3/13/2014 ENVIRONMENTAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Minutes

Home Browse Search

"Turf'means grass-covered soil held together by the roots of the grass, also known as "sod"or"lawn." 4. Performance Standards All application of nitrogen shall comply with the following standards: a. The application of nitrogen is prohibited between October 30th and April 14th unless specifically designated by the Town Board of Health, the Town Conservation Commission or the Board of Selectmen. b. No person shall cause nitrogen to apply to, or otherwise be deposited on any impervious surface including parking lot, driveway, roadway, sidewalk, frozen soil or ice. Any fertilizer applied, spilled, and/or deposited on any impervious surface, either intentionally or accidentally, must be immediately and completely removed and contained and either legally applied to turf or any other legal site or returned to an appropriate container. c. No person shall apply nitrogen directly before or during a heavy rain event. d. The application of nitrogen is prohibited within 100' of the following Resource Areas, as defined in The Mashpee Wetlands Protection Bylaw, Section 2 and Regulations: any freshwater or coastal wetlands; marshes; wet meadows; bogs; swamps; vernal pools; lakes; ponds; streams; creeks; and estuaries. Where there is a 50' naturally vegetated buffer zone to any freshwater or coastal wetlands; marshes; wet meadows; bogs; swamps; vernal pools; ponds; lakes; and estuaries, an application of nitrogen is prohibited within 50' of that protected Resource Area. An application of nitrogen is always prohibited with 100' of any rivers; streams; and creeks, as defined in the Rivers Protection Act, Chapter 258 of the Acts of 1996. 5. Exemptions The following activities shall be exempt from Section 4: a. Application of nitrogen for agriculture and horticulture uses, b. Application of fertilizer to golf courses, except that any application of nitrogen on greens or fairways within Resource Areas referenced in Section 4(d) shall comply with the Recommendations set forth in Section 6, and shall use 85% or higher slow-release, water-insoluble nitrogen, in organic or inorganic form applied with drop spreaders or spreaders with side guards to prevent application onto Resource Areas and other non-turf areas. Golf courses with liners installed adjacent to ponds and other Resource Areas to prevent leaching of nitrogen are exempt from Section 4(d) in those areas where the liners are installed. c. Application of nitrogen to gardens, including vegetable and flower, trees, shrubs and indoor applications including greenhouses, d. Application of nitrogen for the establishment of new vegetation in the first growing season, or repairing of turf in the first growing season, after substantial damage, with the restrictions described in Sections (b) for applications adjacent to Resource Areas. e. Yard waste compost or other similar materials that are primarily organic in nature and are applied to improve the physical condition of the soil, f. Compost tea and liquid seaweed applications, including formulas with less than 5% total nitrogen, if and only if applied in a manner that follows label recommendations and/or standard industry recommendations for a foliar application to the point of leaf runoff. No root drenching of compost tea or liquid seaweed with nitrogen is permitted within Resource Areas referenced in Section 4(d). 6. Recommendations The Town of Mashpee strongly recommends that nitrogen should be applied to turf and other plants at the lowest rate necessary. Any single application of nitrogen should not exceed 0.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, and the annual aggregate total application of nitrogen should not exceed 1.0 pounds per 1000 square feet. The application of any nitrogen should be of an organic, slow-release, water-insoluble form.