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Texas Agriculture Code - Section 76.101. Coordination

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Agriculture Code > Texas Agriculture Code - Section 76.101. Coordination

§ 76.101. COORDINATION.  (a) The department is the lead 
agency in the regulation of pesticide use and application and is 
responsible for coordinating activities of state agencies, except 
as provided by Section 76.007(b) of this code and by Chapter 26 of 
the Water Code.  The department shall submit a state plan for the 
licensing of pesticide applicators to the administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency.
	(b)  The department shall coordinate, plan, and approve 
training programs and shall use the public and private resources of 
this state, including state universities, colleges, junior 
colleges, community colleges, the Texas Agricultural Extension 
Service, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. The 
department and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service shall adopt 
a memorandum of understanding to jointly coordinate, plan, and 
approve the training programs for private applicators.
	(c)  The department shall make plans under this section on 
the basis of convenience to applicants, thoroughness of preparation 
and testing, and maximum economy in expenditures for this purpose.  
The department shall make full use of grants-in-aid and cooperative 
agreements in administering this subchapter.
	(d)(1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, no 
city, town, county, or other political subdivision of this state 
shall adopt any ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding pesticide 
sale or use.
		(2)  Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
limit the authority of a city, town, or county to:
			(A)  encourage locally approved and provided 
educational material concerning a pesticide;
			(B)  zone for the sale or storage of such 
products;                        
			(C)  adopt fire or building regulations as 
preventative measures to protect the public and emergency services 
personnel from an accident or emergency involving such products, 
including regulations governing the storage of such products or 
governing fumigation and thermal insecticidal fogging operations;
			(D)  provide or designate sites for the disposal 
of such products;         
			(E)  route hazardous materials;  or                                          
			(F)  regulate discharge to sanitary sewer 
systems.                         
		(3)  This subsection shall not prevent a city, town, 
county, or any political subdivision from complying with any 
federal or state law or regulation.  This subsection shall not 
prevent a city, town, county, or any political subdivision from 
attaining or maintaining compliance with federal or state 
environmental standards including Texas water quality standards.  A 
city, town, county, or other political subdivision may take any 
action otherwise prohibited by this subsection in order to comply 
with any federal requirements, to avoid any federal or state 
penalties or fines, or to attain or maintain federal or state 
environmental standards including Texas water quality standards.

Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1196, ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981.  
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 230, § 86, eff. Sept. 1, 
1989;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 96, § 1, eff. May 7, 1993;  Acts 
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1369, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Last modified: August 10, 2007