Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Accident" means an unexpected, undesirable event, involving the use or presence of a pesticide, that adversely affects man or the environment.

"Act" means the Virginia Pesticide Control Act (§ 3.2-3900 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).

"Agricultural commodity" means any plant or part thereof, or animal, or animal product, produced by a person, including farmers, ranchers, vineyardists, plant propagators, Christmas tree growers, aquaculturists, floriculturists, orchardists, foresters, nurserymen, wood treaters not for hire, or other comparable persons, primarily for sale, consumption, propagation, or other use by man or animals.

"Board" means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"Board-approved training" means a course which includes, at a minimum, study and review of all the material contained in an edition used in Virginia of (i) a basic pesticide applicator certification training core manual and (ii) a certification training manual for each specific category pertaining to the type of pesticide application to be done.

"Certificate" means the document issued to a certified applicator or registered technician who has completed all the requirements of Article 3 (§ 3.2-3929 et seq.) of Chapter 39 of Title 3.2 of the Code of Virginia.

"Certification" or "certified" means the recognition granted by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to an applicator upon satisfactory completion of board-approved requirements.

"Chemigation" means the application of any pesticide through an irrigation system.

"Commercial applicator" means any applicator who has completed the requirements as determined by the board, including appropriate training and time in service, to apply for a certification, and who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide for any purpose or on any property, other than as provided in the definition of private applicator.

"Commercial applicator not for hire" means any commercial applicator who uses or supervises the use of pesticides as part of his job duties only on property owned or leased by him or his employer. It also applies to governmental employees who use or supervise the use of pesticides, whether on property owned or leased by them or their employers or not, in the performance of their official duties.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"Competent person" means a person having the demonstrated ability to perform the task to which he is assigned.

"Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"Drift" means the physical movement of pesticide through the air at the time of pesticide application or soon thereafter from the target site to any nontarget or off-target site. Pesticide drift will not include movement of pesticides to nontarget or off-target sites caused by erosion, migration, volatility, or windblown soil particles that occurs after application unless specifically addressed on the pesticide product label with respect to drift control requirements.

"EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"Fumigant" means any substance that by itself or in combination with any other substance emits or liberates a gas or gases, fumes, or vapors that will destroy vermin, rodents, insects, and other pests and is usually lethal, poisonous, noxious, or dangerous to human life.

"Fungicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any fungi or plant disease.

"Herbicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any weed.

"Incident" means a definite and separate occurrence or event, involving the use or presence of a pesticide, that adversely affects man or the environment.

"Insecticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects that may be present in any environment whatsoever.

"Knowledge" means the possession and comprehension of pertinent facts, together with the ability to use them in dealing with specific problems and situations within the pesticide context.

"Label" means the written, printed, or graphic matter on, or attached to, the pesticide or device, or the immediate container thereof, and the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if any, of the pesticide or device.

"Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (i) upon the pesticide or device or any of its containers or wrappers, (ii) accompanying the pesticide or device at any time, or (iii) to which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying the pesticide or device, except when accurate, nonmisleading reference is made to current official publications of the agricultural experiment station, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Board of Health, or similar federal institutions or other official agencies of the Commonwealth or other states when such states are authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides.

"Licensed" or "licensee" means those businesses which, when meeting the requirements established by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, are issued a license to engage in the sale, storage, distribution, recommend the use, or application of pesticides in Virginia in exchange for compensation.

"Marine antifoulant paint" means any compound, coating, paint or treatment applied or used for the purpose of controlling freshwater or marine fouling organisms on vessels.

"Pesticide" means (i) any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects, rodents, fungi, bacteria, weeds, or other forms of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses on or in living man or other animals, which the commissioner shall declare to be a pest; (ii) any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant; and (iii) any substance which is intended to become an active ingredient thereof.

"Pesticide business" means any person engaged in the business of distributing, applying or recommending the use of a product; or storing, selling, or offering for sale pesticides directly to the user. The term "pesticide business" does not include (i) wood treaters not for hire; (ii) seed treaters not for hire; (iii) operations that produce agricultural products unless the owners or operators of such operations described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) are engaged in the business of selling or offering for sale pesticides, or distributing pesticides to persons outside of that agricultural producing operation in connection with commercial transactions; or (iv) businesses exempted by regulations adopted by the board.

"Private applicator" means an applicator who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide that is classified for restricted 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 trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person.

"Registered technician" means an individual who renders services similar to those of a certified commercial applicator, but who has not completed all the training or time in service requirements to be eligible for examination for certification as a commercial applicator and is limited to application of general use pesticides. However, if he applies restricted use pesticides he shall do so only under the direct supervision of a certified commercial applicator. Every registered technician is certified in Category 60 regardless of the category or subcategory in which he is trained and applies pesticides.

"Registered technician not for hire" means any registered technician who uses or supervises the use of pesticides as part of his job duties only on property owned or leased by him or his employer. It also applies to governmental employees who use or supervise the use of pesticides, whether on property owned or leased by them or their employers or not, in the performance of their official duties.

"Repeat violation" means another violation following the first violation of the same provision of the Virginia Pesticide Control Act or the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 USC § 136 et seq.), or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, committed within a three-year period commencing with the date of official notification of the first violation of the provision.

"Restricted entry interval" means the time after the end of a pesticide application during which entry into the treated area is restricted.

"Restricted use pesticide" or "pesticide classified for restricted use" means any pesticide classified for restricted use by the administrator of the EPA under the provisions of 1947 (7 USC § 3(d)(1)(c)) of the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (as amended).

"Rodenticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating rodents or any other vertebrate animal which the commissioner shall declare to be a pest.

"Tributyltin compounds" means any compound having three normal butyl groups attached to a tin atom and with or without an anion such as chloride, fluoride, or oxide.

"Under the direct supervision of" means the act or process whereby the application of a pesticide is made by a competent person acting under the instructions and control of a certified commercial applicator who is responsible for the actions of that person.

"Under the direct on-site supervision of" means the act or process whereby the application of a pesticide is made by a competent person acting under the instructions and control of a certified commercial applicator who is responsible for the actions of that person and is physically present on the property upon which the pesticide is being applied, and is in constant visual contact with the person applying the pesticide.

"Use" means the employment of a pesticide for the purposes of (i) preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest or (ii) regulating plant growth, causing defoliation or desiccation of plants. The term "use" shall include application or mixing and shall include handling or transfer of a pesticide after the manufacturer's original seal is broken. The term "use" shall also include any act with respect to a particular pesticide which is consistent with the label directions for that particular pesticide.

"Vessel" means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water, whether self-propelled or otherwise, and includes barges and tugs.