(a)  Provided the state is certified by the administrator of EPA to register pesticides formulated to meet special local needs, the director shall consider the following for refusal to register, for cancellation, for suspension, or for legal recourse for those pesticides:

(1)  If it appears to the director that an application for registration cannot be granted pursuant to § 23-25-6(h) and any regulations issued under this section, he or she shall notify the applicant of the manner in which the pesticide, labeling or other material required to be submitted fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter or any regulations under this section so as to afford the applicant an opportunity to make the necessary corrections. If, upon receipt of the notice, the applicant does not make the required changes, the director may refuse to register the pesticide. The applicant may request a hearing as provided for in the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of Title 42.

(2)  When the director determines that a pesticide or its labeling does not comply with the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted under this chapter or when necessary to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, he or she may cancel the registration of a pesticide or change the classification of a pesticide after a hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of Title 42.

(3)  When the director determines that there is an imminent hazard, he or she may, on his or her own motion, suspend the registration of a pesticide in conformance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of Title 42. Hearings shall be held with the utmost possible expedition.

(4)  Any person who will be adversely affected by the order in this section may obtain judicial review of this order by filing in the superior court, within sixty (60) days after entry of the order, a petition praying that the order be set aside in whole or in part. A copy of the petition shall be immediately transmitted by the clerk of the court to the director and then the director shall file in the court the record of the proceedings on which he or she based his or her order. The court shall have jurisdiction to affirm or set aside the order complained of in whole or in part. The findings of the director with respect to questions of fact shall be sustained if supported by substantial evidence when considered on the record as a whole. Upon application, the court may remand the matter to the director to take further testimony if there are reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce that evidence in the prior hearing. The director may modify his or her findings and his or her order by reason of the additional evidence taken and shall file the additional record and any modification of the findings or order with the clerk of the court.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-8

  • Director: means the director of environmental management. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • Environment: includes water, air, land, and all plants and humans and other living animals in it, and the interrelationships which exist among these. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • EPA: means the United States Environmental Protection Agency. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • 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.
  • FIFRA: means the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • Imminent hazard: means a situation which exists when the continued use of a pesticide during the time required for cancellation proceedings pursuant to § 23-25-8 would likely result in unreasonable adverse effects on the environment or will involve unreasonable hazard to the survival of a species declared endangered by the secretary of the interior under 16 U. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Labeling: means the label and all other written, printed, or graphic matter:

    (i)  Accompanying the pesticide or device at any time; or

    (ii)  To which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying the pesticide or device, except to current official publications of EPA, the United States Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and the department of health and human services; state experiment stations; state agricultural colleges; and other federal or state institutions or agencies authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4

  • Person: means any individual, partnership, association, fiduciary, corporation, governmental entity, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4
  • Pesticide: means :

    (i)  Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest; and

    (ii)  Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4

  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Unreasonable adverse effects on the environment: means any unreasonable risk to humans or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-25-4

(b)  If the director determines that any federally registered pesticide with respect to the use of the pesticide within the state:

(1)  Does not warrant the claims for it; or

(2)  Might cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment; he or she may refuse to register the pesticide as required in § 23-25-6, or if the pesticide is registered under § 23-25-6, the registration may be cancelled or suspended as provided in subsection (a) of this section. If the director believes the pesticide does not comply with the provisions of FIFRA or the regulations adopted under it, he or she shall advise EPA of the manner in which the pesticide labeling or other material required to be submitted fails to comply with the provisions of FIFRA and suggest necessary corrections.

History of Section.
P.L. 1976, ch. 191, § 2; G.L. 1956, § 23-41.1-8; P.L. 1979, ch. 39, § 1.