1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; regulating the use on turf of 
  1.3             certain fertilizers containing phosphorus; limiting a 
  1.4             penalty; limiting amounts of certain plant nutrients; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 18C.211, 
  1.6             subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18C. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 18C.211, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [GUARANTEES OF THE NUTRIENTS.] (a) A person may 
  1.12  guarantee plant nutrients other than nitrogen, phosphorus, and 
  1.13  potassium only if allowed or required by commissioner's rule. 
  1.14     (b) The guarantees for the plant nutrients must be 
  1.15  expressed in the elemental form. 
  1.16     (c) The sources of other elements, oxides, salt, and 
  1.17  chelates, may be required to be stated on the application for 
  1.18  registration and may be included as a parenthetical statement on 
  1.19  the label.  Other beneficial substances or compounds, 
  1.20  determinable by laboratory methods, also may be guaranteed by 
  1.21  permission of the commissioner and with the advice of the 
  1.22  director of the agricultural experiment station.  
  1.23     (d) If plant nutrients or other substances or compounds are 
  1.24  guaranteed, the plant nutrients are subject to inspection and 
  1.25  analyses in accord with the methods and rules prescribed by the 
  1.26  commissioner. 
  2.1      (e) The commissioner may, by rule, require the potential 
  2.2   basicity or acidity expressed in terms of calcium carbonate 
  2.3   equivalent in multiples of 100 pounds per ton. 
  2.4      (f) The plant nutrients in a specialty fertilizer must not 
  2.5   be below or exceed the guaranteed analysis by more than the 
  2.6   investigational allowances established by rule. 
  2.7      Sec. 2.  [18C.60] [PHOSPHORUS MODEL ORDINANCE.] 
  2.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in this 
  2.9   subdivision apply to this section. 
  2.10     (b) "Impervious surface" means a highway, street, sidewalk, 
  2.11  parking lot, driveway, or other material that prevents 
  2.12  infiltration of water into the soil. 
  2.13     (c) "Turf" means noncrop land planted in closely mowed, 
  2.14  managed grasses including, but not limited to, residential and 
  2.15  commercial residential property, private golf courses, and 
  2.16  property owned by federal, state, or local units of government, 
  2.17  including parks, recreation areas, and public golf courses.  
  2.18  "Turf" does not mean pasture, hayland, hay, or turf grown on 
  2.19  turf farms. 
  2.20     Subd. 2.  [REQUIREMENT.] A local unit of government in 
  2.21  Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington 
  2.22  county that adopts an ordinance after August 1, 2001, regulating 
  2.23  the use of phosphorus fertilizer on turf must adopt subdivision 
  2.24  3 in its entirety and without exception. 
  2.25     Subd. 3.  [PHOSPHORUS USE PROHIBITION.] (a) A person may 
  2.26  not apply a granular fertilizer containing greater than three 
  2.27  percent phosphorus (P<t>2</t>O<t>5</t>) by weight or a liquid fertilizer at a 
  2.28  rate greater than 0.3 pounds phosphorus (P<t>2</t>O<t>5</t>) per 1,000 square 
  2.29  feet to turf except when: 
  2.30     (1) a tissue, soil, or other test by a laboratory or method 
  2.31  approved by the commissioner and performed within the last three 
  2.32  years indicates that the levels of available phosphorus in the 
  2.33  soil is insufficient to support healthy turf growth; 
  2.34     (2) the property owner or an agent of the property owner is 
  2.35  first establishing turf via seed or sod procedures, and only 
  2.36  during the first growing season; or 
  3.1      (3) it is used under the direction of a person licensed, 
  3.2   certified, or approved by an organization with an ongoing 
  3.3   training program approved by the commissioner. 
  3.4      (b) Applications of phosphorus fertilizer done under 
  3.5   paragraph (a), clause (1) or (2), must not exceed rates 
  3.6   currently recommended by the University of Minnesota and 
  3.7   approved by the commissioner. 
  3.8      (c) A person may not apply a fertilizer containing the 
  3.9   plant nutrient phosphorus to an impervious surface.  Fertilizer 
  3.10  containing phosphorus released on an impervious surface must be 
  3.11  immediately contained and either legally applied to turf or any 
  3.12  other legal site or returned to the original or other 
  3.13  appropriate container. 
  3.14     Subd. 4.  [CONSUMER INFORMATION.] (a) The commissioner, in 
  3.15  consultation with the University of Minnesota Extension Service, 
  3.16  fertilizer industry representatives, lakes groups, and other 
  3.17  interested or affected parties, must produce consumer 
  3.18  information in a format and of a content suitable for posting 
  3.19  and distribution at retail points of sale of fertilizer that 
  3.20  contains phosphorus and is for use on turf. 
  3.21     (b) The printed consumer information must be available no 
  3.22  later than March 1, 2002.  This information must include 
  3.23  directions for conspicuously posting consumer information 
  3.24  pertaining to the lawful sale, prohibited uses, and commissioner 
  3.25  of agriculture and University of Minnesota recommended voluntary 
  3.26  best management practices for fertilizers containing phosphorus, 
  3.27  and in particular for residential sources of phosphorus in the 
  3.28  urban landscape. 
  3.29     Subd. 5.  [RESEARCH EVALUATION.] The commissioner, in 
  3.30  cooperation with the University of Minnesota and the University 
  3.31  of Minnesota Extension Service, and, after consultation with 
  3.32  representatives of the fertilizer industry, lakes groups, and 
  3.33  other interested or affected parties shall evaluate research 
  3.34  needs and encourage targeted research opportunities to 
  3.35  investigate the possible effects of phosphorus fertilization of 
  3.36  turf on urban stormwater quality. 
  4.1      Subd. 6.  [PENALTY.] The penalty for violating this section 
  4.2   may not exceed $25.  No penalty may be imposed before August 1, 
  4.3   2003.