An Act To Prohibit the Use of Pesticides in Certain Circumstances
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0591
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: McFADDEN, ALFOND, BOLDUC
Amends: 7 MRSA §606, 22 MRSA §454-A, 22 MRSA §1471-R, 22 MRSA §1471-S, 22 MRSA §1471-T, 22 MRSA §1471-Z

Legislative Document 
No. 591 
H.P. 449 
House of Representatives, February 15, 2011 
An Act To Prohibit the Use of Pesticides in Certain Circumstances 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McFADDEN of Dennysville.  (BY REQUEST) 
Cosponsored by Senator ALFOND of Cumberland and 
Representative: BOLDUC of Auburn. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §606, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3.  Unlawful use.  A person may not use pesticides for the following purposes: 
A.  Improving the visual appearance or the aesthetic perception of a place; 
B.  Removal of unwanted roadside vegetation when mechanical removal of that 
vegetation or planting of a desirable, competitive ground cover would eliminate or 
control the unwanted roadside vegetation; or 
C.  Removal of unwanted vegetation at golf courses, public parks or private parks 
open to the public. 
All persons, including state and municipal agencies, are subject to the prohibitions in this 
subsection and subsection 4. 
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §606, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4.  Aerial spraying of pesticides.  A person may not apply pesticides using aircraft 
as defined in Title 22, section 1471-C, subsection 2. 
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §454-A, sub-§2, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 598, §7, is 
amended to read: 
H.  Enforce public health safety laws, including: 
(1)  Laws pertaining to the exclusion of students from school under Title 20-A, 
section 6356; 
(2)  Laws pertaining to control of browntail moths under section 1444; 
(3)  Laws pertaining to the removal of a private nuisance or nuisance of a dead 
animal under sections 1561 and 1562; 
(4)  Laws pertaining to the establishment of temporary health care facilities under 
section 1762; and 
(5)  Laws pertaining to prohibited dumping under Title 30-A, section 3352. 
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA c. 257-A, as amended, is repealed. 
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §1471-R, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 819, Pt. A, §54, is repealed. 
Sec. 6.  22 MRSA §1471-S, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 819, Pt. A, §54, is repealed. 
Sec. 7.  22 MRSA §1471-T, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 819, Pt. A, §54, is repealed. 
Sec. 8.  22 MRSA §1471-Z, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 584, §2, is 
amended to read: 
2.  Obligations to provide information to people on registry. A land manager 
intending to conduct an outdoor application of pesticides using aircraft or air-carrier 
equipment shall access the registry to identify any person entitled to notification under 
subsection 3 and, except as provided in subsections 5, 6 and 7, shall provide that person 
with notification no later than the day before and no earlier than 7 days before the day of 
the application.  The notification must include: 
A.  The date and approximate time of application; 
B.  The type of equipment to be used and the manner in which the pesticides will be 
applied; 
C.  The brand names and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's 
registration numbers for the pesticides to be used; 
D.  Contact information for the land manager; and 
E.  The location of the property that the land manager intends to spray. 
Upon the request of a person receiving notification under this subsection, a land manager 
shall provide the material safety data sheets for the pesticides being used or copies of the 
pesticides labels. A land manager is not required to postpone an application pending 
delivery of the requested information. 
Sec. 9.  22 MRSA §1471-Z, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 584, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 10.  22 MRSA §1471-Z, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 584, §2, is 
amended to read: 
4.  Means of notification.  A land manager conducting or contracting for a pesticides 
application using aircraft or air-carrier equipment shall make a good faith effort to convey 
the information required in subsection 2.  Acceptable means of notification include: 
A.  Personal delivery of notification forms; 
B.  Mailing notification forms through the United States Postal Service; 
C.  Electronic mailing of notification forms; 
D.  Telephone calls, either personal or automated; or 
E.  Other means determined acceptable by the board. 
Sec. 11.  22 MRSA §1471-Z, sub-§7, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 584, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 12.  Board of Pesticides Control to revise rules.  The Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, Board of Pesticides Control shall revise its rules 
as necessary to be consistent with this Act.  Necessary revisions must be made and in 
effect no later than April 1, 2012.  Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, 
section 610, subsection 6 and Title 22, section 1471-Z, subsection 9, rules adopted or 
amended under this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 13.  Naturally occurring pesticides as alternative to synthetic 
chemicals.  As resources allow, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural 
Resources, Board of Pesticides Control shall review naturally occurring pesticides and 
identify those that provide an effective substitute for synthetic chemicals that are more 
toxic to humans.  The board shall develop a list of pest problems that can be addressed 
with a specific naturally occurring pesticide and move toward prohibiting the use of a 
more toxic synthetic chemical wherever feasible. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits the application of pesticides using aircraft.  It prohibits use of 
pesticides for aesthetic purposes, for removing vegetation in parks and for removing 
roadside vegetation when the vegetation can be controlled by other means.  It directs the 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, Board of Pesticides Control to 
revise its rules as necessary to be consistent with this Act and designates such rules as 
routine technical.  It directs the board to examine the feasibility of prohibiting synthetic 
chemical pesticides when less toxic, naturally occurring pesticides provide a better 
alternative.