2007 Minnesota Statutes

18C.005 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. The definitions in this section apply to this chapter.
    Subd. 1a.[Repealed, 2005 c 136 art 7 s 22]
    Subd. 2. Best management practices. "Best management practices" means practices,
techniques, and measures developed under section 103H.151, subdivision 2.
    Subd. 3. Brand. "Brand" means a term, design, or trademark used in connection with one or
several grades of fertilizers or soil and plant amendment materials.
    Subd. 4. Chemigation. "Chemigation" means a process of applying fertilizers to land or
crops including agricultural, nursery, turf, golf course, or greenhouse sites in or with irrigation
water during the irrigation process.
    Subd. 5. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.
    Subd. 6. Compost. "Compost" is a biologically stable material derived from the composting
process.
    Subd. 6a. Composting. "Composting" is the biological decomposition of organic matter. It is
accomplished by mixing and piling in such a way as to promote aerobic or anaerobic decay or
both. The process inhibits pathogens, viable weed seeds, and odors.
    Subd. 7. Custom apply. "Custom apply" means to apply a fertilizer, soil amendment, or
plant amendment product for compensation.
    Subd. 7a. Custom blend fertilizer. "Custom blend fertilizer" means a fertilizer blended
according to the specifications that are furnished to a distributor by a consumer prior to blending.
    Subd. 8. Deficiency. "Deficiency" means that amount of nutrient found by analysis is less than
the amount guaranteed resulting from a lack of nutrient ingredients or from lack of uniformity.
    Subd. 9. Distributor. "Distributor" means a person who imports, consigns, manufactures,
produces, compounds, mixes, or blends fertilizer, or who offers for sale, sells, barters, or otherwise
supplies fertilizer or soil and plant amendments in this state.
    Subd. 10. Environment. "Environment" means surface water, groundwater, air, land, plants,
humans, and animals and their interrelationships.
    Subd. 11. Fertilizer. "Fertilizer" means a substance containing one or more recognized plant
nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and designed for use or claimed to have value in
promoting plant growth. Fertilizer does not include animal and vegetable manures that are not
manipulated, marl, lime, limestone, and other products exempted by rule by the commissioner.
    Subd. 12. Fixed location. "Fixed location" means all stationary fertilizer facility operations,
owned or operated by a person, located in the same plant location or locality.
    Subd. 12a. Genetic engineering. "Genetic engineering" means the modification of the
genetic composition of an organism using molecular techniques. This does not include selective
breeding, hybridization, or nondirected mutagenesis.
    Subd. 12b. Genetically engineered fertilizer. "Genetically engineered fertilizer" means
an organism that has been modified through the use of genetic engineering, containing one or
more recognized plant nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and designed for use
or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth. Genetically engineered fertilizer does not
include animal and vegetable manures that are not manipulated, marl, lime, limestone, and other
products exempted by rule by the commissioner.
    Subd. 12c. Genetically engineered plant amendment. "Genetically engineered plant
amendment" means an organism that has been modified through the use of genetic engineering,
and that when applied to plants or seeds is intended to improve germination, growth, yield,
product quality, reproduction, flavor, or other desirable characteristics of plants except fertilizers,
soil amendments, agricultural liming materials, pesticides, and other materials that are exempted
by rule.
    Subd. 12d. Genetically engineered soil amendment. "Genetically engineered soil
amendment" means an organism that has been modified directly or indirectly using genetic
engineering, intended to improve the physical characteristics of the soil for agricultural production,
except fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, pesticides, and other materials exempted by rule.
    Subd. 13. Grade. "Grade" means the percentage of total nitrogen (N), available phosphate
(P2O5), and soluble potash (K2 O) stated in whole numbers in the same terms, order, and
percentages as in the guaranteed analysis except the grade of custom blends and their raw
materials, bone meals, manures, and similar raw materials may be stated in fractional units, and
specialty fertilizers may be stated in fractional units of less than one percent of total nitrogen,
available phosphate, and soluble potash.
    Subd. 14. Guarantor. "Guarantor" means the person who is guaranteeing the material to be
as stated in the guaranteed analysis.
    Subd. 15. Incident. "Incident" means a flood, fire, tornado, transportation accident, storage
container rupture, portable container rupture, leak, spill, emission, discharge, escape, disposal, or
other event that releases or immediately threatens to release a fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment accidentally or otherwise into the environment, and may cause unreasonable adverse
effects on the environment. Incident does not include a release resulting from the normal use of a
product or practice in accordance with law.
    Subd. 16. Investigational allowance. "Investigational allowance" means an allowance for
variations inherent in the taking, preparation, and analysis of an official sample of fertilizer.
    Subd. 17. Label. "Label" means the display of all written, printed or graphic matter upon
the immediate container or the statement accompanying a fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment.
    Subd. 18. Labeling. "Labeling" means all written, printed or graphic matter on or
accompanying a fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment or advertisements, brochures,
posters, television, radio or other announcements used in promoting the sale of fertilizers, soil
amendments, or plant amendments.
    Subd. 18a. Local unit of government. "Local unit of government" has the meaning given
in section 18B.01, subdivision 14a.
    Subd. 19. Manipulated. "Manipulated" means fertilizers that are manufactured, blended, or
mixed, or animal or vegetable manures that have been treated in any manner, including mechanical
drying, grinding, pelleting, and other means, or by adding other chemicals or substances.
    Subd. 20. Mobile mechanical unit. "Mobile mechanical unit" means a portable machine
or apparatus used to manufacture fertilizers.
    Subd. 21. Official sample. "Official sample" means a sample of fertilizer, soil amendment,
or plant amendment taken by the commissioner according to methods prescribed by this chapter
or by rule.
    Subd. 22. Organic fertilizer. "Organic fertilizer" means a material containing carbon and
one or more elements other than hydrogen and oxygen essential for plant growth.
    Subd. 22a. Organism. "Organism" means an animal, plant, bacterium, cyanobacterium,
fungus, protist, or virus.
    Subd. 23. Percent; percentage. "Percent" or "percentage" means the percentage by weight.
    Subd. 24. Person. "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
trust, joint stock company, or unincorporated organization, the state, a state agency, or a political
subdivision.
    Subd. 25. Plant amendment. "Plant amendment" means a substance applied to plants or
seeds that is intended to improve germination, growth, yield, product quality, reproduction, flavor,
or other desirable characteristics of plants except fertilizers, soil amendments, agricultural liming
materials, pesticides, and other materials that are exempted by rule.
    Subd. 26. Plant food. "Plant food" means a plant nutrient generally recognized as beneficial
for plant growth, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron,
chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, and zinc.
    Subd. 27. Registrant. "Registrant" means the person who registers fertilizer, soil
amendment, or plant amendment under this chapter.
    Subd. 27a. Release. "Release" means the placement or use of a genetically engineered
organism outside a contained laboratory, greenhouse, building, structure, or other similar facility
or under other conditions not specifically determined by the commissioner to be adequately
contained.
    Subd. 28. Rinsate. "Rinsate" means a dilute mixture of a fertilizer or fertilizer with water,
solvents, oils, commercial rinsing agents, or other substances.
    Subd. 29. Safeguard. "Safeguard" means a facility, equipment, device, or system,
individually or in combination, designed to prevent an incident as required by rule.
    Subd. 30. Sell. "Sell," in reference to the sale of fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant
amendment, includes:
(1) the act of selling, transferring ownership;
(2) the offering and exposing for sale, exchange, distribution, giving away, and transportation
in, and into, this state;
(3) the possession with intent to sell, exchange, distribute, give away or transport in, and
into, this state;
(4) the storing, carrying, and handling in aid of trafficking fertilizers, plant amendments, or
soil amendments, whether done in person or through an agent, employee or others; and
(5) receiving, accepting, and holding of consignment for sale.
    Subd. 31. Sewage sludge. "Sewage sludge" means the solids and associated liquids in
municipal wastewater that are encountered and concentrated by a municipal wastewater treatment
plant. Sewage sludge does not include incinerator residues and grit, scum, or screenings removed
from other solids during treatment.
    Subd. 32. Site. "Site" includes land and water areas, air space, and plants, animals, structures,
buildings, contrivances, and machinery, whether fixed or mobile, including anything used for
transportation.
    Subd. 33. Soil amendment. "Soil amendment" means a substance intended to improve the
structural, physical, or biological characteristics of the soil or modify organic matter at or near
the soil surface, except fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, pesticides, and other materials
exempted by the commissioner's rules.
    Subd. 34. Specialty fertilizer. "Specialty fertilizer" means a fertilizer labeled and distributed
for, but not limited to, the following uses: greenhouses, nurseries, home gardens, house plants,
lawn fertilizer, shrubs, golf courses, municipal parks, and cemeteries.
    Subd. 35. Substantially altering; substantially alter; substantial alteration. "Substantially
altering," "substantially alter," or "substantial alteration" means modifying a bulk agricultural
chemical storage facility by:
(1) changing the capacity of a safeguard;
(2) adding storage containers in excess of the capacity of a safeguard as required by rule;
(3) increasing the size of the largest storage container in a safeguard as approved or permitted
by the commissioner of agriculture; or
(4) adding or changing anhydrous ammonia storage containers or adding ammonia loading or
unloading stations. This does not include routine maintenance of safeguards, storage containers,
appurtenances, piping, or existing mixing, blending, weighing, or handling equipment. For dry
bulk fertilizer, a person may decrease storage capacity without a substantial alteration permit
and may increase storage capacity up to 150 tons per location annually without a substantial
alteration permit.
    Subd. 35a.[Repealed, 2005 c 136 art 7 s 22]
    Subd. 36. Ton. "Ton" means a net ton of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois.
    Subd. 37. Unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. "Unreasonable adverse
effects on the environment" means an unreasonable risk to humans or the environment, taking
into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of a fertilizer.
    Subd. 38. Wildlife. "Wildlife" means living things that are not human, domesticated, or pests.
History: 1989 c 326 art 6 s 2; 1991 c 250 s 11-16; 1993 c 367 s 11,12; 1996 c 330 s 8-14;
2000 c 477 s 9-12; 2002 c 345 s 1