2007 Minnesota Statutes

18B.07 PESTICIDE USE, APPLICATION, AND EQUIPMENT CLEANING.
    Subdivision 1. Pesticide use. Pesticides must be applied in accordance with the product label
or labeling and in a manner that will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment
within limits prescribed by this chapter and FIFRA.
    Subd. 2. Prohibited pesticide use. (a) A person may not use, store, handle, distribute, or
dispose of a pesticide, rinsate, pesticide container, or pesticide application equipment in a manner:
(1) that is inconsistent with a label or labeling as defined by FIFRA;
(2) that endangers humans, damages agricultural products, food, livestock, fish, or wildlife; or
(3) that will cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.
(b) A person may not direct a pesticide onto property beyond the boundaries of the target
site. A person may not apply a pesticide resulting in damage to adjacent property.
(c) A person may not directly apply a pesticide on a human by overspray or target site
spray, except when:
(1) the pesticide is intended for use on a human;
(2) the pesticide application is for mosquito control operations;
(3) the pesticide application is for control of gypsy moth, forest tent caterpillar, or other pest
species, as determined by the commissioner, and the pesticide used is a biological agent; or
(4) the pesticide application is for a public health risk, as determined by the commissioner
of health, and the commissioner of health, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture,
determines that the application is warranted based on the commissioner's balancing of the public
health risk with the risk that the pesticide application poses to the health of the general population,
with special attention to the health of children.
(d) For pesticide applications under paragraph (c), clause (2), the following conditions apply:
(1) no practicable and effective alternative method of control exists;
(2) the pesticide is among the least toxic available for control of the target pest; and
(3) notification to residents in the area to be treated is provided at least 24 hours before
application through direct notification, posting daily on the treating organization's Web site, if
any, and by sending a broadcast e-mail to those persons who request notification of such, of
those areas to be treated by adult mosquito control techniques during the next calendar day.
For control operations related to human disease, notice under this paragraph may be given less
than 24 hours in advance.
(e) For pesticide applications under paragraph (c), clauses (3) and (4), the following
conditions apply:
(1) no practicable and effective alternative method of control exists;
(2) the pesticide is among the least toxic available for control of the target pest; and
(3) notification of residents in the area to be treated is provided by direct notification and
through publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the affected area.
(f) For purposes of this subdivision, "direct notification" may include mailings, public
meetings, posted placards, neighborhood newsletters, or other means of contact designed to
reach as many residents as possible. Public meetings held to meet this requirement for adult
mosquito control, under paragraph (d), must be held within each city or town where the pesticide
treatments are to be made, at a time and location that is convenient for residents of the area where
the treatments will occur.
(g) A person may not apply a pesticide in a manner so as to expose a worker in an
immediately adjacent, open field.
    Subd. 3. Posting. Sites being treated with pesticides through irrigation systems must be
posted throughout the period of pesticide treatment. The posting must be done in accordance with
labeling and rules adopted under this chapter.
    Subd. 4. Pesticide safeguards at application sites. A person may not allow a pesticide,
rinsate, or unrinsed pesticide container to be stored, kept, or to remain in or on any site without
safeguards adequate to prevent an incident.
    Subd. 5. Use of public water supplies for filling equipment. A person may not fill pesticide
application equipment directly from a public water supply, as defined in section 144.382,
unless the outlet from the public water supply is equipped with a backflow prevention device
that complies with the Minnesota Plumbing Code under Minnesota Rules, parts 4715.2000 to
4715.2280.
    Subd. 6. Use of public waters for filling equipment. (a) A person may not fill
pesticide application equipment directly from public or other waters of the state, as defined
in section 103G.005, subdivision 15, unless the equipment contains proper and functioning
anti-backsiphoning mechanisms. The person may not introduce pesticides into the application
equipment until after filling the equipment from the public waters.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to permitted applications of aquatic pesticides to public
waters.
    Subd. 7. Cleaning equipment in or near surface water. (a) A person may not:
(1) clean pesticide application equipment in surface waters of the state; or
(2) fill or clean pesticide application equipment adjacent to surface waters, ditches, or wells
where, because of the slope or other conditions, pesticides or materials contaminated with
pesticides could enter or contaminate the surface waters, ground water, or wells, as a result of
overflow, leakage, or other causes.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to permitted application of aquatic pesticides to public
waters.
    Subd. 8. Pesticide, rinsate, and container disposal. A person may only dispose of pesticide,
rinsate, and pesticide containers in accordance with this chapter and FIFRA. The manner of
disposal must not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.
History: 1987 c 358 s 49; 1989 c 326 art 5 s 21-24; 1990 c 391 art 8 s 4; 1994 c 482 s
1; 1994 c 619 s 4; 1995 c 95 s 1; 2002 c 369 s 1; 2003 c 127 art 13 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 21 art 11
s 5; 2004 c 254 s 3