§611. Enforcement

1.  Board powers.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the sampling and examination of pesticides or devices for the purpose of determining whether they comply with the requirements of this subchapter must be done under the direction of the board. The board may, upon presentation of proper identification, enter any distributor's premises, including any vehicle of transport, at all reasonable times in order to have access to labeled pesticides or devices packaged for distribution, may open any case, package or other container and may, upon tendering the market price, take samples for analysis. If it appears from such an examination that a pesticide or device fails to comply with the provisions of this subchapter or rules adopted under this subchapter, and the board contemplates instituting criminal proceedings against any person, the board shall cause appropriate notice to be given to that person in a manner consistent with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. The board shall provide any person so notified an opportunity for a hearing in a manner consistent with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act's provisions governing adjudicatory proceedings. If in the opinion of the board it appears that the provisions of this subchapter or rules adopted under this subchapter have been violated by that person, the board shall refer a copy of the results of the analysis or the examination of such pesticide or device to the attorney for the district in which the violation occurred.

[RR 2005, c. 2, §9 (COR).]

2.  Minor violations.  Nothing in this subchapter may be construed as requiring the board to report minor violations of this subchapter for prosecution or for the institution of condemnation proceedings when the board believes that the public interest will be served best by a suitable notice of warning in writing.

[PL 2005, c. 620, §11 (AMD).]

3.  Repeated violations.  The board shall record all violations of this subchapter and Title 22, chapter 258-A, including the name of the owner of the land on which the pesticides were intended to be applied, the name of the licensed pesticides applicator and the name of the person who contracted the pesticide application services. The board shall identify persons who repeatedly violate provisions relating to pesticide use and recommend to the Attorney General methods to prevent further violations by those persons.

[PL 2005, c. 620, §11 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1975, c. 382, §3 (NEW). PL 1977, c. 694, §64 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 558, §4 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 878, §E10 (AMD). RR 2005, c. 2, §9 (COR). PL 2005, c. 620, §11 (AMD).