STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8914--B
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 15, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SWEENEY, COLTON, KOON, ROSENTHAL -- (at request
of the Department of Environmental Conservation) -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- recommitted
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and
referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the agriculture
and markets law, in relation to phosphorus in household cleansing
products and lawn fertilizer
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 35-0105 of the environmental
2 conservation law, as amended by chapter 341 of the laws of 1975, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 2. [No household cleansing product shall be distributed, sold, offered
5 or exposed for sale in this state after December 31, 1971, which shall
6 contain a phosphorus compound in excess of eight and seven-tenths
7 percent by weight expressed as phosphorus.] a. (1) No household cleans-
8 ing product, except those used in dishwashers, food and beverage proc-
9 essing equipment, and dairy equipment, shall be distributed, sold,
10 offered or exposed for sale in this state [on or after June 1, 1973,]
11 which [shall contain] contains a phosphorus compound other than such
12 trace [or incidental] concentrations as may be authorized by the commis-
13 sioner by regulation.
14 (2) No household cleansing product used in dishwashers shall be
15 distributed, sold, offered or exposed for sale in this state which
16 contains a phosphorus compound in excess of five-tenths percent by
17 weight expressed as phosphorus.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07812-16-0
A. 8914--B 2
1 (3) No household cleansing product used in food and beverage process-
2 ing equipment and dairy equipment shall be distributed, sold, offered or
3 exposed for sale in this state which contains a phosphorus compound in
4 excess of eight and seven-tenths percent by weight expressed as phospho-
5 rus.
6 b. No owner, occupant, or person in control of a commercial establish-
7 ment shall possess or use or authorize any other person by way of
8 service contract or other arrangement to possess or use in this state
9 any household cleansing product except those used in dishwashers, food
10 and beverage processing equipment, and dairy equipment, on or after
11 January 1, 1976 which shall contain a phosphorus compound other than in
12 such trace or incidental concentrations as may be authorized by the
13 commissioner by regulation.
14 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 35-0105 of the environ-
15 mental conservation law, as amended by section one of this act, is
16 amended to read as follows:
17 b. No owner, occupant, or person in control of a commercial establish-
18 ment shall possess or use or authorize any other person by way of
19 service contract or other arrangement to possess or use in this state
20 any household cleansing product [except those used in dishwashers, food
21 and beverage processing equipment, and dairy equipment, on or after
22 January 1, 1976] which [shall contain] contains a phosphorus compound
23 [other than in such trace or incidental concentrations as may be author-
24 ized by the commissioner by regulation] in excess of the amount allowed
25 for such product under paragraph a of this subdivision.
26 § 3. Article 17 of the environmental conservation law is amended by
27 adding a new title 21 to read as follows:
28 TITLE 21
29 NUTRIENT RUNOFF
30 Section 17-2101. Definitions.
31 17-2103. Sale or use of phosphorus fertilizer restricted.
32 17-2105. Local fertilizer regulation.
33 § 17-2101. Definitions.
34 As used in this title:
35 1. "Compost" means the biologically stable humus-like material derived
36 from composting or the aerobic, thermophilic decomposition of organic
37 matter.
38 2. "Fertilizer" means the same as "specialty fertilizer" as defined in
39 section one hundred forty-three of the agriculture and markets law.
40 3. "Lawn" or "non-agricultural turf" means any non-crop land area that
41 is covered by any grass species. Lawn or non-agricultural turf does not
42 mean flower or vegetable gardens, pasture, hayland, trees, shrubs, turf
43 grown on turf farms, or any form of agricultural production.
44 4. "Phosphorus fertilizer" means fertilizer in which the available
45 phosphate (P205) content is greater than 0.67 percent by weight, exclud-
46 ing compost.
47 § 17-2103. Sale or use of phosphorus fertilizer restricted.
48 1. No person shall apply or authorize any person by way of service
49 contract or other arrangement to apply in this state any phosphorus
50 fertilizer on lawn or non-agricultural turf, except when:
51 (a) A soil test indicates that additional phosphorus is needed for
52 growth of that lawn or non-agricultural turf; or
53 (b) The phosphorus fertilizer is used for newly established lawn or
54 non-agricultural turf during the first growing season.
55 2. Any retailer selling or offering for sale phosphorus fertilizer for
56 use on lawn or non-agricultural turf shall comply with the retail sale
A. 8914--B 3
1 requirements in section one hundred forty-six-g of the agriculture and
2 markets law related to display of phosphorus fertilizer and the posting
3 of educational signs.
4 3. No person shall apply fertilizer to:
5 (a) lawn or non-agricultural turf between December first and April
6 first, annually;
7 (b) any impervious surface including parking lots, roadways, and side-
8 walks. If such application occurs, the fertilizer must be immediately
9 contained and either legally applied to lawn or non-agricultural turf or
10 placed in an appropriate container; or
11 (c) any lawn or non-agricultural turf on any real property within
12 twenty feet of any surface water, except that this restriction shall not
13 apply where a continuous natural vegetative buffer, at least ten feet
14 wide, separates an area of lawn or non-agricultural turf and surface
15 water, and except that, where a spreader guard, deflector shield or drop
16 spreader is used to apply fertilizer, such application may not occur
17 within three feet of any surface water. This paragraph shall not apply
18 to an application of fertilizer for newly established lawn or non-agri-
19 cultural turf during the first growing season.
20 4. Nothing in this title shall impair or supersede the authority of
21 the commissioner of agriculture and markets pursuant to articles ten and
22 twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law.
23 § 17-2105. Local fertilizer regulation.
24 A local government may enact more stringent standards for the applica-
25 tion of fertilizer for lawn and non-agricultural turf than established
26 in this title, provided, however, that any local government that enacts
27 such standards after January 1, 2011 must demonstrate to the department
28 prior to enactment that additional or more stringent standards are
29 necessary to address local water quality conditions.
30 § 4. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
31 section 71-1945 to read as follows:
32 § 71-1945. Enforcement of title 21 of article 17.
33 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who
34 violates any provision of title 21 of article 17 of this chapter or any
35 rule, regulation or order issued thereunder shall be liable to the
36 people of the state for a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred
37 dollars for a first violation, and not to exceed one thousand dollars
38 for each subsequent violation, to be assessed by the commissioner after
39 a hearing or opportunity to be heard.
40 2. Any owner or owner's agent, or occupant of a household who violates
41 any provision of title 21 of article 17 of this chapter or any rule,
42 regulation or order issued thereunder shall, for a first violation be
43 issued a written warning and be provided educational materials. Upon a
44 second violation, the owner or owner's agent, or occupant of a household
45 shall be liable to the people of the state for a civil penalty not to
46 exceed one hundred dollars, and for any subsequent violations shall be
47 liable to the people of the state for a civil penalty not to exceed two
48 hundred fifty dollars. No owner or owner's agent of a household shall be
49 held liable for any violation by an occupant. Such penalties may be
50 assessed by the commissioner after a hearing or opportunity to be heard.
51 § 5. The title heading of title 19 of article 71 of the environmental
52 conservation law, as amended by chapter 400 of the laws of 1973, is
53 amended to read as follows:
54 ENFORCEMENT OF TITLES 1 THROUGH 11 AND 15 THROUGH [19] 21
55 INCLUSIVE OF ARTICLE 17 AND SPILLS OF BULK LIQUIDS
A. 8914--B 4
1 § 6. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
2 section 146-g to read as follows:
3 § 146-g. Retail sale. Any retailer who sells or offers for sale to
4 consumers specialty fertilizer in which the available phosphate (P205)
5 content is greater than 0.67 percent, shall:
6 (a) display such phosphorus-containing specialty fertilizer separately
7 from non-phosphorus specialty fertilizer; and
8 (b) post in the location where phosphorus-containing specialty ferti-
9 lizer is displayed a clearly visible sign which is at least eight and
10 one-half inches by eleven inches in size and states that:
11 "Phosphorus runoff poses a threat to water quality. Therefore, under
12 New York law, phosphorus-containing fertilizer may only be applied to
13 lawn or non-agricultural turf when:
14 (1) A soil test indicates that additional phosphorus is needed for
15 growth of that lawn or non-agricultural turf; or
16 (2) The fertilizer is used for newly established lawn or non-agricul-
17 tural turf during the first growing season."
18 § 7. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
19 have become a law, provided, however, that:
20 1. retailers shall have sixty days from the effective date of this act
21 to sell through product subject to subdivision 2 of section 35-0105 of
22 the environmental conservation law as amended by section one of this act
23 which is held in inventory on the effective date;
24 2. sections three, four, five and six of this act shall take effect
25 January 1, 2012;
26 3. persons may continue to use phosphorus fertilizer on lawn and non-
27 agricultural turf after January 1, 2012, if the fertilizer was purchased
28 prior to such effective date; and
29 4. section two of this act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
