10/17/2011 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

4. Use and application of lawn fertilizer. A. Except as provided in Section 5 below, no person shall apply any lawn fertilizer that is labeled as containing more than zero percent phosphorous or any other compound containing phosphorous, such as phosphate. B. No person shall apply any lawn fertilizer when the ground is frozen. C. No person shall cause lawn fertilizer to be applied to or run onto any impervious surface including parking lots, roadways and sidewalks. If such an application, occurs the fertilizer must be immediately contained and collected and either legally applied to turf or placed in an appropriate container. 5. Exemptions to use and application of lawn fertilizer. A. The prohibition against the use of fertilizer under Section 4 shall not apply to the following: 1. Newly established turf or lawn areas during their first growing season. 2. Turf or lawn areas where soil tests performed within the past three years confirm that the phosphorous levels are deficient based upon the standards established by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. The fertilizer application shall not contain an amount of phosphorous exceeding the amount and rate of application recommended based on the soil test. 3. Gardens, including vegetable and flower, trees, shrubs, and indoor applications, including green houses. 4. Yard waste compost or other similar materials that are primarily organic in nature and are applied to improve the physical condition of the soil. B. The application of fertilizer under subsection A above must meet the standards established by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. 6. Display for sale of fertilizer containing phosphorous. A. Effective December 1 2011 no person shall display for sale any lawn fertilizer that is labeled as containing more than zero percent phosphorous, or compound containing phosphorous, such as phosphate. Lawn fertilizer that contains more than zero percent phosphorus may be stored off the sales floor and may be sold upon presentation of a deficiency of phosphorous statement. The business shall advise customers by signs that soil test kits and fertilizer containing phosphorous is available. B. Effective December 2011 a sign referencing the regulations set forth in this chapter and the effects of phosphorous on Mashpee's rivers, ponds, lakes oceans and its tributaries thereof must be prominently displayed where fertilizers are sold. A business shall be 29