4:9-15.8a Requirements for specialty fertilizer; definitions.

10. Any specialty fertilizer labeled for use on turf and intended for use by consumers shall:

a. Contain no more than 0.7 pounds of water-soluble nitrogen and no more than 0.9 pounds of total nitrogen at least 20 percent of which shall consist of slow release nitrogen per 1,000 square feet when applied pursuant to the instructions on the container; and

b. Contain no phosphorus, except when specifically labeled for the following purposes:

(1) providing nutrients to specific soils and target vegetation as determined to be necessary pursuant to a soil test conducted by a laboratory identified pursuant to subsection b. of section 6 of P.L.2010, c.112 (C.58:10A-66) and performed no more than three years before the application, and pursuant to the associated annual fertilizer recommendation issued by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, the State University;

(2) establishing vegetation for the first time, such as after land disturbance, provided the application is in accordance with the standards and requirements established under the "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act," P.L.1975, c.251 (C.4:24-39 et seq.) and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto;

(3) reestablishing or repairing a turf area; or

(4) delivering liquid or granular fertilizer under the soil surface, directly to the feeder roots.

c. Nothing in this section shall apply to fertilizer derived from processed sewage wastewater solids or manipulated animal or vegetable manure.

d. As used in this section:

"Consumer" means an individual who buys fertilizer for personal or household use and not for business purposes.

"Manipulated animal or vegetable manure" means manure that is ground, pelletized, mechanically dried, or otherwise treated to assist with the use of manure as a fertilizer.

"Slow release nitrogen" means nitrogen in a form that is released over time that is not water soluble.

"Turf" means land, including residential property, that is planted in closely mowed, managed grass, except land used in the operation of a commercial farm as that term is defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1983, c.31 (C.4:1C-3).

"Water-soluble nitrogen" means nitrogen in a water-soluble form that does not have slow or controlled release properties.

L.2010, c.112, s.10.