2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 80. Agriculture › Chapter 8. Pesticides › Part 3. Enforcement and Penalties › 80-8-305. General violations -- compliance orders

80-8-305. General violations -- compliance orders.
(1) Consistent with the provisions of Title 80, chapter 15, it is unlawful for a person:
(a) to discard any pesticide or pesticide container in a manner that causes injury to humans, domestic animals, or wildlife or that pollutes any waterway in a way harmful to any wildlife in the waterway or to the environment;
(b) to handle, transport, store, display, or distribute pesticides or pesticide containers in a manner that endangers humans or the environment or that endangers food or any other products that may be transported, stored, displayed, or distributed with the pesticides;
(c) to handle, apply, or attempt to apply any registered pesticide for which the person does not have an appropriate, complete, or legible label at hand;
(d) to apply or attempt to apply any registered pesticide in a manner that is inconsistent with the labeling, as defined in 80-8-102; or
(e) to use any unregistered chemical or biological agent that is required to be registered as a pesticide by the Montana Pesticides Act.
(2) It is unlawful for a person to manufacture, formulate, or store any registered pesticide or a component or byproduct of a registered pesticide in a manner that the pesticide, component, or byproduct cannot be contained or confined within the boundaries of the lands owned by or under the appropriate control of the person involved. The containment or confinement of odor is exempted from the provisions of this subsection.
(3) (a) The department may issue a compliance order to a person violating the provisions of 80-8-211, the provisions of this section, or any other requirement established pursuant to this chapter. The compliance order may be issued to any person, including the person's employees, agents, or subcontractors.
(b) The provisions of this subsection (3) are not intended to void or affect indemnity or liability agreements between the person who owns, leases, or has possession or control of the site and the person who sold the site, who is the lessor, or who has relinquished possession or control of the site.
(4) A compliance order may require the cleanup of any pesticide that a person has accidentally or purposely dumped, spilled, misused, or unlawfully used in violation of this section. The department shall allow the recipient of a compliance order to spread, treat, or dispose of soils contaminated by a pesticide if the person can document and prove to the satisfaction of the department that the soil will be beneficially used or that the pesticide in the soil will physically, chemically, or biologically degrade and that neither the beneficial use of the soil nor the degradation of the pesticide in the soil will adversely affect agriculture, human health, or the environment. Prior to issuing a compliance order requiring cleanup of a pesticide, the department shall consult with the department of environmental quality to ensure that the provisions of Title 75, chapter 10, part 4, are considered. If a pesticide or soil contaminated by a pesticide is subject to the provisions of Title 75, chapter 10, part 4, and there is no beneficial use of the soil as determined by the department, the department of environmental quality is responsible for regulating the cleanup and disposal of the pesticide and the soil contaminated by the pesticide. The department may not allow a person to spread, treat, or dispose of soils contaminated by a canceled or suspended pesticide without the specific approval of the department of environmental quality or the U.S. environmental protection agency, or both, as required on a case-by-case basis.
(5) When issuing a compliance order, the department may require a person who has violated a provision of this chapter to conduct monitoring to assist in determining the presence or level of concentration of pesticides in the environment and the effectiveness of cleanup efforts. The department shall specify criteria in the compliance order for determining the duration of monitoring.
(6) A compliance order must specify the requirement of this chapter that has been violated and establish a time schedule for compliance. In establishing a time schedule for compliance, the department shall take into account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts that the person has made to comply with the requirement that has been violated. A compliance order issued under this section must be served either by a person qualified to perform service under the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail.
History: En. Sec. 32, Ch. 403, L. 1971; R.C.M. 1947, 27-244; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 184, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 181, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 29, Ch. 668, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 588, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 189, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 330, Ch. 418, L. 1995.