Mississippi § 75-47-7 - Registration.

§ 75-47-7. Registration.

Each brand and grade of commercial fertilizer shall be registered before being distributed in this state. The application for registration shall be submitted to the commissioner on forms furnished by the commissioner, and shall be accompanied by a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per brand and grade, except that those fertilizers sold in packages of ten (10) pounds or less shall be registered at a fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) each. One-half (1/2) of the fees collected for the registration of fertilizer products or Five Dollars ($5.00) per brand and grade and Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for those fertilizers sold in packages of ten (10) pounds or less shall be deposited in a special fund in the State Treasury described under Section 69-23-7(2), and such funds shall be subject to appropriation by the Mississippi Legislature. Such fees shall be used by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the Department of Environmental Quality to carry out a program of protecting the underground water resources from commercial fertilizers or fertilizer materials. Upon approval by the commissioner and State Chemist a copy of the registration shall be furnished to the applicant. All registrations expire on June 30 of the following year. The application shall include the following information: The net weight. The brand and grade. The guaranteed analysis. The name and address of the registrant. A distributor shall not be required to register any commercial fertilizer which is already registered under this chapter by another person, providing the label does not differ in any respect. A distributor shall not be required to register each grade of commercial fertilizer formulated according to specifications which are furnished by a consumer prior to mixing, but shall be required to register his firm in a manner and at a fee as prescribed in the regulations by the commissioner and State Chemist, and to label such fertilizer as provided in Section 75-47-9(2). All fees collected by the commissioner shall be paid into the State Treasury. After a public hearing open to all interested parties, the commissioner, State Chemist, and Director of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station shall have authority to establish minimum amounts of plant nutrients which may be guaranteed and to promulgate ratios and minimum analysis grades of mixed fertilizers adequate to meet the agricultural needs of the state. Such a list shall be published and furnished to fertilizer manufacturers and guarantors on or before June 1 of each year. Pursuant to a notice from the Department of Environmental Quality under Section 49-17-26 in relation to state underground water quality standards, the Commissioner of Agriculture shall provide for modification of the labeling of any fertilizer, or suspend or cancel the registration of any fertilizer or any use of any fertilizer, or adopt a regulation in accordance with Section 69-23-9 to protect the underground water resources, as defined in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, in the shortest reasonable time.