N.Y. Lawn and Tree Care Industry Impacted By Pesticide Notification Law

The new law, which goes into effect March 1, 2001, features two separate provisions that could negatively affect the state’s lawn and tree care businesses. The first provision will require companies that commercially apply pesticides to give at least a 48-hour written warning to neighboring properties within 150 feet of any spray site. The second provision of the law requires schools and day care facilities to provide parents and staff with a written notice before pesticides are applied on school grounds.

The extent of the law will be determined by the success of New York’s lawn and tree care companies lobbying to protect their industry. The New York battle could set a precedent for other states considering similar legislation.

RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL EFFECTS. New York state has put adoption of the residential and commercial application part of the notification bill into the hands of its 67 local county governments. This has created the need for lawn and tree care companies and associations to present 67 individual battles for saving their business practices as they know them.

According to Bob Ottley – president of North Chili, N.Y.-based One Step Tree & Lawncare Inc. and immediate past president of both the New York State Lawn Care Association (NYSLCA) and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA) – the burden of the new law would fall on the applicator companies in the form of supplying written notification to homeowners and businesses. Potential options for that notification include door-to-door distribution of fliers or mailers sent out in time to meet the notification deadline.

Because the new law targets only spray applications, granular applications will not require notification, and Ottley predicts that many companies will switch from spray to granular products. "We’re considering a granular weed control product. I hate to do it because the results are very poor and you can’t do IPM (Integrated Pest Management) with it," he said. That changeover in product use will actually cause the company to use more pesticides because granular products typically require blanket applications.

With notification required at two days, the concern arises that weather or other factors may cause an application date to change. Ottley explained that the law would allow the listing of two alternate dates for spraying based on weather-related cancellations. However, he said the law does not address other factors, such as equipment breakdowns or a technician absent from work, that would cause a change in the application date. In those cases, he said alternate dates may not be valid as the delay was not weather related.

Ottley explained that limited spray applications are exempt from notification under the law. Notification would not be required for spot treatment applications when using a sprayer that holds less than 32 ounces of product and the area treated is no more than 9 square feet total. According to an Associated Press story, the law also allows exemptions for more than 30 specific types of pesticides with a low toxicity, such as boric acid and horticultural oils, and for pesticide applications to cemeteries.

The consensus in the New York industry is that it has been targeted. "We feel this is discriminatory," said Don Potenza, president of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Lushlawn Inc. "The only ones that are singled out are the lawn care and tree care applicators. It’s also infringing on property owner’s rights. They can’t have done what they want on their property when they want it."

SCHOOL AND DAY CARE EFFECTS. The school and day care provision of the law will be in effect statewide March 1, 2001, and the brunt of notification falls on the facilities themselves. According to Ottley, schools will be required to send letters to all of the parents in a school district offering them the chance to sign up to be notified 48 hours in advance of any pesticide application on school property. Additionally, every three months during the school year, schools will be required to send a list of all pesticides used on school property.

Ottley predicts that pesticide use on school properties will drop drastically because the schools will not be willing to take the chance of spraying pesticides for fear that someone would not be notified properly. He also said fears of pesticide use will go up just because the notification is there. He predicts that only serious infestations of a pest will force schools to opt for applications and anticipates that lawn spray applications on school grounds will be virtually eliminated. Therefore, the school provision of the law will likely reduce that revenue source for lawn and tree care companies.

EFFORTS TO COMBAT THE LAW. NYSLCA is taking a proactive approach to the legislation. Members of the organization met Tuesday, the day after legislation was signed, to discuss means of saving the New York lawn and tree care industry from the possible harm the new law could bring. "Everybody had the same agenda, which is really nice," said Ottley. "There’s a lot of concern for the future of our industry." From the meeting, NYSLCA decided on the following actions:

• NYSLCA is forming a registry of people who prefer to be notified in advance of spray applications. The association is setting up a toll-free telephone number, scheduled to be in operation by next week, that the general public can call to request notification when a neighboring property is to be spray treated. From the responses, NYSLCA will publish a list once a year and distribute it to area companies so they will know whom to notify in their area. "The key to the registry is giving the county legislators an option, which is what we’ve asked for all along, rather than the type of notification they’ve passed," said Ottley.
• NYSLCA has hired an attorney to explore the association’s options in the legal arena, such as the possibility of filing a discriminatory suit against the state, and to look at the economic and environmental impacts of the legislation.
• The association is also in the process of hiring a clerical worker to develop a packet of scientific data and other information to be distributed to the state’s county legislatures detailing the lawn and tree care industry’s side of the story and the options that are available. The clerical worker will also compile a list of potential groups to partner with, such as chambers of commerce and small business groups, that would see the impact of the law on business owners
• Also in the immediate future plans is the solicitation of monetary support from various state lawn and tree care companies and national associations. Ottley said the above plans call for the association to spend close to $10,000 from the start. If the hired lawyer finds items worth pursuing, that figure will increase drastically. Also, additional funds will be required for training and travel expenses for people giving testimonies at county legislation meetings. "We’ve scoped out some good plans. Unfortunately, we’ve spent a lot of money, but that’s what you have to do to fight these things. Hopefully, we can raise some money, too," said Ottley.
• A potential avenue that was also discussed at the meeting is the hiring of a public relations firm to notify the general public and attempt to garner support. The goal would be to motivate the public to send letters and give testimony at county meetings against the legislation. "The battle is going to be fought in the newspapers and on TV, I’m afraid," said Ottley. "We’re going to need some real help in that area."

Potenza said the Western New York Lawn Care Association, a regional branch of NYSLCA, already has a meeting set up with the Erie County, N.Y., legislature. The meeting to be held next week is a combined effort by the association to lobby for the industry and the legislature to learn more about the entire situation before making a decision. "Right now we’re trying to work with the local county government, and they want to hear our side. They want to hear what options they might have because they don’t want to put people out of business," he said.

POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS. "The cost is the big thing," said Ottley. The cost he refers to is the amount of money that will go into managing notification to neighboring properties. Printing costs will be incurred for the information packets and mailers. Postage will be a factor for mailings. Labor will be delved out to technicians for door-to-door distribution and office personnel for clerical work related to the notification materials. Scheduling will be a factor. If companies move to granular applications, increased material costs could result. The list goes on, and the companies have said they will not eat those costs.

"I don’t know how it will affect us, what we will need to do to comply or what that cost will be. We will definitely pass any additional costs onto our customer base, and it’s going to affect our pricing structure," said Rick Kier, president of Pro Scapes Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.

Potenza also anticipates price increases to the customer. "If it were going to go into effect as it is, it’s going to make things much more difficult. The prices are going to go up anywhere from 25 to 40 percent for our customers," he said.

Because the counties’ decisions do not have to made until March 1 next year, lawn and tree care companies are faced with an indefinite period of adjustment. Renewals and quotes for lawn and tree care contracts are typically finalized in the fall. Therefore, the companies face the problem of not knowing whether to adjust prices for the new legislation. Companies will have to increase prices if the legislation passes, but customers will protest at mid-contract price jumps. To combat the potential backlash, Kier includes a legislative clause in his contracts. He said, "Our existing contracts state that we reserve the right to pass the cost of any legislation on to the customer, even on existing contracts."

Any written notification will likely require information about the product being applied, the date and location of applications and precautions people should follow on the day of the application, such as closing windows, covering firewood and keeping pets and children inside. Potenza plans on using the required notification literature to his advantage by including marketing materials in the literature. "As long as we’re putting a piece of material in homeowners’ hands, I’m going to try to make a sale," he said.

Industry companies, schools and day care facilities aren’t the only ones affected by the law. According to Ottley, homeowners will be required to post signs when they do applications themselves. He believes homeowners won’t mind posting these signs because it will make them feel like professionals.

Ottley is confident the state’s industry can band together to work towards a solution to the potential legislation. "We have a good argument, and I believe that out in the real world where we live, they understand that this is a ridiculous law and does nothing to protect the environment or protect people who want to be notified. It’s just a huge encumbrance on people that don’t want to be notified," he said.