Revised
November, 2003
Administration: This Act is administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Telephone: (402) 471-2394.
Revisions: The provisions of this Act were last revised during the 2003 session of the Nebraska Legislature. This reproduction was prepared following that session.
Rules: A regulation has been adopted under this Act, known as Title 25, Chapter 12, Nebraska Administrative Code - Agricultural Liming Materials Regulations.
2-4301 Act, how cited.
2-4302 Definitions, where found.
2-4303 Agricultural liming material, defined.
2-4304 Limestone, defined.
2-4305 Burnt lime, defined.
2-4306 Hydrated lime, defined.
2-4307 Marl, defined.
2-4308 Industrial byproduct, defined.
2-4309 Brand, defined.
2-4310 Fineness, defined.
2-4311 Ton, defined.
2-4312 Bulk, defined.
2-4313 Label, defined.
2-4314 Calcium carbonate equivalent, defined.
2-4315 Weight, defined.
2-4316 Agricultural lime slurry, defined.
2-4317 Department, defined.
2-4318 Director, defined.
2-4318.01 Manufacturer, distributor, retailer; defined.
2-4319 Rules and regulations.
2-4320 Sale; label, statement, or delivery slip;
information requirements.
2-4321 Sale or offer for sale; restrictions.
2-4322 Registration; license; when required;
application; license fee.
2-4323 Retailer licensee; annual statement; inspection;
fee; department; composite report.
2-4324 Fees; disbursement.
2-4325 Director; enforcement of act; inspections;
testing; methods of analysis; results; distribution.
2-4326 Department; enforcement; orders.
2-4327 Violations; penalty; written warning.
2-4302. Definitions, where found. As used in the
Agricultural Liming Materials Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in
sections 2-4303 to 2-4318.01 shall apply.
2-4303. Agricultural liming material, defined.
Agricultural liming material shall mean material which is distributed for agricultural purposes
whose calcium and magnesium compounds are capable of neutralizing soil acidity, including
limestone, burnt lime, hydrated lime, marl, an industrial byproduct, and agricultural lime slurry.
2-4304. Limestone, defined. Limestone shall mean a
material consisting essentially of calcium carbonate or a combination of calcium carbonate with
magnesium carbonate capable of neutralizing soil acidity.
2-4305. Burnt lime, defined. Burnt lime shall mean a
material made from limestone which consists essentially of calcium oxide or a combination of
calcium oxide with magnesium oxide.
2-4306. Hydrated lime, defined. Hydrated lime shall
mean a material made from burnt lime which consists of calcium hydroxide or a combination of
calcium hydroxide with magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide.
2-4307. Marl, defined. Marl shall mean a granular or
loosely consolidated earthy material composed largely of seashell fragments and calcium
carbonate.
2-4308. Industrial byproduct, defined. Industrial
byproduct shall mean any industrial waste or byproduct containing calcium or calcium and
magnesium in forms that will neutralize soil acidity.
2-4309. Brand, defined. Brand shall mean the term,
designation, trademark, product name, or other specific designation under which individual
agricultural liming material is offered for sale.
2-4310. Fineness, defined. Fineness shall mean the
percentage by weight of the material which will pass standard sieves of specified sizes to be
determined by the director pursuant to section 2-4319.
2-4311. Ton, defined. Ton shall mean a net weight of
two thousand pounds avoirdupois.
2-4312. Bulk, defined. Bulk shall mean in a
nonpackaged form.
2-4313. Label, defined. Label shall mean any written
or printed matter on or attached to the package or on the delivery ticket which accompanies bulk
shipments.
2-4314. Calcium carbonate equivalent, defined.
Calcium carbonate equivalent shall mean the acid-neutralizing capacity of an agricultural liming
material expressed as a weight percentage of calcium carbonate. The weight of water contained
by the liming material shall be included when calculating the calcium carbonate equivalent.
2-4315. Weight, defined. Weight shall mean the
weight of undried material as offered for sale.
2-4316. Agricultural lime slurry, defined.
Agricultural lime slurry shall mean pulverized limestone suspended in water and which may
contain up to two percent by weight of appropriate clay and surfactant to maintain the liming
material in suspension.
2-4317. Department, defined. Department shall mean
the Department of Agriculture.
2-4318. Director, defined. Director shall mean the
Director of Agriculture.
2-4318.01. Manufacturer, distributor, retailer; defined.
(2) Distributor shall mean one who sells agricultural liming material to any but the
ultimate consumer.
(3) Retailer shall mean one who sells agricultural liming material to the ultimate
consumer.
(4) Any person can be either a manufacturer, distributor, or seller, or any combination
thereof, depending upon the function performed by such person in any given transaction.
2-4319. Rules and regulations. The department shall
adopt, promulgate, and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Agricultural Liming Materials Act pursuant to the Administrative Procedure
Act.
The director shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to fineness as
defined in section 2-4310 and he or she shall refer in adopting such rules and regulations to
specifications used by national testing and materials organizations.
2-4320. Sale; label, statement, or delivery slip; information
requirements.
(b) The brand or trade name of the material;
(c) The identification of the product as to the type of the agricultural liming material;
(d) The net weight of the agricultural liming material;
(e) The minimum effective calcium carbonate equivalent, which is a percentage of weight
function of calcium carbonate equivalent and fineness as prescribed by the rules and regulations
of the director; and
(f) The pounds of effective calcium carbonate per ton.
(2) 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 quality, analysis type, or
composition of the agricultural liming material.
(3) In the case of any material which has been changed in any way as to render
inaccurate or misleading any of the information required by subsection (1) of this section
subsequent to its packaging, labeling, or loading and before its delivery to the consumer, a
plainly marked notice of the change shall be affixed by the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer
to the package or delivery slip to identify the kind and degree of such change in such package.
(4) At every site from which agricultural liming materials are delivered in bulk and at
every place where consumer orders for bulk deliveries are placed, there shall be conspicuously
posted a copy of the statements required by subsections (1) and (3) of this section for each brand
of material.
2-4321. Sale or offer for sale; restrictions.
(2) No agricultural liming material shall be sold or offered for sale in this state which
contains toxic materials in quantities injurious to plants or animals.
2-4322. Registration; license; when required; application; license fee.
A person shall not be required to register any brand of agricultural liming material which
is already registered pursuant to the Agricultural Liming Materials Act by another person.
(2) Any out-of-state manufacturer, distributor, or retailer who has no distribution
facility within this state shall obtain a registration for its principal out-of-state office if it markets
or distributes agricultural liming materials in the State of Nebraska.
(3) Every manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of agricultural liming materials to be
distributed in this state shall file with the department an application for a license on or before
January 1 of each year or prior to manufacture, distribution, or sale of such liming materials.
Upon acceptance of the application and proper fee, the department shall issue a license for the
current year. The annual license fee shall be five dollars and the license shall expire on
December 31 of the same year.
2-4323. Retailer licensee; annual statement; inspection; fee;
department; composite report.
(2) The department shall publish and make available, to each agricultural liming
material registrant or licensee and to any other interested person upon his or her request, a
composite report showing the tons of agricultural liming material sold in each county in this
state. Such report shall in no way divulge the operation of any registrant or licensee.
2-4324. Fees; disbursement. All fees paid to the
department pursuant to the Agricultural Liming Materials Act shall be remitted to the State
Treasurer for credit to the Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners Administrative Fund. Any money in
the Liming Materials Cash Fund on August 31, 2003, shall be transferred to the Fertilizers and
Soil Conditioners Administrative Fund. All money credited or transferred to the fund shall be
used by the department to aid in defraying expenses of administering the Agricultural Liming
Materials Act and the Nebraska Commercial Fertilizer and Soil Conditioner Act.
2-4325. Director; enforcement of acts; inspections; testing; methods of
analysis; results; distribution.
(b) Inspect any location or vehicle described in this subsection, all pertinent equipment,
finished and unfinished materials, containers and labeling, all records, books, papers, and
documents relating to the distribution and production of agricultural liming materials, and other
information necessary for the enforcement of the act;
(c) Obtain samples of agricultural liming materials. The owner, operator, or agent in charge
shall be given a receipt describing the samples obtained; and
(d) Make analyses of and test samples obtained pursuant to subdivision (c) of this subsection
to determine whether such agricultural liming materials are in compliance with the act.
(2) Sampling and analysis shall be conducted in accordance with methods published by
the AOAC International or in accordance with other generally recognized methods.
(3) The results of official analyses of agricultural liming materials and portions of
official samples shall be distributed by the department as provided in the rules and regulations.
2-4326. Department; enforcement; orders. The
department may issue and enforce a written or printed stop-sale, stop-use, or removal order to the
owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural liming material. The department may order the
owner or custodian to hold such material at a designated place when the department finds such
material is being offered or exposed for sale by the owner or custodian in violation of the
Agricultural Liming Materials Act or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the
department. Such material shall be released when the act or the rules and regulations have been
complied with, such violations have otherwise been legally disposed of in writing, and all costs
and expense incurred in connection with such material's holding have been paid. This section
shall not apply if the owner or custodian is the ultimate consumer of the agricultural liming
material and he or she has title to such materials.
2-4327. Violations; penalty; written warning. Any
person violating the Agricultural Liming Materials Act shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor
upon the first conviction thereof, and a Class IV misdemeanor for each subsequent conviction
thereof.
Nothing in the act shall be construed to require the director or his or her duly authorized
agent to report a violation in order to prosecute or to institute seizure proceedings as a result of
minor violations of the act when he or she believes that the public interest will best be served by
a suitable written warning to the violator.
2-4301. Act, how cited. Sections 2-4301 to 2-4327
shall be known and may be cited as the Agricultural Liming Materials Act.
(1) Manufacturer shall mean a person who quarries, crushes, or grinds agricultural liming
materials.
(1) Agricultural liming materials sold, offered, or exposed for sale in this state by any
manufacturer, distributor, or retailer shall have affixed to each package in a conspicuous manner
on the outside of such package a plainly printed, stamped, or otherwise marked label, tag, or
statement or, in the case of bulk sales, a delivery slip, setting forth the following information:
(a) The name and principal office address of the manufacturer or distributor;
Additional information may also be listed on the package including the minimum percentage by
weight of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.
(1) No agricultural liming material shall be sold or offered for sale in this state unless it
complies with the Agricultural Liming Materials Act or the rules and regulations promulgated
pursuant to the act.
(1) Each separately identified agricultural liming material shall be registered before being
distributed in this state. The person who first causes the distribution of the agricultural liming
material into or within this state shall be responsible for compliance with the registration
requirements of this section. The application for registration shall be submitted to the
department on forms furnished and approved by the department. Upon approval by the
department a copy of the registration shall be furnished to the applicant. All registrations shall
expire on December 31 of the same year. Agricultural lime slurry as defined in section 2-4316
shall be exempt from the registration requirements of this section.
(1) Within thirty days following the expiration of each license, each retailer licensee shall submit
on a form furnished and approved by the department an annual statement setting forth, by county
name, the number of net tons of each agricultural liming material sold by him or her for use in
this state during the previous twelve-month period. Such statement shall be accompanied by
payment of an inspection fee at the rate fixed by the director but not exceeding ten cents per ton.
The fee shall be set at an amount to cover the expenses of the inspection provided in section
2-4325 and the costs of administering this section. The fee shall be paid by the retailer licensee
and in the case of agricultural lime slurry, the fee shall be paid on the base lime material only.
(1) To enforce the Agricultural Liming Materials Act or the rules and regulations adopted
pursuant to the act, the director may:
(a) For purposes of inspection, enter any location, vehicle, or both in which agricultural
liming materials are manufactured, processed, packed, transported, or held for distribution during
the normal business hours, except that in the event such locations and vehicles are not open to
the public, the director shall present his or her credentials and obtain consent before making entry
thereto unless a search warrant has previously been obtained. Credentials shall not be required
for each entry made during the period covered by the inspection. The person in charge of the
location or vehicle shall be notified of the completion of the inspection. If the owner of such
location or vehicle or his or her agent refuses to admit the director to inspect pursuant to this
section, the director may obtain a search warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction directing
such owner or agent to submit the location, vehicle, or both as described in such search warrant
to inspection;
For purposes of this subsection, location shall include a factory, warehouse, or establishment.