Stuart gets another week to work out issues in bill requiring soil testing by lawn-maintenance companies

Date published: 1/22/2008

By CHELYEN DAVIS

RICHMOND--Sen. Richard Stuart will spend another week working on his bill to require lawn maintenance companies to do soil analyses.

Stuart had feared his bill was doomed when it came up before the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources committee yesterday because it has drawn opposition from lawn maintenance companies and others who would be affected.

But senators decided to give Stuart another week to work out a few kinks and try to pacify some of the opposition.

Stuart's bill would require commercial applicators of fertilizer to do soil analyses of the property before each application, or risk a $500 fine.

He told the committee yesterday that doing so would help reduce a leading cause of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The problem, he said, is that commercial fertilizer applicators often use too much, and the excess runs off into the nearest watershed.

"It's getting to the point where you're afraid to eat a fish unless it comes out of the ocean," Stuart said. "We talk a lot about cleaning up the bay. It makes a lot more sense to stop polluting."

Stuart said he knows the analyses would inconvenience lawn maintenance companies, but said it won't hurt their businesses. He said Virginia Tech charges $15 to $20 for a soil analysis; he didn't know how much private companies charge.

Stuart also said his bill isn't intended to affect farmers, who usually have soil analyses done already. He plans to amend the bill to clarify that.

Sen. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, said he likes the intent of Stuart's bill, but wants to see some changes.

"In an urban setting, this gets at what I feel is part of the problem," Watkins said. "The contractors who go out and sell that service have some obligation to the public and the people they sell that service to."

The committee decided to let the bill go by for a week to work out the issues.

The Virginia Agribusiness Council will be involved in those talks. President Donna Pugh Johnson said her group, which represents farmers and lawn maintenance companies, supports the concept of soil testing, but has concerns about the implementation.

She said Stuart's bill as written would require annual soil tests, when professionals suggest testing every two or three years. Testing annually would also overwhelm soil-analysis services in the state, she said.

The bill is due to come back before the committee Monday.

Date published: 1/22/2008

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