Elmwood Park, N.J.-The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, along with the New Jersey Green Industry Council, is concerned about the impact on the landscape industry of a state fertilizer bill currently in the works in the legislature. NJLCA spokeswoman Gail Woolcott advised Green Markets that the proposed landscape licensing bill has been sent to the senate commerce committee, where it is apparently languishing. “We have heard from several senators who oppose this bill, and we are watching it to see where it goes,” Woolcott added. According to an alert published by NJLCA, the bill would authorize state standards for fertilizer applications to turf grass and establish certification based on fertilization best management practices, prohibit application of phosphorus above 0.3 pounds per application and application of fertilizer on frozen ground or between Dec. 15 and Feb. 20, and require a 10-foot waterway buffer. The associations are also keeping their eye on S2669, which authorizes counties to regulate the fertilizer for residential or other types of properties. The bill would allow county officials, including a board of health or regional health commission, to limit the type, amount, timing, and technique of fertilizer applications to residential or any real property, and to provide for the dissemination of information regarding the environmental hazards associated with the misuse of fertilizer. Agricultural use would not be affected.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain