Montana Code 80-10-206. Inspection, sampling, and analysis
80-10-206. Inspection, sampling, and analysis. (1) The department may sample, inspect, analyze, and test commercial fertilizers and soil amendments distributed in this state at a time and place and to an extent necessary to determine whether the commercial fertilizers or soil amendments are in compliance with this chapter. The department may enter any public or private premises during regular business hours in order to have access to commercial fertilizers or soil amendments subject to this chapter.
Terms Used In Montana Code 80-10-206
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Commercial fertilizer: includes any substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and that is designed for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, yield, or quality of the crop. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Deficiency: means the amount of nutrient found by analysis to be less than that guaranteed. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures commercial fertilizer or soil amendments. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Official sample: means any sample of commercial fertilizer taken by the department and designated as official by the department. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Person: means an individual, partnership, association, firm, or corporation. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Soil amendment: means any substance that is intended to improve the physical or chemical characteristics of soil. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)The methods of analysis and sampling must be those adopted by the department from sources such as those of the association of official analytical chemists. The results of analysis, together with additional information the department considers advisable, must be transmitted promptly to the manufacturer and to the dealer or person in whose possession the product was sampled.
(3)The department, in determining whether any deficiency occurred in a commercial fertilizer or soil amendment, must be guided solely by the official sample obtained and analyzed as provided for in subsections (1) and (2). The department may arrange with other laboratories for specific analyses conducted as part of an official analysis.
(4)If on the basis of an inspection or the analysis of the official sample a commercial fertilizer or soil amendment is found to be subject to penalty or other legal action, the department shall forward to the responsible party notification of the violation. If no adequate evidence to the contrary is made available to the department, the report becomes official.
(5)Upon request, the department shall furnish to the responsible party a portion of any sample found subject to penalty or other legal action. The responsible party may challenge the department’s determination of a violation within 30 days following the responsible party’s receipt of the analysis. Upon receipt of the challenge, the department shall forward a portion of the remainder of the official sample to any recognized chemical laboratory of the responsible party’s choice for analysis. If the results differ significantly from the department’s analysis, the responsible party may request a referee analysis by a referee laboratory chosen by the department. Results of the referee analysis must be reported to the responsible party and to the department, and the referee analysis is considered official. If the department’s initial analysis is sustained following a referee analysis, the responsible party that requested the referee analysis shall pay the costs of the referee analysis.