(a) The director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station shall have charge of all matters pertaining to official control, suppression or extermination of insects or diseases which are, or threaten to become, serious pests of plants of economic importance. The director shall receive no additional compensation for such work, and may designate members of the station staff to carry out certain lines thereof and may employ such other assistance as may be required. Said director may: (1) Cooperate with the agents of the United States Department of Agriculture in the control of plant pests; (2) make regulations and orders regarding the destruction or treatment of infested plants; (3) seize, treat, disinfect or destroy any plants or plant material moved in violation of any quarantine or regulation established under the provisions of this section or suspected of being infested by any dangerous insect pest or plant disease; (4) prohibit or regulate the transportation of plants and plant materials, brick, stone and quarry products or any other objects or materials liable to carry dangerous pests and may designate certain areas or districts wherein all such plants may be destroyed; (5) adopt, and enforce by appropriate regulations, a quarantine prohibiting or restricting the transportation of any class of nursery stock, plant, fruit, seed or other article capable of carrying any dangerous plant disease or insect infestation, with reference to which the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States has not determined that a quarantine is necessary and established such quarantine, into or through this state or any portion thereof from any other state, the District of Columbia or any part of such state or said district in which said director finds such plant disease or insect infestation to exist; (6) adopt regulations for the seizure, inspection, disinfection, destruction or other disposition of any nursery stock, plant, fruit, seed or other article capable of carrying any dangerous plant disease or insect infestation, a quarantine with respect to which has been established by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, and which have been transported to, into or through this state in violation of such quarantine; (7) inspect nurseries and nursery stock, as defined in section 22-97, for any violation of the provisions of section 22a-381d; and (8) establish and maintain a quarantine against any premises, district, town or group of towns in this state, provided, before any quarantine is established within the state, a public hearing shall be held, of which five days' notice shall be given to the parties affected, either by mail or by publishing such notice in two newspapers having a circulation in the part of the state affected by such quarantine. In carrying out the duties and authority described in this subsection, the director may issue permits to any party or enter into compliance agreements with any party.

(b) The director or a designee may, at any reasonable time, enter any public or private premises to enforce the provisions of this section. Any person aggrieved by any order of quarantine issued under the provisions of this section may appeal to the Superior Court, or to any judge thereof if said court is not in session, and said court or such judge may grant such relief or issue such order or judgment in the premises as to equity may appertain.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, any person interfering with the director or the director's designee in the performance of said director's duty under the provisions of this section or violating any quarantine or any regulation established under the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars or more than two thousand five hundred dollars.

(d) Any person who transports firewood by any means in violation of subsection (a) of this section or any regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be fined two hundred dollars if such firewood was intended for sale. Any person who transports firewood by any means in violation of subsection (a) of this section or any regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall, for a first offense, receive a warning, provided such person discloses the point of origin for such firewood and, for any subsequent offense, be fined eighty-five dollars, if such firewood was intended for personal use.

(1949 Rev., S. 3251; P.A. 09-52, S. 1; P.A. 13-33, S. 2, 3; P.A. 15-92, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 09-52 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) to (c), amended Subsec. (a) to insert Subdiv. designators (1) to (6) and (8) and add Subdiv. (7) re inspection of nurseries, amended Subsec. (b) to replace provision re authorized person with “a designee” and replace reference to performance of duty with “to enforce the provisions of this section”, amended Subsec. (c) to specify that interference with director or director's designee is a violation, and made conforming and technical changes, effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 13-33 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re authority of director to issue permits and enter into compliance agreements and make a technical change and amended Subsec. (c) to increase minimum fine from $5 to $500 and increase maximum fine from $100 to $2,500, effective May 28, 2013; P.A. 15-92 amended Subsec. (c) by adding reference to Subsec. (d) and added Subsec. (d) re penalties for firewood transport violations, effective June 22, 2015.