It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 2-22-3 thru 2-22-5, 2-22-10 thru 2-22-12, 2-22-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 2-22 entitled "Soil Amendment" are hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 2-22-3. Definitions. -- ADD} As used in this chapter:

(a) The term "Soil amendment" means any substance which is intended to improve the physical characteristics of the soil, except commercial fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, unmanipulated animal manures, unmanipulated vegetable manures, unmanipulated natural substances i.e. (charcoal, sand, pumice, and clay etc.), pesticides, and other material exempted by regulation.

(b) The term "Soil ingredient form" means the chemical compound such as salt, chelate, oxide, acid, etc., of an ingredient or the physical form of an ingredient.

(c) The term "Brand" means the term, designation, trade mark, product name or other specific designation under which individual soil amendments are offered for sale.

(d) The term "Bulk" means in nonpackaged form.

(e) The term "Distribute" means to import, consign, manufacture, produce, compound, mix or blend soil amendments or offer for sale, sell, barter, or otherwise supply soil amendments in this state.

(f) The term "Distributor" means any person who imports, consigns, manufactures, produces, compounds, mixes, or blends soil amendments, or who offers for sale, sells, barters, or otherwise supplies soil amendments in this state.

(g) The term "Investigational allowance" means an allowance for variations inherent in the taking, preparation and analysis of an official sample of soil amendment.

(h) The term "Label" means the display of all written, printed or graphic matter upon the immediate container or statement accompanying a soil amendment.

(i) The term "Labeling" means all written, printed or graphic matter, upon or accompanying any soil amendment, or advertisements, brochures, posters, or television or radio announcements used in promoting the sale of such soil amendments.

(j) The term "Minimum percentage" means that percent of soil amending ingredient that must be present in a product before the product will be accepted for registration when mentioned in any form or manner.

(k) The term "Official sample" means any sample of soil amendment taken by the director or his agent and designated as "official" by the director.

(l) The term "Other ingredients" means the nonsoil amending ingredients present in soil amendments.

(m) The term "Percent" or "Percentage" means by weight.

(n) The term "Person" means individual, partnership, association, firm or corporation.

(o) The term "Registrant" means the person who registers soil amendments under the provisions of this chapter.

(p) The term "Soil amending ingredient" means a substance which improves the physical characteristics of the soil.

(q) The term "Ton" means a net weight of two thousand (2,000) pounds avoirdupois.

(r) The term "Weight" means the weight of material as offered for sale.

{ADD (s) The term "Compost" means a soil amending material resulting from the aerobic, thermophyllic, microbial processing of organic materials. ADD}

{ADD (t) The term "Composting" means any aerobic, thermophyllic process which allows for the conversion of raw organic materials into a stable soil amendment. ADD}

{ADD (u) The term "Composter" means a producer of compost registered with the director under this chapter. ADD}

{ADD 2-22-4. Labeling. -- ADD} (a) "Soil amendment labels" -- the following information shall appear on the face or display side in a readable and conspicuous form, and shall be considered a label:

(i) Net weight

(ii) Brand Name

(iii) Guaranteed analysis Soil amending ingredients Name {ADD and source ADD} of ingredient __ % and continued until all soil amending ingredients are listed and percentages given. Total percent of other ingredients

(iv) Purpose of product

(v) Direction for application

(vi) Name and address of the registrant.

(b) No information or statement shall appear on any package, label, delivery slip or advertising matter which is false or misleading to the purchaser as to the use, value, quality, analysis, type or composition of the soil amendment.

(c) The director may require proof of claims made for any soil amendment. If no claims are made he may require proof of usefulness and value of the soil amendments. For evidence of proof the director of environmental management may rely on experimental data, evaluations, or advice supplied from such sources as the dean of the college of resource development. The experimental design shall be related to Rhode Island conditions for which the product is intended. The director may accept or reject other sources of proof as additional evidence in evaluating soil amendments.

(d) No soil amending ingredient may be listed or guaranteed on the labels or labeling of soil amendments without the permission of the director. The director may allow a soil amending ingredient to be listed or guaranteed on the label or labeling if satisfactory supportive data is provided the director to substantiate the value and usefulness of the soil amending ingredients. The director may rely on outside sources such as the director of the agricultural experiment station for assistance in evaluating the data submitted. When a soil amending ingredient is permitted to be listed or guaranteed it must be determinable by laboratory methods and is subject to inspection and analysis. The director may prescribe methods and procedures of inspection and analysis of the soil amending ingredient. The director may stipulate by regulation, the quantities of the soil amending ingredient or soil amending ingredients required in soil amendments.

(e) The director may allow labeling by volume rather than weight in packaging of soil amendments.

{ADD 2-22-5. Registration -- Tonnage report and fee. -- ADD} (a) Each separately identified product shall be registered before being distributed in this state. The application for registration shall be submitted to the director of environmental management on forms furnished or approved by the director and shall be accompanied by a fee of {DEL twenty-five dollars ($25.00) DEL} {ADD fifty dollars ($50.00) ADD} per product. Upon approval by the director, a certified copy of the registration shall be furnished to the applicant. All registrations expire on December 31st of each year. Each manufacturer shall submit to the director a copy of labels and advertising literature with the registration request for each soil amendment.

(b) A distributor shall not be required to register any brand of soil amendment, which is already registered under this chapter by another person, providing the label does not differ in any respect.

(c) Before registering any soil amendment the director may require evidence to substantiate the claims made for the soil amendment and proof of the value and usefulness of the soil amendment {ADD and of any process step during composting deemed essential to the safety of the soil amendment ADD} as in section 2-22-4(c) and (d).

(d) The director may by regulation set the minimum amount of a soil amending ingredient and soil amending ingredients that must be present before a soil amendment can be registered and sold.

(e) The director may through promulgation of regulations require a tonnage fee and/or tonnage report annually. If required, tonnage fee and tonnage report may be made on a calculated equivalent of volume to tons on brands labeled by volume rather than weight.

{ADD (f) The composter shall be required to register the operation with the director and shall identity their organic and any inorganic inputs and processes used in the making of their compost. The director shall set forth rules and regulations delineating the organic inputs allowed under the following compost designations and shall collect the appropriate registration fee for the compost operation. Compost classes are:

(1) Horticultural grade, general use, one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per year.

(2) Horticultural grade, mixed source general use, three hundred dollars ($300.00) per year.

(3) Non-food crop use, one thousand dollars ($1,000) per year.

(4) Limited landscape use, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per year. ADD}

{ADD 2-22-10. Penalties for violations. -- ADD} (a) Any person convicted of violating any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) {DEL nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) to be enforced by a summary proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction DEL} . {ADD The penalty shall not be greater than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or in addition to the penalty, the violators registration fee shall be increased four hundred percent (400%) for the four (4) years subsquent to the penalty. All penalties shall be enforced by a summary proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction. ADD} Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the director of environmental management or his {ADD or her ADD} authorized agent to report for prosecution or for the institution of seizure proceedings as a result of minor violations of the chapter when he {ADD or she ADD} believes that the public interest will best be served by a suitable written warning.

(b) The director is hereby authorized to apply for and the court to grant a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from violating or continuing to violate any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated under the chapter notwithstanding the existence of other remedies at law. The injunction to be issued without bond.

{ADD 2-22-11. Rules and regulations. -- ADD} The director of environmental management is authorized pursuant to due publication and notice to adopt and enforce rules and regulations relating to sampling, analytical methods, form, minimum percentages, soil amending ingredients, exempted materials, investigational allowances, definitions, records, labels, labeling, liability bond, misbranding, mislabeling and the distribution of soil amendments as may be necessary to carry into effect the full intent and meaning of this chapter. {ADD The director of environmental management is authorized and empowered to adopt and enforce rules and regulations for a fee waiver for agricultural and municipal compost facilities. ADD}

{ADD 2-22-12. Adulteration. -- ADD} No person shall distribute an adulterated soil amendment. A soil amendment shall be deemed to be adulterated if:

(a) It contains any deleterious or harmful agent sufficient amount to render it injurious to beneficial plant, animal, or aquatic life when applied in accordance with directions for use on the label, {ADD or contains false or misleading information regarding input materials or production process, ADD} or if adequate warning statements and directions for use, which may be necessary to protect plant, animal, or aquatic life are not shown upon the label, or

(b) If its composition falls below or differs from that which it is purported to possess by its labeling, or

(c) If it contains unwanted crop or weed seed, or primary noxious or secondary noxious weedseed.

SECTION 2. Chapter 2-22 of the General Laws entitled "Soil Amendment" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

{ADD 2-22-15. Annual report. -- ADD} {ADD The registrate shall be required to submit an annual report of sales to the director. The composter shall submit payment to the director as follows:

(a) eight cents ($.08) per ton for class 1 general use.

(b) fifteen cents ($.15) per ton for class 2 use.

(c) twenty cents ($.20) per ton for class 3 use.

(d) twenty-five cents ($.25) per ton for class 4 limited use. ADD}

{ADD 2-22-16. Quality assurance funds. -- ADD} {ADD All funds received by the department under this chapter shall be deposited into the feed and fertilizer quality testing fund established under Rhode Island general laws 2-7-6(d) and used for the express purpose of testing and assuring the soil amendment. ADD}

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on July 1, 1994.