2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 37 - Pesticides (§§ 1001 — 1014) › § 1005 - Powers of the Secretary

The Secretary is hereby empowered to:
(a) Promulgate such regulations and establish such quality standards that are necessary, in his judgment, to prevent the import, distribution, transportation, storage, sale and use of adulterated and mislabeled pesticides and devices in Puerto Rico.
(b) Regulate the labels and labeling of pesticides and devices.
(c) Require the use of the Spanish and English languages in the labels and labeling of pesticides and devices.
(d) Require every two (2) years the registration of all pesticides and devices sold in Puerto Rico, including those for special local use; Provided, That so that they may be distributed in Puerto Rico it shall be an indispensable requirement that every pesticide or device be registered in the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico by the Puerto Rico representative(s) or agent(s) of the manufacturer of the pesticide or device produced outside of Puerto Rico and introduced into Puerto Rico, or by the manufacturer of the pesticide or device in Puerto Rico.
It shall be understood that the manufacturer shall guarantee the formula and analysis of the pesticide as long as it is kept unopened in its original container; and guarantee the device, while the pesticide is part of it. Said guarantee shall also apply to the pesticides contained in those original containers from which an authorized representative of the Department has removed an official sample, and has sealed them as provided in § 1009 of this title.
Should the Secretary determine that the pesticide is such that it does not guarantee the properties, effects and results claimed by the product, or if for any other reason the Secretary deems it appropriate or necessary, the latter may, prior to registering the product, require that the applicant submit the complete formula of the pesticide, including all its active and inert ingredients, as well as a complete description of the tests made with said pesticide and the results obtained, and any other information that the Secretary may deem necessary to determine the effective and safe use of the product. The Secretary shall inform the applicant, in writing, which information is needed, and the reason it is being required, and shall provide a reasonable period of time to respond to said requirement. The information thus obtained shall be confidential. It shall be illegal for any person to use the formula or formulas specified in this chapter for his/her own benefit, or to reveal said formula or formulas to any person other than the Secretary or the duly authorized officials or employees of the Department of Agriculture, or of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Also excepted are the Courts of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in response to a judicial order under admonishment of contempt, or a doctor, or in case of an emergency, a pharmacist and/or other persons authorized to that effect, to use said formula or formulas in the preparation of antidotes.
(e) To require a registration fee, which shall be established through regulations, and which shall have an effectiveness of two (2) years for each brand of pesticide or device thus registered. Each pesticide shall be registered separately, as well as those under special permits for local needs, and those emergency permits granted under §§ 24 and 18, respectively, of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, as amended, and supplementary registries of products and permits for experimental use. Said registration fees shall be paid by the applicant for their registration.
A reasonable fee may also be established, through regulations, for sales reports, private or commercial applier’s certificate by category and for licenses issued to establishments that sell restricted use pesticides.
(f) Establish by regulations, the equipment requirements, the minimum facilities needed, and the registration and reports regarding the:
(1) Manufacture, packing, and repacking of pesticides and devices in Puerto Rico.
(2) Sale or distribution of pesticides or devices, including their segregation at all times until their sale and delivery and their exclusion from self service systems.
(3) Application of pesticides or devices.
(g) Require licenses for natural or juridical persons who are engaged in the:
(1) Manufacture, packing, and repacking of pesticides and devices.
(2) Sale or distribution of pesticides or devices.
(3) Commercial application of pesticides or devices.
(4) Transportation of pesticides or devices.
(5) Import and export of pesticides and devices.
To such effects, the Secretary is hereby authorized to:
(1) Fix a reasonable fee for each of said licenses and their term of effectiveness.
(2) Establish the requirements for granting licenses.
(3) Require the posting of a bond, when the Secretary determines the need therefore to guarantee payment for any loss or damage during he production, application or handling of pesticides.
(4) Require that the party interested in obtaining any of these licenses submit a certificate or attesting evidence to the satisfaction of the Secretary indicating that the corresponding license, certification, permit or authorization accrediting compliance with the regulations of those Commonwealth or federal departments or agencies that also regulate some of the activities for which a license is required under this chapter are in fact in effect.
(h) Inspect the establishments where pesticides and devices are manufactured, mixed, packed or repacked, stored, sold, and distributed in order to determine whether they comply with the minimum requirements and facilities established through regulations, and inspect, for the same purpose, the activity of applying pesticides, as well as the establishments, facilities and equipment of the persons engaged in said activity.
(i) Require that the supervisors, managers or persons in charge of directing and operating any business where pesticides are manufactured, packed or repacked, or where devices are manufactured in Puerto Rico, including the operators of such businesses, meet certain minimum requirements with regard to their education, abilities and skills. The Secretary shall also have the power to require such minimum requirements as regards the personnel employed in any business for the distribution, sale, storage and application of pesticides.
(j) Refuse to register or to cancel the registration of any pesticide or device when he/she determines that it does not meet the requirements of this chapter or its regulations, or when through federal or state government tests or analyses it is determined that its properties, effects, or results are not those claimed for the product, or when the establishments where pesticides are manufactured, packed or repacked fail to me[e]t the minimum requirements and facilities established in the regulations promulgated by him/her, or when the sole use of a pesticide or device is for purposes that are not applicable in Puerto Rico, such as for crops and/or insects that do not exist in Puerto Rico, for crops that are not usually planted in Puerto Rico, or when such action is necessary to prevent an imminent risk to public health or the environment. It shall be understood that a pesticide or device constitutes an imminent risk to public health or the environment when the existing evidence is sufficient to demonstrate a threat or danger that must immediately be eliminated. The Secretary may require that attesting evidence be submitted to him/her so to the results of the corresponding tests or analyses. He/she may also refuse to register any pesticide or device when the evidence submitted by the applicant is not conclusive or definitive enough to establish that its properties, effects or results are those claimed for the product.
(k) To refuse a license when the requirements and mimimum facilities established in the regulation promulgated are not complied with, and to suspend or cancel said licenses when such regulation has been violated, depending on the seriousness of the violation committed and subject to the provisions in § 1005b of this title.
(l) Prohibit in the regulations that promulgate the sale, as well as the use of a pesticide by any person or persons, for a use or purpose other than that which the product was registered.
(m) Designate pesticides and devices within a classification that shall be denominated for “restricted use”. This classification shall include those pesticides or devices whose high toxicity, residual effects or other characteristics or properties make it necessary to adopt special measures or care, take special [sic] regarding their sale, use, or application, because they may harm or injure the applier, man, useful animals and vegetation and the environment. A pesticide or device may be classified as such, even though it controls, destroys or prevents the pests against which they are claimed to be effective. [The] pesticides and devices classified for restricted use may only be sold, distributed, used, labeled, stored or applied in the manner and under the conditions established by the Secretary.
To classify a pesticide or device as [sic] for restricted use, the Secretary may request the advice of other pertinent agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico, such as the Environmental Quality Board, [or] the Department of Health and the Agricultural Experimental Station of the University of Puerto Rico, which must provide the required advice. He/she may also seek advice from the pertinent agencies of the government of the United States of America.
(n) Restrict or prohibit the use of certain types of containers or the manner in which a pesticide or device is prepared or used when in his/her judgment, such measures must be adopted for the protection of man, useful animals, vegetation and the environment.
(o) Refuse to register or to cancel the registration of any pesticide or device when it is determined that false, altered and/or fraudulent information has been given.
(p) Require that the registrant of pesticides and devices furnish a biannual report of pesticide sales in Puerto Rico or when required by the Secretary. This report shall include, among others, the name, type of pesticide, active ingredient(s), manufacturer, registration number, amount sold, amount purchased and total inventory during the semester. The information required in this subsection shall be deemed confidential. Said report shall be rendered within thirty (30) days following the end of each semester of the calendar year. When a pesticide has been distributed in Puerto Rico in violation of § 1005a(d) of this title, and therefore not been registered, the person who has distributed said pesticide shall be bound to submit the abovementioned report, besides being subject to the penalties provided therein.
(q) Require that every pesticide applier who causes the spill of any pesticide take the necessary measures established in the regulations to clean the same and protect the living organisms and the environment from contamination, as well as to impose sanctions and penalties.
(r) Establish through regulations the requirement of informing the public and/or the Department, before, during, or after any pesticide is sprayed when the Secretary determines that doing so is necessary to protect the public health, plants, animals or the environment.
(s) Establish and promulgate the programs, standards and regulations needed to [be] develop[ed] in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the provisions established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Federal Insecticides, Fungicides and Rodenticides Act (FIFRA), as amended, to include:
(1) The protection of endangered species.
(2) The protection of the appliers and the agricultural pesticide workers.
(3) The protection of surface and underground waters.
(4) Those rural communities close to the contamination.
(5) The urban zone.
(t) Take samples to analyze those agricultural products produced in Puerto Rico as well as those that are introduced or imported to Puerto Rico so as to determine that any pesticide residue in said products is within the tolerance limits established and supervised by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Food and Drugs Administration, and that said pesticide is the one approved for the specific product. To such end the Secretary may establish the needed agreements, covenants and contracts.
(u) Receive or initiate complaints regarding the violation of laws, regulations, ordinances and directives related to pesticides; the Secretary is also authorized to institute the necessary proceedings to prevent said violations and to impose penalties and sanctions pursuant to the law.
(v) Study any regulations promulgated by any other federal or Commonwealth government entity related to the use, application, control, storage, import, export or disposal of pesticides, as well as draft and promulgate the regulations needed to ensure their compliance and establish the mechanisms needed to achieve an effective coordination.
(w) Conduct and supervise educational programs related to the use of pesticides or to the diagnosis or treatment of poisoning by pesticides.
(x) Coordinate and supervise programs for the purpose of determining the effects, hazards, and effectiveness of the use and application of pesticides on man and the environment.
(y) Establish and regulate the imposition of fees to cover the cost of the chemical analysis of any product that is mislabeled, and of the samples obtained during the investigation of complaints, spills and incidents that involve pesticides, when it is determined that there was negligence or improper practices in the use, application, storage or transportation of a pesticide, as well as the taking of samples for the analysis of the agricultural products required in subsection (t) of this section.
History —June 10, 1953, No. 49, p. 120, § 5; Apr. 13, 1955, No. 15, p. 60, § 2; June 26, 1965, No. 100, p. 246, § 2; June 5, 1973, No. 91, p. 386, § 2; Oct. 30, 1975, No. 16, p. 804, § 3; July 20, 1979, No. 138, p. 326, § 3; July 12, 1986, No. 132, p. 415, § 3; Aug. 21, 1999, No. 278, § 4.