dept. 1200, 1203, 8 CCR 1203-2, pt. 5, subpt. A - General

5.01. Definitions. For purposes of this Part 5 unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Applicator technician" means a technician whose job includes the use of pesticides;

(b) "Experienced technician" means a technician who has been trained and has the following minimum experience within the past 3 years: for applicator technicians doing structural applications, 6 months of experience including time in training, for applicator technicians doing agricultural, turf, ornamental or turf and ornamental applications, 1 season of experience including time in training, and for sales technicians, 1 season of sales experience;

(1) "New hire experienced technician" means any technician who has met the experience requirements, outlined in Part 5.01(b), within the last 3 years, but is a new employee of a commercial applicator, registered limited commercial applicator, or registered public applicator.

(2) "On-going experienced applicator technician" means an individual who has met the definition of an experienced technician and continues to work for the same commercial applicator, registered limited commercial applicator, or registered public applicator.

(c) "Sales technician" means a technician whose sole job is selling application services; and

(d) "Selling application services" means the sale of a pesticide application. Selling application services does not include the sale of an evaluation service, inspection service, or recommendation service. To qualify as a sale of an application service, the seller must make an evaluation of pest problems or a recommendation of pest controls using pesticides. A seller does not make an evaluation of pest problems or a recommendation of pest controls using pesticides if the seller answers questions from a customer using an answer sheet prepared by a licensed qualified supervisor.

(e) "Flagger technician" means an individual employed and compensated by the applicator who designates, with a flag or any other identification, the alignment of a pesticide application during the application of pesticides at that site.

5.02. Scope of Part 5.

(a) A person will not be considered a technician for purposes of these Rules if said person uses, sells, or recommends a general use pesticide while under the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor.

(b) A person who evaluates any pest problem while under the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor will not be considered a technician.

(c) Use or sales of restricted use pesticides by a technician:

(1) A person must be a trained technician if said person uses a restricted use pesticide while under the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor.

(2) A person must be training to be a technician to sell or recommend a restricted use pesticide while under the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor.

(3) A person must be a trained technician to sell or recommend a restricted use pesticide while under the supervision of a qualified supervisor.

(4) All requirements for direct supervision at 40 C.F.R. § 171.201 (2017) (as incorporated herein by reference) must be met prior to a technician using a restricted use pesticide under the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor.

(d) A person must be a technician or must be training to be a technician if said person uses, sells, or recommends a general use pesticide while on the job with a certified operator or experienced technician.

(e) A person may not use, sell, or recommend, general use pesticides unaccompanied by a qualified supervisor, certified operator, or experienced technician without completing the training required by these Rules.

(f) For the purposes of determining if a person is experienced and/or trained, upon a showing of exceptional circumstances by a commercial applicator, the Commissioner may waive all or part of the experience and training requirements specified in these Rules. The Commissioner may accept, with sufficient verification, valid relevant field experience and training obtained from sources other than the commercial applicator in this state or any other state so long as safety is not compromised and the person has the necessary pertinent application skills.

(g) The amount of time given to each topic covered by these Rules is discretionary with the trainer. However, the technician's training must be relevant to each technician's job duties.

(h) Each commercial, registered limited commercial, or registered public applicator licensed or registered in any category shall record the training provided to each technician on a form or forms provided by the Commissioner. Any such form(s) must be completed in full in order to comply with this Part 5.02(h).

(i) Each commercial, registered limited commercial, or registered public applicator licensed or registered in any category may give a written examination to trained technicians to determine the comprehension of subjects covered by the training. However, said examination shall not in any manner substitute for any of the training required by these Rules.

(j) This Part 5 shall not apply to limited commercial applicator and public applicators not registered with the Department pursuant to Section 35-10-109, C.R.S., which are regulated by Part 16 of these Rules.

(k) All technician training conducted under this Part 5 and its Subparts must conform with all noncertified applicator training requirements in 40 C.F.R. § 171.201 (2017) (as incorporated herein by reference).

(l) A commercial, registered limited or registered public applicator must obtain training records to verify that any new-hire experienced technician has met all the training requirements in this Part 5. These records must be maintained as part of the technician's training record in accordance with Part 5.02(m) below.

(m) Each commercial, registered limited commercial, or registered public applicator must maintain the training record(s) as follows:

(1) The original training record reflecting all required classroom and on-the-job training hours, in accordance with Part 5 and its subparts for the category being trained in, must be maintained for the entirety of the technician's employment and for three years after the technician's separation from the employer.

(2) The on-going training record reflecting all required training hours and topics, in accordance with Part 5 and its subparts for the category being trained in, must be maintained for a minimum of three years from the date training was conducted.

(3) A copy of all training records must be provided to the applicator technician upon request and must be provided to the Commissioner upon request.

Notes

dept. 1200, 1203, 8 CCR 1203-2, pt. 5, subpt. A

38 CR 23, December 10, 2015, effective 12/30/2015 39 CR 05, March 10, 2016, effective 3/30/2016 45 CR 01, January 10, 2022, effective 1/30/2022 46 CR 23, December 10, 2023, effective 12/30/2023