Environmental Forum: Feb. 1997

The regulation, passed on Jan. 8 by the Department of Transportation, initiated regulations for a number of transporters of hazardous materials but included relaxed restrictions on transporters of small quantities of materials, including lawn care operators.

The exception allows the transport of a tank mix of pesticides in a 2 percent concentration to be held in a tank not exceeding 400 gallons in size. These were the specifications that PLCAA recommended that DOT adopt, based on a survey of its members that determined what size tank most members use, according to Tom Delaney, director of government affairs for PLCAA.

"Both the lawn care and pest control industries are extremely pleased with the outcome," noted Delaney.

TACTICAL STRIKES. Keep your eyes open, lawn care professionals. There’s no end in sight to the number and veracity of localized attacks on pesticide use, and the legislatures of nearly every state in the union have reconvened. It’s important to stay connected to your state, city and county lawmakers and keep apprised of any negative developments.

Fred Langely, the man charged with the task of monitoring and mobilizing state legislative activity for Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, recently reported that five states are dealing with an assortment of pesticide related movements, some of which are equating to legislation. Two of the most threatening are in New York and Massachusetts.

According to Langely, there are rumblings in New York that lawmakers representing Long Island constituents in both the Assembly and Senate are considering introducing a bill that would repeal the state’s primacy law. Such a law would allow municipalities to set their own regulations controlling the use of pesticides.

The bill, should it materialize, would be a reaction to the green industry’s victory over an anti-pesticide ordinance last summer in Nassau County on Long Island. The Nassau/Suffolk Landscape Gardeners Association and its legal representatives successfully overturned the county’s rule, which mandated a five-day notification to adjacent property owners.

There is some concern, said Langely, because New York City is afforded some control latitudes that lawmakers may cite in an attempt to extend greater control to counties and municipalities in the state.

In Massachusetts, legislation was recently introduced that would add significant record keeping and notification requirements to already burdensome requirements on professional pesticide applicators. Written similarly to the recently instituted law in New York, Senate Bill 1062 would also support research to determine if there is a link between breast cancer and pesticide use.

"My main concern," said Langely, "is that this bad bill will gain the support of the breast cancer activists and become as emotionally charged as New York. If this happens, there is very little the industry can do to bring reason to the debate.
GOOD NEWS. Spreading the good word on turf has been a prime focus for the Professional Lawn Care Association of America, and 1996 was another banner year for the organization’s public relations campaign.

In print, PLCAA distributed six news articles covering grasscycling, National Lawn Care Month, mowing safety and the environmental benefits of turf, which reached an estimated 100 million readers.

PLCAA teamed up with John Deere once again to produce and distribute radio and television public service announcements. Five one-minute radio spots on mowing safety and grasscycling were picked up by 25 radio stations, and their broadcast reached a total of almost 37 million listeners, according to PLCAA.

Almost 100 television stations aired a grasscycling piece that was viewed by more than 99 million people, while a second message on walk-behind mower safety was viewed by some 14.5 million consumers. A video promoting April as Lawn Care Month was seen by an estimated 9 million viewers.