Relates to the regulation of the sale and analysis of fertilizer

Title of bill

An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to regulation of the sale and analysis of fertilizer

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill would provide sole authority for the regulation of the sale and analysis of fertilizer to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and would render any local legislation in violation of this section void and unenforceable.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends the Agriculture and Markets Law by adding a new Section 145-a, prohibiting municipal governments from adopting any regulations on fertilizer that are different from or in addition to any such requirement adopted in accordance with Article 10; renders any local legislation in violation of this section void and unenforceable; and does not preempt or otherwise limit the authority of any county or municipality to adopt and enforce zoning regulations, fire codes, building codes or wasted disposal restrictions.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

Justification

Municipal governments are beginning to pass local laws regulating the sale and application of fertilizers with the belief that application of them is harmful to the environment and, specifically, that restricting fertilizer use will improve the quality of drinking water. This theory has no basis in science and, in fact, has been proven to be incorrect. In fact, these local regulations may do more harm than good.

Properly applied, fertilizer is of no threat to the environment and, in residential settings, promotes fuller thicker lawns. A Pennsylvania State University study showed thick lawns slow the velocity of run-off and allow water to infiltrate the ground 15 times greater than a patchy, weed-infested lawn. An average lawn allows a run-off rate of about a half-gallon of water per minute during peak rainfall, as opposed to a rate of 7.5 gallons per minute from a lawn that is thinly seeded and bare. Research has also shown that the amount of phosphorous in run-off from lawns without phosphorous fertilizer was significantly higher than from lawns fertilized with phosphorous - the exact opposite of the intended effect of these local regulations.

Allowing for local regulations will create a patchwork of differing fertilizer application requirements from municipality to municipality that will make it very difficult - and costly - for applicators to achieve compliance. This will drive landscapers and fertilizer applicators out of business while driving the cost of fertilizer applications up, placing an undue share of the burden on the consumer. Additionally, the local governments considering these regulations often do not have the scientific or environmental expertise to create and enforce local fertilizer regulations, nor have they considered the cost of the program, which very likely could cause local tax increases.

This legislation, therefore, provides pre-emptive responsibility for the regulation of the application of fertilizer to the one agency in the state with the expertise required to do so - the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Prior legislative history

S.8493/A.11521 (2008)

Fiscal implications

None to the state. Additionally, this legislation could serve to avert unforeseen tax increases on the local level.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.