(a)  Each separately identified product shall be registered before being distributed in this state. The application for registration shall be submitted to the director of environmental management on forms furnished or approved by the director and be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) per product. Upon approval by the director, a certified copy of the registration shall be furnished to the applicant. All registrations expire on December 31st of each year. Each manufacturer shall submit to the director a copy of labels and advertising literature with the registration request for each soil amendment.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-5

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Brand: means the term, designation, trade mark, product name or other specific designation under which individual soil amendments are offered for sale. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Compost: means a soil amending material resulting from the aerobic, thermophyllic, microbial processing of organic materials. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Composter: means a producer of compost registered with the director under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Composting: means any aerobic, thermophyllic process which allows for the conversion of raw organic materials into a stable soil amendment. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Distributor: means any person who imports, consigns, manufactures, produces, compounds, mixes, or blends soil amendments, or who offers for sale, sells, barters, or otherwise supplies soil amendments in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Label: means the display of all written, printed or graphic matter upon the immediate container or statement accompanying a soil amendment. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Person: means individual, partnership, association, firm or corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Soil amending ingredient: means a substance which improves the physical characteristics of the soil. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Soil amendment: means any substance which is intended to improve the physical characteristics of the soil, except commercial fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, unmanipulated animal manures, unmanipulated vegetable manures, unmanipulated natural substances (charcoal, sand, pumice, and clay, etc. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3
  • Weight: means the weight of material as offered for sale. See Rhode Island General Laws 2-22-3

(b)  A distributor is not required to register any brand of soil amendment which is already registered under this chapter by another person, providing that the label does not differ in any respect.

(c)  Before registering any soil amendment, the director may require evidence to substantiate the claims made for the soil amendment and proof of the value and usefulness of the soil amendment and of any process step during composting deemed essential to the safety of the soil amendment as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of § 2-22-4.

(d)  The director may by regulation set the minimum amount of a soil amending ingredient and soil amending ingredients that must be present before a soil amendment can be registered and sold.

(e)  The director may through promulgation of regulations require a tonnage fee and/or tonnage report annually. If required, the tonnage fee and tonnage report may be made on a calculated equivalent of volume to tons on brands labeled by volume rather than weight.

(f)  The composter is required to register the operation with the director and shall identify their organic and any inorganic inputs and processes used in the making of their compost. The director shall set forth rules and regulations delineating the organic inputs allowed under the following compost designations and shall collect the appropriate registration fee for the compost operation. Compost classes are:

(1)  Horticultural grade, general use, one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per year;

(2)  Horticultural grade, mixed source general use, three hundred dollars ($300) per year;

(3)  Non-food crop use, one thousand dollars ($1,000) per year; and

(4)  Limited landscape use, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per year.

History of Section.
P.L. 1977, ch. 165, § 1; P.L. 1994, ch. 63, § 1.