House Ag Committee Approves Fertilizer Bill

Harrisburg – On October 27, 2021, by a vote of 22-3, the Pennsylvania House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee moved the fertilizer bill, SB 251, out of committee for a vote by the full House. If approved by the whole House, the bill will be sent back to the Senate for their concurrence with amendments inserted by the House Ag Committee.

PLNA government relations consultant Gregg Robertson testified at a House Ag Committee hearing in favor of the bill on October 25, paving the way for the committee’s positive vote. You can view the hearing and PLNA's testimony by clicking here. The first video is the committee vote on S 251 and the second is the hearing at which PLNA testified.

PLNA had negotiated significant concessions with the Department of Agriculture (PDA) and bill sponsors to make the bill more palatable to Pennsylvania’s lawn care industry.

The most significant concessions include:

• “Grandfathering” into the fertilizer applicator certification program those already holding pesticide applicator certifications.
• Aligning the pesticide applicator certification program with the new fertilizer applicator certification program to minimize employee time spent taking exams and earning recertification credits.
• Shielding lawn care company customer data reported to PDA from Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law.
• Preventing PDA from collecting fertilizer business registration or applicator certification fees before systems are in place to collect data to document meeting our 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals.
• Assuring that Pennsylvania receives credit from EPA for lawn care industry efforts in meeting our 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals.
• Preventing local governments from enacting their own fertilizer application ordinances that are more stringent than those contained in SB 251.

In addition, the Ag Committee adopted the following amendments to the original bill:

• If Pennsylvania does not receive credit from EPA for lawn care industry efforts by 2026, the parts of the bill dealing with fertilizer business registration and applicator certification would be rescinded.
• Exam and study materials for fertilizer certification must be bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is exempted from being considered a fertilizer.
• Removed the appropriation of $100,000 to PDA to start the fertilizer certification program.
• Removed the ability of PDA to increase fees related to the program by regulation. Any fee increases must be initiated and approved by the General Assembly.
• Numerous minor changes in language to make the bill more consistent and understandable.

PLNA has proposed an amendment to be offered on the House floor that would exempt compost as fertilizer under the bill, much as SMS was exempted in the Committee amendment. Precise language is now being worked out among PLNA, PDA and House Ag Committee staff.

A synopsis of the main points of SB 251 that affect the lawn care industry are below:

• Fertilizer Application Business - Requires that each company location applying fertilizer for hire register with PDA and pay a $100 annual fee. The company must also keep detailed records of employees applying fertilizers and of all fertilizer applications. Each company must have at least one certified fertilizer applicator in its employ.
• Registration Number - Requires that a fertilizer application business display a fertilizer registration number on each vehicle involved in fertilizer application at least 3” high on each side of the vehicle. PDA has committed to allow businesses with an existing BU number to use that number as their fertilizer registration number.
• Certification Exam - Requires that commercial fertilizer applicators pass a certification exam and maintain their certification by acquiring four CEU’s over three years. A commercial fertilizer applicator must be employed by a registered fertilizer application business.
• Grandfathered - The bill allows those with existing pesticide certifications in certain categories to be grandfathered into the fertilizer program until their core pesticide license must be renewed. At that point, grandfathered fertilizer applicators must show evidence they have met the fertilizer recertification requirements for continuing education.
• Fertilizer Technicians may be trained by certified commercial fertilizer applicators within companies. Once trained, fertilizer technicians may apply fertilizer without direct supervision. Employees not trained as fertilizer technicians may apply fertilizer, but only under the direct onsite supervision of a certified applicator.
• Application Rates – The bill set limits on the rates at which fertilizer may be applied to turf grass to 0.9 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in a single application. No phosphorous may be applied unless the purpose is to establish a new lawn. PDA has the authority to modify these application rates by regulation if research shows that such modification is warranted.
• Site-Specific Plan – The application limits in the bill may be modified according to a site-specific plan that is based on soil tests conducted every three years.
• Confidentiality of Information – Individual customer information provided to PDA under the bill would be exempt from the Right to Know Act.
• Local Preemption – The bill contains language that prohibits local governments from developing fertilizer ordinances that conflict with the bill and prohibits local governments from levying penalties for which the state has levied a penalty.

A copy of the bill as amended in committee can be downloaded by clicking here.