1.1 DEEP, the Pesticide Control Act & Certification Classes

1.1 DEEP, the Pesticide Control Act & Certification Classes

Every Connecticut pesticide exam starts with state law. The Junior Operator exam is built on two documents that DEEP lists as required study material: the Manual for Pesticide Junior Operator's Certification (December 2018) and Pertinent Connecticut General Statutes and Regulations for Individuals Holding a Junior Operational Certificate (March 2021). Supervisory and private applicator candidates study a longer booklet, Pertinent Pesticide and Arborist Statutes & Regulations for Certified Commercial Supervisors and Arborists (revised to March 2023), plus the national core manual. This section maps the legal framework those documents describe: who regulates pesticides in Connecticut, which law applies, and which certificate fits which job.

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Who Regulates Pesticides in Connecticut

Pesticide use is regulated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), through the Pesticide Management Program in the Bureau of Materials Management and Compliance Assurance. The program is located at 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106 (telephone 860-424-3369; e-mail deep.pesticideprogram@ct.gov). Since March 11, 2021, certification applications and renewals are handled through DEEP's online E-License system.

Under CGS § 22a-54(a), the DEEP commissioner has exclusive authority in the regulation of pesticide spraying, including practices and procedures before and during spraying. The one carve-out is § 22a-66z (permits for chemicals in state waters). Rules on how spraying is done therefore come from DEEP rather than from individual towns, although towns still decide how pesticides are used on their own property, and boards of education, day care licensees, and municipal departments have duties under other statutes (Section 1.6).

Two DEEP telephone numbers appear in the operator manual and are worth memorizing:

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The Connecticut Pesticide Control Act

The governing statute is Chapter 441 of the Connecticut General Statutes (Pesticide Control). Part I, beginning at § 22a-46, together with § 23-61a(a) and §§ 23-61b and 23-61f (arborists), may be cited as the Connecticut Pesticide Control Act. Part II of the chapter adds § 22a-66z, the permit system for chemicals introduced into state waters. The operating details sit in the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (RCSA), chiefly §§ 22a-54-2 (fees), 22a-65-1 (discarding pesticides and containers), 22a-66-1 through 22a-66-5 (use of pesticides and certification), 22a-66a-1 and 22a-66a-2 (posting and neighbor notification), 22a-66l-1 (state agencies), and 22a-66z-1 (chemicals in state waters).

Definitions that drive exam answers (CGS § 22a-47)

• Pesticide — any substance or mixture intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest, or intended as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
• Pest — has the meaning in the federal rule at 40 CFR 152.5.
• Weed — "any plant which grows where not wanted."
• Label vs. labeling — the label is the written, printed, or graphic matter on or attached to the container; labeling is broader and includes all accompanying literature and anything the label refers to.
• Restricted use pesticide (RUP) — any pesticide or pesticide use classified as restricted by the U.S. EPA administrator or by the DEEP commissioner. Connecticut can therefore restrict products that are general use federally. For example, CGS § 22a-50(l) directed DEEP to classify all neonicotinoids labeled for treating plants as restricted use by January 1, 2018.
• Certified applicator — any individual certified under § 22a-54.
• Private applicator (§ 22a-47(e)) — a certified applicator who uses or supervises the use of an RUP to produce an agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the applicator or the applicator's employer. Application on another producer's property also qualifies when the only compensation is a trade of personal services between producers.
• Commercial applicator (§ 22a-47(f)) — any individual who uses or supervises the use of (1) any restricted use pesticide, or (2) any pesticide on property not owned or rented by that individual or the individual's employer. Under the second prong, a lawn technician spraying a general-use herbicide on a customer's lawn is a commercial applicator, even though the product is sold at hardware stores.
• Integrated pest management (§ 22a-47(dd)) — use of all available pest control techniques, including judicious use of pesticides when warranted, to keep a pest population at or below an acceptable level while decreasing unnecessary pesticide use.

Three use classes of registered products

The operator manual explains that every pesticide must be registered first by EPA and then by DEEP; a pesticide not registered with both "cannot be lawfully applied in Connecticut." Registered products fall into three classes:

1. General use — may be bought by anyone, but a certificate is still required to apply them commercially.
2. Restricted use — under CGS § 22a-57, sold only to a certified commercial supervisor, a certified private applicator, or a registered seller. An operational certificate holder cannot buy RUPs.
3. Permit use — products that require a special DEEP permit, such as chemicals added to state waters under § 22a-66z.

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Certification Classes

CGS § 22a-54(b) creates two classifications of commercial applicators, supervisory and operational. Private applicators are certified separately, and § 22a-54(d) requires separate competency standards for each group.

RCSA § 22a-66-5(g) lists who must hold at least an operator's certificate: a person who (1) applies, mixes, or handles pesticides in other than completely closed containers; (2) comes in contact with pesticides through drift for more than brief periods; or (3) assists with applications under a supervisor. DEEP adds three practical cases: any person hired to apply pesticides for a commercial company; a certified supervisor working outside a category they hold; and a non-commercial employee, such as a golf course, property management, or government worker, who applies any RUP.

Government employees

No certification fee is charged to a federal, state, or municipal employee who applies pesticides solely as part of that job, but such a fee-free certificate is automatically void if the holder leaves government employment (§ 22a-54(f)(1)). Government employees who use or supervise the use of restricted or permit-use pesticides must be certified (§ 22a-54(i)).

Private applicators

A Connecticut farmer must be certified as a private applicator to purchase and use RUPs on agricultural crops; no certificate is needed if the farm uses only general-use products. DEEP notes that federal rules (40 CFR 171) prevent the state from certifying homeowners or home gardeners as private applicators. There are no longer private applicator categories, but fumigation requires an additional soil or non-soil fumigation endorsement. Employees or family members may apply RUPs under the certificate holder, who must train them and be available if needed. A private applicator may trade an application for labor but may not be paid to spray someone else's property; that is commercial application.

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Commercial Supervisory Categories

Supervisors are certified by category. DEEP's category descriptions list:

Separate from pesticide certification, an arborist license is required to advertise, solicit, or contract to do arboriculture (CGS § 23-61b), and a pesticide application business must be registered with DEEP (§ 22a-66c, covered in Section 1.4). Aircraft applicators need their own DEEP certificate ($50 fee) under § 22a-54(e).