[Lawn Care Supplement] Regulatory decisions fuel industry change

Local and state ordinances can have serious impacts on the lawn care market. Recent issues in Florida illustrate this market challenge.

Editor’s note: PCOs that offer or are considering offering lawn care services need to be aware of current regulatory challenges. Landscape contractors in Florida, for example, are dealing with several issues relating to the use of water and fertilizer. Erica Santella, region technical manager for TruGreen’s 15 Florida branches, is one of the Florida lawn care industry’s most active members in terms of regulatory involvement. What follows is a review of regulatory issues in Florida that illustrate industry-wide trends.

This year will go down in history as a frustrating one for landscape contractors throughout the Sunshine State. The service industry has struggled with local water quality ordinances throughout the state of Florida. These ordinances often defy the boundaries of environmental, economic and horticultural reality and have stretched our resources to the limit. But we have certainly learned a great deal in a short period of time.

Everyone is for protecting and conserving water and working to help local and state governments meet their Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements.

In Florida, the vehicle for doing this is the Green Industries Best Management Practices (GIBMPs) for the protection of Florida’s water resources and the companion certification.

BMPs were developed in a multi-year process and included all possible stakeholder groups. Besides the lawn care industry, other partners in the process were the Florida Department of Agriculture, University of Florida, Water Management Districts, Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

Many in the lawn care industry were not familiar with DCA but quickly understood why they wanted to be engaged. This agency works closely with the development of large communities, and they understood that landscape design was a critical part of working with the urban landscape. (A link to the GIBMPs can be found at: www.dep.state.fl.us/water/nonpoint/docs/nonpoint/BMP_Book_final.pdf.)

Unlike any other agricultural or non-agricultural BMP, the GIBMPs have a certification program that includes frontline employees. Anyone who touches turf or landscape plants in a service capacity should have this certification.

When local governments began looking at their TMDL requirements, it was assumed the lawn care industry’s GIBMPs would be the primary tool used. Imagine the industry’s shock when select individuals and groups arbitrarily campaigned to modify, without scientific basis, its BMPs. The changes that were common throughout Florida’s cities and counties took the shape of four forms and focused exclusively on fertilizers:

RATES. A maximum rate was allowed to fertilize urban turf. The true objective in many cases was to make conditions impossible for growing healthy turf, and the use of native plants would be encouraged. There is a strong feeling that native plants in an urban setting will not require inputs and will be a major component in meeting TMDL goals. Lawn care professionals know that native plants in non-native soils will still require maintenance, fertilization and pest control applications.

SOURCES. A requirement was set for a minimum amount of slow release in any fertilizer. Some local governments had in law an amount that was chemically impossible. Try explaining to a lay person what the guaranteed analysis is all about and how nitrogen is taken up in the plant.

TIMINGS. This, by far, is the most controversial and at odds with the science of growing plants. Three to four month blackout periods are being imposed when nitrogen and phosphorous applications are prohibited.

The reasoning is a matter of public record and goes like this: During the summer rains, fertilizer will move downward and laterally in the soil. Plants receive sufficient nitrogen from clippings, nitrogen, and rainfall.

This has been the most difficult belief to overcome, despite support from university researchers, Department of Agriculture officials and other scientists that fertilization is best done when plant uptake is greatest.

LARGER BUFFER ZONES. Larger buffer zones where fertilizer is not allowed. The GIBMPs have a 3-foot “Ring of Responsibility” around bodies of water where fertilization is prohibited. Local governments have increased this to 10, 15, and in some cases 25 feet from bodies of water. To many commissioners, this only seems like common sense.

INDUSTRY RESPONSE. After seeing close to a dozen local ordinances passed, primarily in Southwest Florida, the industry is working on a way to gain more consistency in these regulations. There are cities within counties that have different ordinances.

Will we need a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit on our spreaders to stay in compliance with the nuances of each law? Several of these local governments see themselves as the model on how to protect water resources, and are spreading their message to the rest of Florida and beyond state boundaries. The lawn care industry’s attempts to have ordinances based on sound science have failed in 2007 and the first half of 2008, but important lessons were learned.

BETTER ORGANIZATION NEEDED. The lawn care industry needs to stay organized across all segments. Lawn care industry professional associations span many aspects: sod, fertilizer, irrigation, landscaping service providers and golf to name just a few. The organizations must all be aligned and have the same message: sound science and enforceability. Keep up to date with all relevant rules and laws already in place. It can take time to learn them all.

For example, in Florida, several state rules cover fertilizer labeling and distribution, Green Industries Best Management Practices and Chapter 482 (the Pest Control Act). These various regulations overlap, so it is important all to have a clear understanding of how they interact. The lawn care industry’s golf partners are critical. While golf BMPs have universally been recognized and accepted without modification, the golf associations have continued to support and participate in the process.

EMOTIONS WILL OUTWEIGH SCIENCE. The lawn care industry discovered that local regulators have a huge amount on their plate, and often don’t understand the land grant colleges or the significance of peer-reviewed science. Just try discussing the guaranteed analysis to a lay person, and you will quickly see how confusing the lawn care business can be. Now, attempt to give a sound bite on the merits of slow and soluble fertilizer. 

INVOLVE EXPERTS. Work closely with local county extension service and state researchers. These individuals are the science that the industry needs on its side. They can provide clear, concise information to regulators that is believable. At the same time, be ready for some groups to object to the long and close relationship that industry has with land grant universities and county extension agents. They may view even peer-reviewed research as tainted if any of the grant money has been provided by industry.

LISTEN TO OTHERS. Listen to the objections people have to what the lawn care industry holds dear. Try your best to understand why others believe what they do. When I first heard the phrase “If you can’t eat it, don’t grow it,” I was taken aback. How would you respond? The message is that if something is nonessential it is not worth doing. This ignores the realty of the benefits that come with living in a developed country (of which we should all be extremely grateful). Life is dull indeed, if your only goal is survival. How about this one: “Every time you fertilize turf, it is a potential pollution event.” Or, “Turf receives more than enough nutrients from rainfall and lightening during the summer.” How about: “Brown grass or brown water.” This assumes these are the only options, and that turf does not have a job to do in the urban environment. These are real situations that the lawn care industry in Florida has learned to deal with.

MUCH WORK TO BE DONE. The lawn care industry in Florida has its work cut out for itself. The year 2008 will go down in Florida as a year some would like to forget. The state water quality bill that so many worked very hard on has been pulled. Many in the lawn care industry are frustrated and wondering if life as we know it is over. No, this is just one more obstacle to work through.

Think back at other challenges the industry has worked through. I have complete confidence that science and good judgment will prevail. But it won’t be easy — a great deal of hard work is needed. We need to reach out to various stakeholders and work towards a common goal of protecting the precious resources that are so critical to this valuable service industry. Stay tuned and stay involved. 

The author is region technical manager for TruGreen’s 15 Florida branches.

June 2008
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