94.68 Pesticides; licensing of manufacturers and labelers.

(1) No person may manufacture, formulate, package, label or otherwise produce pesticides for sale or distribution in this state, or sell or offer to sell pesticides to purchasers in this state, whether or not the sales are made wholly or partially in this state or another state, without a license from the department. A license expires on December 31 annually and is not transferable. No license is required of persons engaged only in the following:

(a) The sale or distribution of pesticides at wholesale or retail in the immediate, unbroken container of licensed manufacturers as manufactured, produced, packaged or labeled by them.

(b) The sale of pesticides or active ingredients to licensed manufacturers for use as a basic ingredient in the manufacture or formulation of another pesticide or for further processing, packaging or labeling.

(c) The blending of fertilizer-pesticide mixtures in accordance with the registered pesticide label at the customer's request for use on property owned, rented or controlled by the customer, or blending mixtures according to registered pesticide label uses for custom application by the blender. The mixtures may not be resold or redistributed.

(d) The sale or application, as certified commercial applicators of pesticides or pesticide-fertilizer mixtures, mixed or blended by them for their own use in the commercial application of pesticides if the pesticides used for mixing and blending were obtained from a licensee under this section.

(2) An application for a license under sub. (1) shall be made on a form prescribed by the department. An applicant shall submit all of the following with the application:

(am) All fees and surcharges required under s. 94.681.

(bm) A report identifying each pesticide that the applicant sells or distributes for use in this state.

(3) At least 15 days before a person holding a license under this section begins to sell or distribute for use in this state a pesticide product that was not identified in the person's most recent annual license application, the person shall file a supplementary report with the information required under sub. (2) (bm) and any fees and surcharges required under s. 94.681. The department may not disclose sales revenue information submitted under s. 94.68 (2) (a) 2., 2015 stats.

(5) Manufacturers or labelers of pesticides shall submit to the department on request, product samples, copies of labeling or any other data or information which the department requests concerning composition and claims and representations made for pesticides manufactured or labeled by them in this state.

(6) The department may require a person licensed under sub. (1) to submit to the department any information which is needed in the administration of ss. 94.67 to 94.71 or ch. 160. The licensee may designate any information submitted under this subsection as a trade secret as defined in s. 134.90 (1) (c). The department may require the licensee to substantiate that the information is in fact a trade secret. Any information which the department determines to be a trade secret shall be kept confidential by the department. The department may enter into agreements with any person to allow for the review of trade secret information if the department ensures that the trade secret information will be kept confidential. The department may require a licensee to submit a summary of trade secret information for the purpose of providing information to the public.

(7) A license under this section does not constitute a registration of individual pesticide products within the meaning of the federal act, nor does it authorize any pesticide sale or distribution otherwise prohibited by law.

History: 1977 c. 106; 1983 a. 410; 1985 a. 236; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39, 112; 1993 a. 16; 1997 a. 27; 2017 a. 59.