Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 80. AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER 8. PESTICIDES

Part 2. Registration and Licensing

Registration

80-8-201. Registration. (1) Each pesticide distributed, sold, or offered for sale within the state or delivered for transportation or transported in intrastate commerce or between points within the state must be registered with the department. The registration must be renewed annually by the manufacturer, formulator, or distributor of the pesticide. The department shall register all federally approved pesticides, and those registered are subject to registration fees and all other provisions of this chapter. All registrations of pesticides expire on December 31 following the date of issuance unless otherwise terminated.

(2) The applicant for registration shall file with the department a statement that includes:

(a) the name and address of the applicant and the name and address of the person whose name will appear on the label, if other than the registrant;

(b) a complete copy of the pesticide label and a statement of all claims to be made for it, including directions for use;

(c) the trade and chemical name of the pesticide; and

(d) if requested by the department, a full description of tests made and the results on which the claims are based. In the case of renewal of registration, a statement is required only for information that is different from that furnished when the pesticide was registered or last reregistered.

(3) A pesticide imported into the state that is subject to and has been registered under the provisions of a federal act providing for the registration of pesticides must be registered in the state. However, the state may restrict the sale or use and application of the pesticide by type of dealer, applicator, time, and place and may establish special registrations of pesticides as outlined in 80-8-105(3) and in subsection (9) of this section. The annual registration fee must also be paid, and registration information required by the department must be provided.

(4) (a) The applicant shall pay an annual pesticide registration fee for:

(i) each pesticide registered;

(ii) each emergency exemption requested by the state, as provided in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 136p;

(iii) each special local need registration, as provided in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 136v(c)(1); and

(iv) each experimental-use permit registration, as provided in 7 U.S.C. 136c.

(b) The annual pesticide registration fee may not be less than $130 a year or more than $145 a year. The department may adjust by rule the registration fee to maintain adequate funding for the purposes of this chapter.

(5) (a) The department shall assess a special needs fee for each pesticide registered, emergency exemption requested, special local need registration, or experimental-use permit registration to be used for the Montana state university extension service pesticide education program for the purpose of coordinating the certification and training of farm applicators.

(b) The department may adjust by rule the special needs fee to maintain adequate funding for farm pesticide applicator certification and training programs. The fee may not be less than $8 a year or more than $11 a year.

(6) The department may require the submission of the complete formula and certified analytical standards of any pesticide. If it appears to the department that the composition of the pesticide warrants the proposed claims for it and if the pesticide, its labeling, and other material required to be submitted comply with the requirements of 80-8-202, the department shall register the pesticide.

(7) If it does not appear to the department that the pesticide warrants the proposed claims for it or if the pesticide, its labeling, and other material required to be submitted do not comply with this chapter, the department shall notify the applicant of the manner in which the pesticide, labeling, or other material required to be submitted fails to comply with the chapter to provide the applicant an opportunity to make the necessary corrections. If the applicant does not make the corrections upon receipt of the notice, the department may refuse to register the pesticide. The department may suspend or cancel the registration of a pesticide whenever it does not appear that the pesticide or its labeling comply with this chapter or whenever scientific evidence proves that the pesticide endangers humans or the general environment afforded protection under 80-8-105(3)(a). When an application for registration is refused or the department proposes to suspend or cancel a registration, the registrant may pursue administrative remedies under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act and rules of the department.

(8) Registration is not required in the case of a pesticide shipped from one plant in the state to another plant in the state by the same person.

(9) (a) The department, the department of public health and human services, and the department of fish, wildlife, and parks shall review all applications for registration of an experimental-use permit or a registration for special local needs. The departments shall use the same requirements and standards for reviewing registrations established by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended, and regulations adopted under the act. The department shall provide the departments of public health and human services and fish, wildlife, and parks with a complete copy of the application, related correspondence, and a statement of the department's proposed action on the application. The department, the department of public health and human services, and the department of fish, wildlife, and parks shall approve or disapprove the application within 10 days after the receipt of the application. If the department, the department of public health and human services, and the department of fish, wildlife, and parks are in agreement with the proposed registration, the department shall issue the registration.

(b) The department shall establish a time and place for an interagency conference for the purposes of resolving the registration of any pesticide or device. If two of the departments approve the proposed registration, the department may issue the registration.

(c) The registrant applying for registration must be notified as to proposed changes in registration. If the departments cannot resolve the proposed registration following the interagency conference, the registrant may request a joint administrative hearing before the departments of agriculture, public health and human services, and fish, wildlife, and parks.

(d) Following the interagency conference and, if requested, the administrative hearing, if the proposed registration of a pesticide or device has not been resolved, the department of agriculture shall appoint an advisory council as outlined in 80-8-108 to resolve by majority vote the registration of the pesticide or device. The advisory council's recommendations on the registration must be accepted by the departments and implemented by the department of agriculture.

(10) (a) Pesticides registered under any federal law when canceled for sale and use in total or in part by a federal agency responsible for registration are considered canceled in total or in part for sale and use in Montana. The cancellation is effective on the final date of sale or use allowed under the federal law and rules or orders of the federal agency. Except as provided in subsection (10)(b), if the federal cancellation allows existing stock to be used past the final date of cancellation, the sale or use in this state may not exceed 2 years. The department shall provide technical assistance to any person in possession of the products to ensure their proper disposal, relabeling, or removal.

(b) Pesticide products canceled under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 136a-1(i)(5), may be sold and used according to labeling requirements or other requirements for a period not to exceed 6 years from the date that distribution from the registrant, manufacturer, formulator, or distributor is terminated.

History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 403, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 121, Ch. 218, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 462, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 27-217; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 218, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 230, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 633, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 181, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 588, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 139, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 465, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 329, Ch. 418, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 73, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 141, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 244, L. 2017.