| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to turf and landscape maintenance; |
| 3 | providing definitions; specifying requirements for |
| 4 | fertilizer content and application; requiring specified |
| 5 | training for turf and landscape practices; providing |
| 6 | requirements for the management of specified debris; |
| 7 | providing recommendations for the maintenance of certain |
| 8 | areas; providing applicability and exemptions; providing |
| 9 | an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Turf and landscape maintenance.-- |
| 14 | (1) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section: |
| 15 | (a) "Applicator" means any person who applies fertilizer |
| 16 | on turf or landscape plants, including: |
| 17 | 1. A commercial applicator who applies fertilizer on turf |
| 18 | or landscape plants in exchange for money, goods, services, or |
| 19 | other valuable consideration. |
| 20 | 2. An institutional applicator who applies fertilizer for |
| 21 | the purpose of maintaining turf or landscape plants, including, |
| 22 | but not limited to, owners and managers of public lands, |
| 23 | schools, parks, religious institutions, utility companies, |
| 24 | industrial or business sites, and any residential properties |
| 25 | maintained under common ownership. |
| 26 | 3. A golf course applicator who applies fertilizer to golf |
| 27 | courses. |
| 28 | (b) "Best management practice" means turf and landscape |
| 29 | practices or any combination of practices determined, based on |
| 30 | research, field-testing, and expert review, to be the most |
| 31 | effective and practicable on-location means, including economic |
| 32 | and technological considerations, for improving water quality, |
| 33 | conserving water supplies, and protecting natural resources. |
| 34 | (c) "Fertilizer" means any substance or mixture of |
| 35 | substances that contains one or more recognized plant nutrients |
| 36 | and promotes plant growth, controls soil acidity or alkalinity, |
| 37 | provides other soil enrichment, or provides other corrective |
| 38 | measures to the soil, excluding pesticide-fertilizer mixtures. |
| 39 | (d) "Landscape plant" means any tree, shrub, or |
| 40 | groundcover, excluding turf. |
| 41 | (e) "Prohibited application period" means the time period |
| 42 | during which heavy rain is imminent or a 3-day cone of |
| 43 | uncertainty, a flood watch or warning, tropical storm watch or |
| 44 | warning, or hurricane watch or warning has been issued for the |
| 45 | area by the National Weather Service. |
| 46 | (f) "Turf" means a piece of grass-covered soil held |
| 47 | together by the roots of the grass, including lawn and sod. |
| 48 | (g) "Vegetative debris" means debris containing any mowed |
| 49 | or cut parts of any plant species, including grass clippings. |
| 50 | (h) "Water bodies" means any watercourse, canal, pond, |
| 51 | lake, river, or stream. |
| 52 | (i) "Wetlands" means those areas defined in s. |
| 53 | 373.019(25), Florida Statutes. |
| 54 | (2) FERTILIZER CONTENT AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.-- |
| 55 | (a) Fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus may not |
| 56 | be applied to turf or landscape plants during a prohibited |
| 57 | application period. |
| 58 | (b) Fertilizer applied to turf or landscape plants must be |
| 59 | labeled in accordance with rule of the Department of Agriculture |
| 60 | and Consumer Services on fertilizer label requirements for urban |
| 61 | turf, sports turf, or lawns. |
| 62 | (c) Fertilizer must be applied to turf or landscape plants |
| 63 | in accordance with rule of the Department of Agriculture and |
| 64 | Consumer Services on fertilizer label requirements for urban |
| 65 | turf, sports turf, or lawns and may not exceed the annual |
| 66 | nitrogen recommendations provided therein. |
| 67 | (d) A one-time application of starter fertilizer in |
| 68 | accordance with rule of the Department of Agriculture and |
| 69 | Consumer Services on fertilizer label requirements for urban |
| 70 | turf, sports turf, or lawns is allowed for turf and landscape |
| 71 | plants that are being planted or established. |
| 72 | (e) Nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer may not be applied |
| 73 | to turf or landscape plants except as provided in this |
| 74 | subsection unless a soil or tissue deficiency has been verified |
| 75 | through testing approved by the Institute of Food and |
| 76 | Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida or another |
| 77 | accredited laboratory. |
| 78 | (f) Fertilizer may not be applied, spilled, or otherwise |
| 79 | deposited on any impervious surface. Any fertilizer applied, |
| 80 | spilled, or deposited on an impervious surface shall be |
| 81 | immediately removed to the greatest extent practicable and |
| 82 | legally applied to turf, or any other legal site, or returned to |
| 83 | the original or other appropriate container. Fertilizer may not |
| 84 | be washed, swept, or blown off an impervious surface into |
| 85 | stormwater drains, ditches, conveyances, or water bodies. |
| 86 | (g) Fertilizer may not be applied within 10 feet, or 3 |
| 87 | feet if a deflector shield or drop spreader is used, of the top |
| 88 | of seawalls, water bodies, or wetlands. Newly planted turf and |
| 89 | landscape plants in such zones may be fertilized for 60 days |
| 90 | after planting. |
| 91 | (h) Spreader deflector shields are required when applying |
| 92 | fertilizer via rotary spreaders and shall be positioned so that |
| 93 | fertilizer granules are deflected away from all impervious |
| 94 | surfaces, seawalls, water bodies, and wetlands in accordance |
| 95 | with paragraphs (f) and (g). |
| 96 | (3) TURF AND LANDSCAPE PRACTICES; TRAINING.-- |
| 97 | (a) Commercial and institutional applicators of fertilizer |
| 98 | must complete the Florida Green Industries Best Management |
| 99 | Practices training or a recognized industry certification |
| 100 | program, such as the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape |
| 101 | Association's Certified Horticulture Professional program, and |
| 102 | implement such practices. |
| 103 | (b) Golf course applicators must complete the Best |
| 104 | Management Practices for Enhancement of Environmental Quality on |
| 105 | Golf Courses training and implement such practices. |
| 106 | (c) Homeowners and property tenants are encouraged to |
| 107 | attend Florida-friendly landscaping workshops through the |
| 108 | University of Florida and to follow the recommendations of the |
| 109 | Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program. |
| 110 | (d) Any retail facility that sells fertilizer products is |
| 111 | encouraged to designate at least one manager to complete the |
| 112 | Florida Green Industries Best Management Practices for |
| 113 | Protection of Water Resources in Florida training, or another |
| 114 | recognized industry certification program, such as the Florida |
| 115 | Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association's Certified |
| 116 | Horticulture Professional program, and to implement an internal |
| 117 | training program for other employees. |
| 118 | (4) MANAGEMENT OF VEGETATIVE DEBRIS; MAINTENANCE OF AREAS |
| 119 | ADJACENT TO WATER BODIES OR WETLANDS.-- |
| 120 | (a) Vegetative debris may not be deposited, by any means |
| 121 | or method, onto sidewalks or roadways or into stormwater drains, |
| 122 | ditches, conveyances, water bodies, or wetlands. |
| 123 | (b) An area of at least 6 feet wide from the top of |
| 124 | seawalls or adjacent to any water bodies or wetlands is strongly |
| 125 | recommended. A swale or berm system should be installed at the |
| 126 | landward edge of the area to capture and filter runoff, all |
| 127 | vegetative debris should be removed from the area and any water |
| 128 | bodies or wetlands, and over-spraying of aquatic weed products |
| 129 | in the area should be avoided. |
| 130 | (5) APPLICABILITY; EXEMPTIONS.-- |
| 131 | (a) This section does not impair any existing contract; |
| 132 | and, except as otherwise exempted by law, this section applies |
| 133 | to all applicators of fertilizer and all areas where fertilizer |
| 134 | is applied. A local government may adopt additional and more |
| 135 | stringent provisions if the local government can verify impaired |
| 136 | waters and the achievement of total maximum daily loads |
| 137 | allowable under state or federal law or if the local government |
| 138 | can provide scientific evidence that harm to human health or the |
| 139 | environment exists or that the prevention of such harm warrants |
| 140 | such fertilizer application requirements. |
| 141 | (b) This section does not apply to: |
| 142 | 1. Farm operations as defined in s. 823.14, Florida |
| 143 | Statutes, or other properties that have pastures used for |
| 144 | grazing livestock, provided that fertilizers are applied in |
| 145 | accordance with the appropriate best management practices |
| 146 | adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services |
| 147 | for the crop in question; or |
| 148 | 2. Golf courses, provided that the latest edition of Best |
| 149 | Management Practices for Enhancement of Environmental Quality on |
| 150 | Florida Golf Courses is followed when applying fertilizer to |
| 151 | golf course practice and play areas. |
| 152 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |