(a) No individual shall use or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide within this state at any time without a private or commercial certificate or permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this section, unless the use is under the direct supervision of a certified applicator; provided, any pesticide classified for restricted use by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall be used only by a certified applicator or under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. The commissioner shall have exclusive authority in the regulation of pesticide spraying, including, but not limited to, practices and procedures prior to and during any spraying, except as provided in § 22a-66z. The commissioner may by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 establish procedures for municipalities to designate watercourses or other sources of water which applicators may draw upon for pesticide spraying.

(b) There shall be two classifications for commercial applicators, supervisory and operational. Supervisory certification shall be required for commercial applicators who are responsible for deciding whether or not pesticides are to be employed, how they are to be mixed, where they are to be employed, what pesticides are to be used, the dosages and timing involved in the pesticide use and the methods of application and precautions to be taken in the use of such pesticides. Operational certification shall be required for commercial applicators who actively use pesticides in other than a supervisory capacity.

(c) The following provisions shall govern the certification of applicators:

(1) No person shall engage in commercial application of pesticides within this state at any time without a certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this section. No person shall engage in the private application of restricted use pesticides without a certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this section. Application for such certificate shall be made to the commissioner and shall contain such information regarding the applicant’s qualifications and proposed operations and other relevant matters including, but not limited to, a knowledge of integrated pest management and the role of honey bees in agriculture, pesticides that are especially toxic to honey bees, and methods of application which minimize damage to honey bees, as the commissioner may require.

(2) The commissioner shall require the applicant to demonstrate, upon examination, that he possesses adequate knowledge concerning the proper use and application of pesticides and the dangers involved and precautions to be taken in connection with their application.

(3) If the commissioner finds that the applicant is competent with respect to the use and handling of a pesticide or pesticides or a class or classes of pesticides, he shall certify the applicant to perform application within this state of such pesticide or pesticides or class or classes of pesticides. The certification shall be valid for five years and may be renewed by the commissioner with or without further examination. The commissioner may establish regulations for applicator certification so that one-fifth of the certificates expires each year. The commissioner may certify an applicator for less than five years and prorate the registration fee accordingly to implement the regulations established pursuant to this subsection. The certificate may restrict the applicant to the use of a certain type or types of equipment or materials, if the commissioner finds that the applicant is qualified to use only such type or types of equipment or materials.

(4) If the commissioner finds that the applicant is not competent with respect to the use and handling of a pesticide or pesticides or a class or classes of pesticides, the commissioner shall refuse to issue the applicant a certificate. The commissioner shall inform the applicant of the refusal in writing, giving the reasons for such refusal. Any person aggrieved by such a decision to deny certification may, within thirty days from date of issuance of such denial, request a hearing before the commissioner, which hearing shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 54.

(5) The commissioner may certify without examination any nonresident who is certified in another state under a law which provides substantially similar qualifications for certification and which grants similar privileges of certification without examination to residents of this state certified under the provisions of this section.

(d) When establishing standards for certification, the commissioner shall establish separate standards for supervisory and operational certificates for commercial applicators and separate standards for private applicators.

(e) The following provisions shall govern the certification of aircraft applicators:

(1) No person shall apply, offer to apply or cause to be applied any pesticide or fertilizer by aircraft without a certificate or permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

(2) Upon application of any person qualified to fly an aircraft, the commissioner may issue a certificate for the application of pesticides or fertilizers by aircraft. Application for said certificate shall be on forms provided by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars.

(3) The commissioner may issue a permit to the owner of any crop or land, or to a representative designated by such owner, for application of pesticides or fertilizers by a certified aircraft applicator. Application for said permit shall be on forms provided by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a fee established by the commissioner by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 provided the fee shall be not less than twenty dollars. The commissioner may waive the application form and fee requirements imposed pursuant to regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 in circumstances where application of broad spectrum chemical pesticides from the air is necessary to control specific vectors of human disease which pose an imminent threat to public health. The commissioner may require inspection of the crop or area and its immediate environs and approval as follows:

(A) For agricultural crops, nurseries and orchards, by the director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station;

(B) For rodent control, woodland spraying and mosquito control spraying, by the commissioner;

(C) For control of vectors of human disease, by the Commissioner of Public Health.

(4) The commissioner shall designate the kind and amount of pesticides permitted for use by aircraft. Permits for aircraft spraying in congested areas shall be issued only with the approval of the director of health of the municipality in which the operation is to be conducted except in circumstances where the commissioner determines that the application of broad spectrum chemical pesticides from the air is necessary to control specific vectors of human disease which pose an imminent threat to public health.

(5) The commissioner, with the advice of the Commissioner of Transportation, may adopt such regulations as he deems necessary for the protection of public health, aquatic and animal life and public and private property, governing:

(A) The type of aircraft to be used;

(B) The hours during which aircraft may be so used;

(C) The wind and weather conditions under which aircraft spraying or dusting may be performed;

(D) The minimum area on which aircraft spraying or dusting may be done; and

(E) The amount of public liability and property damage insurance to be carried by the aircraft applicator.

(6) No person may apply pesticides or fungicides by aircraft or by misting-type devices to shade tobacco crops within three hundred feet of an inhabited residential building for which a certificate of occupancy was issued prior to January 1, 1997, without the written permission of the owner of such building, except spray applications may be administered within the confines of the netting. This subdivision shall not apply to an application of pesticides or fungicides to land which was poled for the cultivation of shade tobacco between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 1997.

(f) (1) The commissioner may by regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 prescribe fees for applicants to defray the cost of administering examinations and assisting in carrying out the purposes of § 22a-451, except the fees for certification and renewal of a certification shall be as follows: (A) For supervisory certification as a commercial applicator, two hundred eighty-five dollars; (B) for operational certification as a commercial applicator, eighty dollars; and (C) for certification as a private applicator, one hundred dollars. A federal, state or municipal employee who applies pesticides solely as part of his employment shall be exempt from payment of a fee. Any certificate issued to a federal, state or municipal employee for which a fee has not been paid shall be void if the holder leaves government employment. The fees collected in accordance with this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.

(2) Not less than sixty days before the date of expiration of a certification, the commissioner shall provide notice of expiration and a renewal application to each holder of a certification. If a signed renewal application accompanied by the applicable renewal fee is not received by the commissioner on or before midnight of the expiration date, or if the expiration date is a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, on or before midnight of the next business day, the certification shall automatically lapse. Failure of a holder of a certification to receive a notice of expiration and renewal application shall not prevent a lapse of a certification.

(3) The commissioner may renew any certification issued pursuant to this section for the holder of a certification that has lapsed less than one year, provided the holder of such certification submits to the commissioner a signed renewal application, payment of the applicable renewal fee and any late fee. Such late fee shall be calculated as follows: Beginning on the first day that such certification lapses, ten per cent of the applicable renewal fee plus one and one-quarter per cent per month, or part thereof, for a period not to exceed one year. Any holder of a certification that has lapsed one year or more shall be examined in accordance with the requirements of this section and any regulation adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(g) The commissioner may require any person engaged in the commercial or aircraft application of pesticides to furnish proof of financial responsibility to satisfy claims for damages on account of any physical injuries suffered by any person or damage to property by reason of any act or omission on the part of the applicator, or the agents or employees of the applicator. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection in consultation with the Insurance Commissioner shall determine the amount, character and form of financial responsibility. No person shall engage in the aircraft application of pesticides or fertilizers until the Insurance Commissioner has reviewed and approved such applicator’s proof of financial responsibility.

(h) The commissioner shall prescribe standards for certification of arborists, as defined in subsection (a) of § 23-61a, with respect to the application of pesticides. The standards shall provide that in order to be certified, an individual shall be competent with respect to the use and handling of the pesticide or class of pesticides covered by such individual’s application. The commissioner may designate as his agent the Tree Protection Examining Board for the administration of any standards or examinations prescribed by the commissioner pursuant to this section.

(i) Federal, state and municipal employees who use or supervise the use of restricted or permit use pesticides shall be certified in conformance with this section.

(j) The commissioner may require the display of a decal or other evidence, indicating that a commercial applicator has met the requirements of this part, in a prominent place on any licensed vehicle used in the applicator’s spraying operations. A fee may be charged to the certified applicator by the commissioner to cover the cost of the decals or other evidence.