1.4 Records, RUP Storage, Sales & MDA Enforcement

1.4 Records, RUP Storage, Sales & MDA Enforcement

Operational compliance for pesticide professionals in Minnesota extends well beyond product labels and application technique. Minnesota Statutes Chapters 18B, 18C, and 18D — together with the bulk storage rules in Minnesota Rules Chapter 1505 — establish recordkeeping mandates, Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) distribution controls, bulk storage and containment standards, incident reporting duties, and the enforcement tools available to Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) agricultural chemical inspectors.

Missing records, improper bulk storage, or an unreported chemical release can result in administrative penalties, license suspension or revocation, civil penalties, or criminal referral.

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Recordkeeping: Minnesota Statutes 18B.37

Commercial and Noncommercial Applicators (subd. 2)

A commercial or noncommercial applicator, or the applicator's authorized agent, must keep a record of pesticides used on each site. Noncommercial applicators must keep records of Restricted Use Pesticides. The statute lists exactly what the record must contain:

1. Date of the pesticide use.
2. Time the application was completed. (Note: the statute requires the completion time, not start-and-stop times.)
3. Brand name of the pesticide, the EPA registration number, and the rate used.
4. Number of units treated.
5. Temperature, wind speed, and wind direction.
6. Location of the site where the pesticide was applied.
7. Name and address of the customer.
8. Name of applicator, name of company, license number of the applicator, and address of the applicator company.
9. Any other information required by the commissioner.

Practical rules that go with that list:

• All required information must be contained in a single document per application, though a map may be attached to identify treated areas. An invoice containing the required information may serve as the record, and the MDA publishes sample forms.
• The record must be completed no later than five days after the application — not immediately, and not "by the end of the next business day."
• A commercial applicator must give a copy of the record to the customer.
• Records must be retained for five years after the date of treatment by the applicator, company, or authorized agent.
• The record must meet or exceed the federal requirements in 40 CFR part 171.
• Portions of the record that are not relevant to a specific type of application may be omitted, but only with the commissioner's approval.

Structural Pest Control Applicators (subd. 3)

Structural records carry a different field list, and two items are unique to structural work:

A structural record must also be given to the person who ordered the application, posted conspicuously at the treatment site immediately after application, or delivered to the person who ordered it or the site owner. Separately, a structural applicator must post in a conspicuous place inside a renter's apartment a list of the post-application precautions printed on the label of the product applied.

Incident Response Plans (subd. 4)

Pesticide dealers, agricultural pesticide dealers, commercial/noncommercial/structural pest control companies, and anyone permitted to store or produce bulk agricultural chemicals must develop and maintain a written incident response plan describing how agricultural chemical incidents will be prevented and answered. The plan must be:

1. Updated every three years, or sooner if the information becomes out of date;
2. Reviewed with employees at least once per calendar year, with the training event documented; and
3. Made available to local first responders, with that step documented.

The plan must be kept at a principal Minnesota business site and submitted to the commissioner on request.

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Pesticide Registration and RUP Sales

• State product registration: Under Minn. Stat. 18B.26, subd. 1, a person may not use or distribute a pesticide in Minnesota unless it is registered with the commissioner, and those registrations expire December 31 each year. Each product with a unique EPA registration number or unique brand name must be separately registered.
• Dealer records: A pesticide dealer must keep records of all RUP sales on forms supplied or approved by the commissioner, produce them on request, and retain them for five years after the date of the sale (18B.37, subd. 1).
• Agricultural pesticide dealer license: A separate license under Minn. Stat. 18B.316 is required for each location that offers agricultural pesticides for sale in or into Minnesota. It expires January 31 each year, requires a resident registered agent, and carries a five-year purchase/sale/distribution record retention requirement plus annual gross-sales reporting by January 31.
• Verify the buyer: Before releasing an RUP, the seller must confirm the purchaser holds a valid commercial applicator license, noncommercial applicator license, or private applicator certification for the appropriate category. Minn. Stat. 18B.36, subd. 1(b) states that a person may not purchase an RUP without presenting a license card, certified private applicator card, or the card number.

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Bulk Pesticide Storage (Minnesota Rules Chapter 1505)

The thresholds here are commonly misremembered, and they are much lower than most applicators assume.

Key operating rules:

• Secondary containment capacity (Minn. R. 1505.3080, subp. 2): a secondary containment area must hold at least the sum of the greatest volume that could be released from the largest storage container inside it, plus the volume displaced by other containers and equipment stored in the area, plus the applicable precipitation allowance. Containment must be a wall and liner, an approved prefabricated basin, or another commissioner-approved safeguard, and applies even when the storage is under a roof.
• Do not overfill: storage containers must not be filled to more than 95 percent of capacity unless the container provides constant temperature control (Minn. R. 1505.3060, subp. 6).
• Material limits: tanks may be stainless steel, fiberglass, polyethylene, ferrous metal, cross-linked polyolefin, or other approved materials. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tanks, fittings, and appurtenances are prohibited. Ferrous metal tanks need a protective corrosion-inhibiting lining.
• Loading areas must be elevated, built of reinforced concrete or approved material, and contain no drain.
• Backflow prevention (Minn. Stat. 18B.07, subd. 5): a person may not fill application equipment directly from a public water supply or from public waters unless the equipment or water supply has a backflow prevention device that complies with the Minnesota Plumbing Code, Minnesota Rules Chapter 4714. Cross connections are prohibited outright.
• Storage safeguards (18B.07, subd. 4): pesticides, rinsate, and unrinsed containers may not be stored without safeguards adequate to prevent an incident, and may not be stored in an area with access to an open drain unless a safeguard is provided.

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Incident Reporting and the Minnesota Duty Officer

An agricultural chemical incident is an unintended release, spill, leak, or discharge of an agricultural chemical that threatens public health or the environment.

1. Report immediately to the Minnesota Duty Officer, the state's 24-hour emergency notification point: 1-800-422-0798 statewide, or 651-649-5451 in the Twin Cities metro area.
2. Take immediate containment action — stop the leak, dike the spill, and secure the site.
3. The MDA Incident Response Unit reviews the report and directs cleanup and any soil or groundwater remediation.
4. The Agricultural Chemical Response and Reimbursement Account (ACRRA) can reimburse eligible corrective-action costs for qualifying agricultural chemical incidents.

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MDA Enforcement Powers and the Real Penalty Numbers

Chapter 18D gives the commissioner a graduated set of tools. The dollar figures below are the ones actually written into statute — inflated numbers are a common trap.

The commissioner may also enter a commercial, noncommercial, or structural applicator's business and inspect and copy the required records at any reasonable time. Unless needed for enforcement, the information in those records is private or nonpublic data.

Finally, Minn. Stat. 18B.37, subd. 6 lets a Minnesota-licensed physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or veterinarian request pesticide application information from the commissioner when diagnosing or treating a patient with suspected pesticide exposure. The commissioner withholds non-essential details such as total acres treated, exact amounts applied, and the identity of the applicator or property owner.