(1) The department may by rule:

(a) Declare as a pest any form of plant or animal life or virus which is injurious to plants, humans, domestic animals, articles, or substances.

(b) Establish procedures for the taking and handling of samples and establish tolerances and deficiencies where not specifically provided for in this part; assess penalties; and prohibit the sale or use of pesticides or devices shown to be detrimental to human beings, the environment, or agriculture or to be otherwise of questionable value.

(c) Determine whether pesticides, and quantities of substances contained in pesticides, are injurious to the environment. The department shall be guided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations in this determination.

(d) Establish requirements governing aircraft used for the aerial application of pesticides, including requirements for recordkeeping, annual aircraft registration, secure storage when not in use, area-of-application information, and reporting any sale, lease, purchase, rental, or transfer of such aircraft to another person.

(e) Establish requirements governing the secure storage of pesticides used by aerial pesticide applicators.

(f) Establish conditions of registration or reregistration for structural fumigants which include requirements that registrants:

1. Train distributors and end users in safety measures and in proper use, safe storage, and management of fumigant materials.

2. Obtain continuing education program approval for stewardship training programs.

3. Conduct quality assurance reviews.

4. Report to the department any probation or stop-sale notice issued to end users. Under such circumstances, the department shall notify all other structural fumigant registrants of the reported probation or stop-sale notice.

5. Assist the department, upon request, with the removal of fumigant containers from distributors and end users for compliance with permanent or extended stop-sale notices.

(2) The department is authorized to adopt by rule the primary standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with respect to pesticides. If the provisions of this part are preempted in part by federal law, those provisions not preempted shall apply. This part is intended as comprehensive and exclusive regulation of pesticides in this state. Except as provided in chapters 373, 376, 388, 403, and 482, or as otherwise provided by law, no agency, commission, department, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may adopt laws, regulations, rules, or policies pertaining to pesticides, including their registration, packaging, labeling, distribution, sale, or use, except that local jurisdictions may adopt or enforce an ordinance pertaining to pesticides if that ordinance is in the area of occupational license taxes, building and zoning regulations, disposal or spillage of pesticides within a water well zone, or pesticide safety regulations relating to containment at the storage site.

History.—s. 1, ch. 65-457; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 179, ch. 71-377; ss. 5, 6, ch. 73-63; s. 6, ch. 78-95; s. 2, ch. 82-106; ss. 16, 37, ch. 92-115; s. 13, ch. 94-233; s. 477, ch. 97-103; s. 20, ch. 2000-154; s. 1, ch. 2001-360; s. 32, ch. 2004-64; s. 2, ch. 2016-143.