Feature

The Pennsylvania Responsible Fertilizer Use Bill is Law!

By Max Schlossberg

Legislation mandating responsible use of fertilizer per updated application standards was recently signed into Pennsylvania law as Act 83 of 2022. The statute enacts several critical mandates to modernize the state’s existing fertilizer testing and labeling programs and establish clear rules governing fertilizer application to turfgrass, without introducing bureaucratic hurdles to our industry. Components of previouslyproposed bills that do not appear in Act 83 include the fertilizer applicator certification program and comprehensive fertilizer application record keeping requirements. Act 83 directs the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) to establish a new agricultural and homeowner education program to inform the public about best practices for the application of fertilizer.

Fertilizer Licensing & Registration

The first section of Act 83 refines regulations pertaining to fertilizer manufacturers and distributors in PA. One of the component requirements is turfgrass fertilizers must exclude phosphate (P2O5) and contain ≥20% enhanced efficiency nitrogen (N), unless the product is a starter, natural organic (derived from either plant or animal products and containing at least one mineral nutrient), or organic-based fertilizer (>50% of guaranteed primary nutrients derived from organic materials). Exceptions to this requirement are readily-available liquid, or granular, fertilizers.

Fertilizer Application and Prohibited Acts

Act 83 specifies restricted locations and dates of fertilizer application. Regarding location, fertilizer cannot be applied within 15 feet (4.6 meters) of the top of a bank of a lake, pond, wetland(s) or flowing body of water, such as a stream, river or creek; except when using a drop spreader, rotary spreader with a deflector, or targeted spray liquid. Application of fertilizer containing N and/ or P2O5 is prohibited for the purpose of melting ice (official airport use exempted) and when the ground is snow-covered or frozen to a depth ≥2 inches. Total N fertilizer applied between December 15 and March 1 is limited to 0.5 lbs N per 1000 sq. ft.

Responsible methods of fertilizer application and storage are further mandated by Act 83. For example, it states no one shall apply fertilizer in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner; or with a device neither properly calibrated nor intended for the application of fertilizer. These are important and meaningful goals! I have already volunteered to assist PDA’s development of a practical rotary spreader calibration method to help DIY enthusiasts avoid needless steps and equipment procurement in fulfillment of this simple objective. Furthermore, Act 83 states no one shall dispose of, discard, or store a fertilizer product in a manner inconsistent with its label. Fertilizer over-application, or negligence resulting in direct discharge to a storm drain or waters of this Commonwealth is henceforth prohibited by state law. Resultingly, fertilizer labelled for use on turfgrass that is inadvertently applied to an impervious surface shall be removed from the impervious surface immediately following application.

General Fertilizer Application Rates for Turfgrass

As with most turfgrass fertilizer statutes in the Mid-Atlantic region, Act 83 restricts turfgrass fertilizer applications to 0.7 lbs of readily available (soluble) N and 0.9 lbs of total N per 1,000 sq. ft. per application made between 2 March and 14 December. Application of enhanced-efficiency N fertilizer exceeding 0.9 lbs total N per 1000 sq. ft. is permissible as long as ‘the amount of N released at any given time does not exceed 0.7 lbs N per 1000 sq. ft.’ This relates back to the ≥20% enhanced efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizer guidance. For example, a 0.9 lbs N per 1000 sq. ft. application using a fertilizer containing 23% water-insoluble N would release <0.7 lbs readily-available N (per 1000 sq. ft.) upon activation.

Fertilizer manufacturers specify the water-insoluble and/or controlled-release N fraction of the fertilizer in the guaranteed analysis section of the label, and these percentages are validated by the state chemist. Either insoluble or controlled-release nutrient fractions comprise an efficiency enhancement by extending the opportunity for plant nutrient uptake and reducing potential nutrient loss to the environment.

The most effective turfgrass managers apply fertilizer for the purpose of rectifying a nutrient deficiency and/or satisfying the plant nutrient(s) requirement for an appropriate length of the growing season. Given an ongoing nutrient requirement, that length of the growing season would constitute the re-application interval. However, not every nutrient is required over all growing stages. Moreover, since the underlying soil may already possess nutrient(s) at satisfactory concentration(s), soil testing is a useful tool for determining a required need; i.e. rate, of nutrient addition. That needed nutrient rate is provided by the soil test recommendation, and we use fertilizer to promptly supply the recommended rate of nutrient to the plant.

Per Act 83, readily available P2O5 fertilizer can only be used at the specific rate recommended by PSU in a <3 year-old soil test report of intent to establish or repair the specific turfgrass system. Otherwise, single application of P2O5-containing enhanced-efficiency or natural organic fertilizer to mature turfgrass is capped at 0.57 lbs P2O5 (0.25 lbs P) per 1,000 sq. ft. and 1.14 lbs P2O5 (0.5 lbs P) per 1,000 sq. ft. annually.

Provisions for Fertilizer Application Rates for Turfgrass

Act 83 affords exception to the above regulations given a sitespecific plan is used, and requires ALL of the following:

• A soil test was conducted within the previous 3 years in accordance with procedures recommended by Penn State Univ.

• Current soil, plant species, climate, use, topography or other appropriate management factors.

• Rates recommended by The Pennsylvania State Univ., or other institution of higher education in this Commonwealth, and approved by the PDA.

Likewise, the PDA may establish use and application rates for fertilizer(s) that is/are applied to turfgrass based on appropriately peer-reviewed scientific research representing conditions of this Commonwealth and recommended by The Pennsylvania State Univ. or other institution of higher education in this Commonwealth.

Summary

So while the described turfgrass fertilizer application rate, date, and location restrictions articulated in previous versions of the Fertilizer Responsible Use Bill were to be required of commercial operators, i.e., PDA-certified fertilizer applicators; they now apply to anyone fertilizing turfgrass in the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, none of the described restrictions pertain to: land used for an agricultural operation, lawful use of fertilizer in blasting (construction) per Dep. of Environmental Protection regulations, or use by a public or private institution of higher education for research purposes.

Compared to the other states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Pennsylvania possesses a host of unique nonpoint source challenges and opportunities in its sub/urban communities. Having entered the Final Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan, Act 83 comprises a successful Pennsylvania state government action supporting best management practices to reduce sub/ urban nonpoint N and P pollution loads in the Susquehanna and Potomac basins. Let’s all use less fertilizer more responsibly to maintain healthy turf AND achieve the water quality restoration goals needed in the Chesapeake Bay.