Code of Maine Rules
01 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY
026 - BOARD OF PESTICIDES CONTROL
Chapter 10 - DEFINITIONS AND TERMS
Section 026-10-2 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 01 ME Code Rules ยง 026-10-2

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

A. "Aerial applicator" means all persons who dispense pesticides by means of any machine or device used or designed for navigation of or flight in the air.

B. "Agricultural pesticide application" means any application of a pesticide upon an agricultural commodity which is performed by or for a commercial agricultural producer.

C. "Air-carrier application equipment" means any application equipment that utilizes a mechanically generated airstream to propel the spray droplets.

D. "Applicant" means a person or persons who apply for a certification, license or permit authorized in 22 M.R.S.A. §1471-D or § 1471-N.

E. "Branch office" means:

1. any home, store or other business location where an employee of a spray contracting firm directly accepts requests for pest control services from clients through mail, telephone or walk-in inquiries, and

2. any government or university office where employees receive regular direction to apply pesticides in connection with their duties.

3. It does not include the home of an employee who receives work assignments and directions from a branch office with a master applicator.

F. "Calibration of equipment" means measurement of dispersal or output of application equipment and adjustment of such equipment to control the rate of dispersal, and droplet or particle size of a pesticide dispersed by the equipment.

G. "Certification" means the recognition by the Board that an applicant has successfully fulfilled all the appropriate competency criteria as set forth in these Chapters.

H. "Commercial agricultural producer" means, for the purposes of Chapter 50, any person who produces an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes.

I. "Commercial applicator" means any person, unless exempted in I(4) hereunder, whether or not the person is a private applicator with respect to some uses, who:

1. Uses or supervises the use of any limited or restricted use pesticide other than as a private applicator; or

2. Makes or supervises a custom application of a general use pesticide; or

3. Applies a pesticide in connection with their duties as an official or an employee of federal, state, county, university or local government.

4. The following classes of applicators are exempt from commercial certification/licensing requirements. Applications not listed below must be performed under the direct on-site supervision of a licensed commercial applicator Master and/or Operator.
a. Persons applying ready-to-use general use pesticides by hand or with non-powered equipment:
i. to control stinging insects when there is an urgent need to mitigate or eliminate a pest that is a threat to health or safety; or

ii. to repel biting insects on patients and other persons under their care or supervision who are unable to apply the material to themselves; or

iii. to repel biting insects on minors, such as students and campers, provided that a parent or legal guardian has authorized the application of insect repellents.

b. Persons applying general use antimicrobial products by hand or with non-powered equipment to interior or exterior surfaces and furnishings of buildings during the course of routine cleaning procedures.

c. Persons applying general use paints, stains or wood preservatives, except for the treatment of standing utility poles.

d. Persons installing hardware such as doorknobs and pushplates.

J. "Commercial applicator/Master" means a commercial applicator who, unless exempted in Chapter 31, Section 1 (Company/Agency Licensing Requirements), is responsible for the major pest control decisions including, but not limited to, identifying unusual pests and choosing the appropriate pest control strategies and techniques. This person is also responsible for establishing policies relating to the operating practices of others applying pesticides within the company or agency. Such practices may include equipment maintenance and calibration, employee training, safety and hygiene, pesticide and container disposal, accident mitigation and ensuring that applications are conducted in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations.

K. "Commercial applicator/Operator" means a commercial applicator who:

1. applies or directs the application of a pesticide according to the instructions of the master when a master is required according to Chapter 31, Section 1 (Company /Agency Licensing Requirements); or

2. applies or directs the application of a pesticide and performs the function of the master applicator when a separate master is not required according to Chapter 31, Section 1 (Company/Agency Licensing Requirements).

L. "Compact urban line" means that delineation made by the Maine Department of Transportation which denotes a section of the highway where structures are nearer than 200 feet apart for a distance of one-quarter of a mile.

M. Compatibility" means that property of a pesticide that permits its use with other chemicals without undesirable results being caused by the combination.

N. "Competent" means properly qualified to perform functions associated with pesticide application, the degree of capability required being directly related to the nature of the activity and the associated responsibility.

O. "Common exposure route" means a likely way (oral, dermal, respiratory) by which a pesticide may reach and/or enter an organism.

P. "Custom application" means an application of a pesticide:

1. Under contract or for which compensation is received;
a. For the purposes of this definition, "under contract" includes: verbal or written agreements to provide services which include the use of any pesticide; i.e., private or commercial rental agreements, pest control service agreements, landscape maintenance agreements, etc.

b. For purposes of this definition, compensation is deemed to have been received for a pesticide application where any form of remuneration has been or will be exchanged, including payment of cash, rent, or other financial consideration, or by the exchange of goods and/or services. This also includes any agreements where crops grown on rented land will be sold to the landowner or are otherwise grown for the benefit of the land owner.

2. To a property open to use by the public;
a. For purposes of this definition, property is deemed to be open to use by the public where its owner, lessee or other lawful occupant operates, maintains or holds the property open or allows access for routine use by members of the public. Persons are considered to be members of the public even though they may pay a fee or other compensation in order to make use of the property or may visit the property for a commercial purpose.

b. Property open to use by the public includes but is not limited to: shopping centers, office and store space routinely open to the public (i.e. rest rooms, self-service areas and display aisles), common areas of apartment buildings, occupied apartments, public pools and water parks, schools and other institutional buildings, public roads, organized recreational facilities, golf courses, campgrounds, parks, parking lots, ornamental and turf areas around condominiums, apartment buildings, stores malls and retail areas of greenhouses and nurseries if the public is allowed access before the pesticide restricted-entry or re-entry interval elapses.

c. Examples of property not open to use by the public include without limitation: farms, forest lands, and private residential or commercial property which is not routinely operated or maintained for use by the public or otherwise held open to public use.

d. Notwithstanding this definition, property shall not be deemed to be open for use by the public in the following cases:
i. where the property is devoted primarily to agricultural, forest, ornamental tree or plant production, but this exception shall not apply to campgrounds, leased in holdings or roads within such property which are open for use by the public;

ii. where the public has not been permitted upon the property at any time within seven days of when the property received a pesticide application;

iii. forestry rights of way where the property has been closed during the time of spraying or during the label restricted entry interval or re-entry period, whichever is greater.

iv. where the public has not been permitted on the treated portion of privately held recreational land within seven days of a pesticide application for vegetation management.

3. In a food establishment licensed under M.R.S. 22, Chapter 551, or an eating establishment licensed under M.R.S. 22, Chapter 562, except that "custom application" does not include a pesticide application at a licensed food or eating establishment when:
a. The establishment is ancillary to the production of an agricultural commodity;

b. The owner or an employee of that establishment is certified as a private applicator under section 1471- C, subsection 2; and

c. The property is not open to the public.

4. A pesticide application shall not be deemed a custom application where it is undertaken by a licensed private applicator on property owned or rented by him or his employer or in trade for personal agricultural services between producers of agricultural commodities.

Q. "Distribute" means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, barter, ship, deliver for shipment or receive and, having so received, deliver or offer to deliver pesticides in this state. This also means giving free samples of unregistered products to any person. Sales of hardware, such as doorknobs and pushplates, shall not be considered distribution for the purposes of this definition.

R. "Environment" means water, air, land, and all plants and man and other animals living therein, and the interrelationships that exist among them.

S. "Forest" means a concentration of trees and related vegetation managed primarily for the production of forest agricultural commodities such as timber, fiber or other wood products, including other similar areas managed for recreation or resource conservation.

T. For the purposes of 22 M.R.S. §1471-D(9), "Government Employee" means a person who is employed full- or part-time as a regular employee of any governmental or quasi-governmental organization including federal, state, county and municipal governments and public universities.

U. "Hazard" means a probability that a given pesticide will have an adverse effect on man or the environment in a given situation, the relative likelihood of danger or ill effect being dependent on a number of interrelated factors present at any given time.

V. "Host" means any plant or animal on or in which another lives for nourishment, development, or protection.

W. "Integrated Pest Management" (IPM) means the selection, integration and implementation of pest damage prevention and control based on predicted socioeconomic and ecological consequences, including:

(1) understanding the system in which the pest exists,

(2 ) establishing dynamic economic or aesthetic injury thresholds and determining whether the organism or organism complex warrants control,

(3) monitoring pests and natural enemies,

(4) when needed, selecting the appropriate system of cultural, mechanical, genetic, including resistant cultivars, biological or chemical prevention techniques or controls for desired suppression, and

(5) systematically evaluating the pest management approaches utilized.

X. "Integrated Pest Management Coordinator" means the lead person in a school system or school who is knowledgeable about integrated pest management and is designated by each school to implement the school pest management policy.

Y. "License" means a commercial applicator license, a private applicator certification, a dealer license, a permit to chemically control vertebrate animals, or a permit to apply limited use pesticides.

Z. "Licensing" means the issuance by the Board of a document signifying that the applicant has been certified and has met all applicable employee, fee, insurance and reporting requirements.

AA. "Major application project" means any pesticide application contract that requires the applicator to apply pesticides to more than 1000 acres in the aggregate within a given year. This does not include repeat applications to the same site.

BB. "Major pesticide storage facility" means any fixed-site, totally enclosed building or portion of such building owned and/or operated by a pesticide distributor where pesticides are held in storage and which meets one of the following criteria:

1. contains at any one time an amount greater than or equal to 6,000 pounds of dry pesticide product, other than dry formulations of products listed in Chapter 2 4, Section 2, "Exempted Products," or

2. contains at any one time an amount greater than or equal to 600 gallons of liquid pesticide product, other than liquid formulations of products listed in Chapter 2 4, Section 2, "Exempted Products," or

3. contains liquid pesticides in containers that are thirty (30) gallons or greater in size, other than liquid formulations of products listed in Chapter 24, Section 2, "Exempted Products."

CC. "Minor pesticide storage facility" means any fixed-site, totally enclosed building or portion of such building owned and/or operated by a pesticide distributor where pesticides are held in storage and which meets one of the following criteria:

1. contains at any one time an amount greater than 100 pounds but less than 6,000 pounds of dry pesticide product, other than dry formulations of products listed in Chapter 24, Section 2, "Exempted Products," or

2. contains at any one time an amount greater than 50 gallons but less than 600 gallons of liquid pesticide, other than liquid formulations of products listed in Chapter 24, Section 2, "Exempted Products," or

3. contains liquid pesticides in containers greater than three (3) gallons but less than thirty (30) gallons in size, other than liquid formulations of products listed in Chapter 24, Section 2, "Exempted Products."

DD. "Non-agricultural pesticide application" means any application of a pesticide that is not an agricultural pesticide application.

EE. "Non-powered equipment" means pesticide spray equipment which pumps and disperses pesticides without utilization of an electric, gasoline, wind-driven or other motorized power source. By way of example, non-powered equipment includes manual pump spray equipment and self-contained aerosol spray cans or bottles but does not include equipment which employs a motor, except one powered only by hand.

FF. "Non-target organism" means a plant or animal other than the one against which the pesticide is applied.

GG. "Off-target direct discharge of pesticides" means the direct application of pesticides onto property beyond the boundaries of the target area intended to be treated. Presence of off-target direct discharge of pesticides may be determined by any evidence, through observation, residue samples or other techniques, that an off-target area has received substantially the same dose of pesticide as a target area.

HH. "Off-target drift of pesticides" means the drifting of pesticides by air currents or diffusion with resulting deposition of pesticides onto property beyond the boundaries of the target area intended to be treated. The detection of pesticides beyond the boundaries of the target area intended to be treated shall be presumed to be as a result of off-target drift unless there is evidence of off-target direct discharge of pesticides.

II. "Ornamental plant" means shrubs, trees and related vegetation in and around habitation generally, but not necessarily, located in urban and suburban areas, including residences, parks, streets, retail outlets, and industrial and institutional buildings.

JJ. "Other forest pests" means forest pests, other than insects and include, but are not limited to, weeds, mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and viruses.

KK. "Owner" means sole proprietor, partner or stockholder.

LL. "Person" means any individual, partnership, fiduciary, corporation, governmental entity, association or public or private organization of any character, other than the Board.

MM. "Pesticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest; any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant; and any nitrogen stabilizer. It does not include multicellular biological controls such as mites, nematodes, parasitic wasps, snails or other biological agents not regulated as pesticides by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

NN. "Pesticide dealer" means any person who distributes limited or restricted-use pesticides, including but not limited to sales personnel in an outlet, field salesmen, and manufacturers' representatives selling pesticides directly to the consumer or who accept orders for pesticides.

OO. "Pesticide distributor" means any person required to be licensed to distribute general, restricted or limited use pesticides.

PP. "Pesticide storage facility" means any fixed-site, totally enclosed building or portion of such building where pesticides are held for storage.

QQ. "Practical knowledge" means the possession of pertinent facts and comprehension together with the ability to use them in dealing with specific problems and situations.

RR. "Principal place of business" means the principal location, either residence or office, in the State in which an individual, partnership, or corporation applies pesticides.

SS. "Private Applicator" means any person who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide which is classified for restricted or limited use for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by him or his employer or, if applied without compensation other than the trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person. In situations where the applicator is applying pesticides to crops on rented land, there must be a written contract showing that the grower/applicator retains control over the property as well as the disposition or sale of the harvested crop.

TT. "Private domestic well" means any well used for drinking water other than one which serves a public water system.

UU. "Project" means, for the purposes of Chapter 51, the aerial application of pesticides to control an individual forest insect pest complex provided by:

1. Any number of applicator businesses for a single person, or

2. One applicator business on contiguous parcels of land.

VV. "Public precautions" means those statements which appear on the pesticide label directed towards the non-applicator public. Public precautions may include, but are not limited to, re-entry intervals.

WW. "Public water system" means any water supply system that provides water to at least 15 service connections or serves water to at least 25 individuals daily for at least 30 days a year.

XX. "Regulated pest" means a specific organism considered by a State or Federal agency to be a pest requiring regulatory restrictions, regulations, or control procedures in order to protect the host, man and/or his environment.

YY. "School" means any public or private elementary or secondary school, kindergarten or nursery school that is part of an elementary or secondary school or a tribally funded school.

ZZ. "School Building" means any structure used or occupied by students or staff of any school.

AAA. "School Grounds" means:

1. land associated with a school building including playgrounds, athletic fields and agricultural fields used by students or staff of a school, and

2. any other outdoor area used by students or staff that is under the control of a school.

BBB. "Self-service sales area" means any area within or immediately outside a retail or wholesale business in which members of the public have direct access to pesticide products. For the purposes of this chapter, self-service sales areas shall be limited to those pesticide products which require a pesticide dealer to be licensed under 22 M.R.S.A. §1471-W, "General Use Pesticide Dealers."

CCC. "Sensitive area" means any of the following, except where the area involved is the intended target of the pesticide application:

1. Apiaries, the location of which is registered with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to 7 M.R.S.A. §2701;

2. Critical areas designated by the Board pursuant to 22 M.R.S.A. §1471-M(2);

3. Public wells, drinking water springs used by the public, and public water supply intake points, provided the location of the same is known or should reasonably be known to the pesticide applicator;

4. Private sources of drinking water, where the owner or legal user thereof has given prior notice of the location of such source to the landowner or lessee of the area which will be subject to a pesticide application;

5. Water bodies, including streams, brooks, rivers, ponds, lakes, estuaries and marine waters, provided that any such water body contains water at the time of the pesticide application and is known to the spray applicator or is reasonably detectable from visual observation, reasonably available maps or reasonable inquiry. This term shall not include:
(a) in the case of forest aerial spray programs, streams and brooks that are neither shown on reasonably available maps nor visible from an aircraft operating at 1000 feet in elevation above ground level; and

(b) waters that are confined and retained completely upon the property of the person conducting or contracting for spray services, and that do not drain into or connect with any other water body;

6. Wetlands of Special Significance.

7. Cleared areas where livestock are contained or pastured, cultivated land, cropland or gardens.

8. A "Sensitive Area Likely to Be Occupied" is an area where humans are likely to be present including the following:
a. Residential buildings, together with any associated maintained areas likely to be occupied by humans, such as lawns, gardens, recreational areas and livestock management and housing areas;

b. School buildings, together with any associated maintained areas that are areas likely to be occupied by humans, such as playgrounds, athletic fields or courts;

c. Commercial, institutional, or other structures likely to be occupied by humans, together with any associated maintained areas such as lawns, gardens, parking and recreational areas;

d. Maintained recreational areas likely to be occupied by humans including campgrounds, picnic areas, marked roadside rest areas, marked hiking trails, park and recreation facilities, athletic fields, and other areas for organized sports or recreation. This definition does not include trails located on privately owned lands which are used by permission of the landowner.

DDD. "Spray application" means, for the purposes of Chapter 51, the dispensing of pesticides in any manner from an aircraft.

EEE. "Spray contracting firm" means any person, including a corporation, employed or contracted to conduct a public or private custom application of one or more pesticides. This term does not include:

1. the owner or lessee of land to be sprayed and employees of that landowner or lessee,

2. the Division of Forestry and the employees of the Division of Forestry,

3. individuals who are certified as commercial applicators providing that individual does not have in his/her employment one or more others to undertake pesticide applications; or

4. persons who perform custom applications of pesticides solely on or within a premises which they own or lease.

5. persons and corporations that subcontract for pesticide applications, but do not maintain any control over the pesticide application including which pesticides are applied, when they are applied or how they are applied.

FFF. "Spray period report" means a written description of the spray activity certifying he date and time, the area usually sprayed, the pesticide used, and including a description of the weather conditions during spray activity. The report must also include a map showing where spray booms were turned on and off, with notation of any non-target areas that were sprayed.

GGG. "Standard" means the measure of knowledge and ability that must be demonstrated as a requirement for certification.

HHH. "Storage" means holding pesticides for distribution in locations other than self-service sales areas.

III. "Susceptibility" means the degree to which an organism is affected by a pesticide at a particular level of exposure.

JJJ. "Toxicity" means the property of a pesticide to cause any adverse physiological effects.

KKK. "Uncertified person" means any person who is not holding a currently valid certification document indicating that he is certified under section 4 of FIFRA in the category of the restricted use pesticide made available for use.

LLL. "Wetlands of Special Significance" means all coastal wetlands and great ponds. In addition, certain freshwater wetlands are considered wetlands of special significance if they have one or more of the following characteristics.

1. Critically imperiled or imperiled community. The freshwater wetland contains a natural community that is critically imperiled (S1) or imperiled (S2) as defined by the Natural Areas Program.

2. Significant wildlife habitat. The freshwater wetland contains significant wildlife habitat as defined by 38 M.R.S.A. §480-B(10).

3. Location near coastal wetland. The freshwater wetland area is located within 250 feet of a coastal wetland.

4. Location near GPA great pond. The freshwater wetland area is located within 250 feet of the normal high water line, and within the same watershed, of any lake or pond classified as GPA under 38 M.R.S.A. §465-A.

5. Aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation or open water. The freshwater wetland contains under normal circumstances at least 20,000 square feet of aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation or open water, unless the 20,000 or more square foot area is the result of an artificial ponds or impoundment.

6. Wetlands subject to flooding. The freshwater wetland area is inundated with floodwater during a 100-year flood event based on flood insurance maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or other site-specific information.

7. Peatlands. The freshwater wetland is or contains peatlands, except that the Department of Environmental Protection may determine that a previously mined peatland, or portion thereof, is not a wetland of special significance.

8. River, stream or brook. The freshwater wetland area is located within 25 feet of a river, stream or brook.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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