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and
Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-289 amended Subsec. (e)(3) and (4) to allow for expedited
approval of aerial spraying of pesticides in cases of threat to public health, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-171 added
Subsec. (e)(6) re application of pesticides to certain tobacco cropland, effective June 4, 1998; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (e)(2) to change application fee for certificate of application of pesticides by aircraft from not less than
$25 to $50 and to delete language re establishment of fees by regulation and amended Subsec. (f) to change fee for
supervisory certification as a commercial applicator from $150 to $225, fee for operational certification as a commercial
applicator from $20 to $40, and fee for certification as a private applicator from $25 to $50, effective August 20, 2003.
See chapter 54 re uniform administrative procedure.
See Sec. 7-148 re municipal powers, generally.
See Sec. 22-11a for definition of "integrated pest management".