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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Pesticides and Fertilizer

Reference Number: MTAS-603
Reviewed Date: 07/06/2021

Pesticides
Municipalities are prohibited from regulating the sale and use of pesticides. Also prohibited is regulation of registration, notification of use, advertising, marketing, distribution, applicator training or certification, storage, transportation, disposal, disclosing confidential information, or product composition. The statute does not limit a city’s authority to zone for storage or designate sites for disposal, regulate discharge to sanitary sewers, or implement a pest management plan required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The state may enter into an agreement with cities with a population of greater than 250,000 to enforce the provisions of the Tennessee Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. T.C.A. § 43-8-114–115, T.C.A. § 62-21-118, T.C.A. § 62-21-129.

Fertilizer
Municipalities may not regulate the registration, packaging, labeling, sale, storage, distribution, use, and application of fertilizer, except in any county having a population in excess of 200,000 according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. T.C.A. §43-11-125.