Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 15 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Subtitle 20 - SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION › Chapter 15.20.10 - Fertilizer Application Requirements for Land Not Used for Agricultural Purposes › Section 15.20.10.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Applicator" means a person who applies
				any type of nutrient, as defined by this chapter, to any crop, plant, or land
				intended to be planted.
(2)
				"Department" means the Maryland Department of Agriculture or its
				designee.
(3) "Direct supervision"
				means the act or process whereby a fertilizer application is made by a trained
				employee acting under the instructions and control of a certified professional
				fertilizer applicator who:
(a) Is responsible
				for the actions of that person; and
(b) Maintains immediate contact with the
				trained employee via radio or mobile phone (voice) communication.
(4) "Enhanced efficiency
				fertilizer" means a fertilizer product that increases plant uptake and
				decreases the potential of nutrient loss to the environment, including gaseous
				loss, leaching, or runoff, when compared to an appropriate reference fertilizer
				product.
(5) "Fertilizer" or
				"commercial fertilizer" means a substance containing a recognized plant
				nutrient used for its plant nutrient content and designed for use, or claimed
				to have value, in promoting plant growth, except unmanipulated animal and
				vegetable manure, marl, lime, wood ashes, and gypsum.
(6) "Impervious surface" means any structure,
				surface, or improvement that reduces or prevents absorption of stormwater into
				land, and includes concrete, asphalt, porous paving, paver blocks, gravel,
				crushed stone, decks, patios, elevated structures, and other similar
				structures, surfaces, or improvements.
(7) "Label" means the display of all written,
				printed, or graphic matter on the immediate container or a statement
				accompanying a commercial fertilizer or soil conditioner.
(8) "Land not used for agricultural purposes"
				means a parcel of land that does not qualify for agricultural use assessment
				under Tax-Property Article, §8-209, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(9) "Lawn patch product" means a premixed
				blend of grass seed, fertilizer, and mulch.
(10) "Licensee" means an entity that holds a
				business license that is issued by the Department, in accordance with this
				chapter.
(11) "Low phosphorous
				fertilizer" means fertilizer:
(a) Containing
				not more than 5 percent of available phosphate
				(P2O5); and
(b) That has an application rate not to
				exceed 0.25 pound of available phosphate
				(P2O5)/1000 square feet/
				application and 0.5 pound of available phosphate
				(P2O5)/1000 square
				feet/year.
(12)
				"Management unit" means an area of land similar soil types, having similar use
				and management history, and having similar fertility levels as determined by
				valid soil tests, and will be managed the same in the future.
(13) Natural Organic Fertilizer.
(a) "Natural organic fertilizer" means a
				fertilizer product that is derived from either a plant or animal product
				containing carbon, and one or more elements, other than hydrogen or oxygen that
				are essential for plant growth.
(b)
				"Natural organic fertilizer" does not include a fertilizer product that
				contains:
(i) Synthetic materials;
				or
(ii) Materials that are changed
				in any physical or chemical manner from their initial state, except by physical
				manipulation, including drying, cooking, chopping, grinding, shredding, or
				pelleting.
(14) "Non-professional" means any person who
				applies fertilizer to turf and is not for-hire.
(15) "Nutrient" means a fertilizer or any
				substance used to promote plant growth.
(16) "Nutrient content" means the percentage
				of any primary nutrient, as total nitrogen (N), available phosphate
				(P2O5), or soluble potash
				(K2O), in any type or source of plant
				nutrients.
(17) Organic Fertilizer.
(a) "Organic fertilizer" means a fertilizer
				product that is derived from either a plant or animal product containing carbon
				and one or more elements, other than hydrogen or oxygen, that are essential for
				plant growth.
(b) "Organic
				fertilizer includes a fertilizer product that contains:
(i) Synthetic materials; or
(ii) Materials that are changed in a physical
				or chemical manner from their initial state.
(18) "Person" means the State, any county,
				municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of
				their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor,
				administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership,
				firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity, unless
				otherwise provided.
(19)
				"Professional fertilizer applicator" means any person who:
(a) Is certified to apply fertilizer in
				accordance with this chapter; and
(b) Applies fertilizer for hire or within the
				scope of that person's employment.
(20) "Slow-release nitrogen" means nitrogen
				in a form that:
(a) Delays it's availability
				for plant uptake and use after application; or
(b) Extends its availability to the plant
				significantly longer than a reference "rapidly available nutrient" such as
				ammonium nitrate or urea, ammonium phosphate, or potassium chloride.
(21) Soil Conditioner.
(a) "Soil conditioner" means any substance or
				mixture of substances intended for sale, offered for sale, or sold for:
(i) Manurial, soil enriching, or soil
				corrective purposes;
(ii) Promoting
				or stimulating the growth of plants;
(iii) Increasing the productivity of
				plants;
(iv) Improving the quality
				of crops; or
(v) Producing any
				chemical or physical change in the soil, except a commercial fertilizer,
				unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, agricultural liming material, and
				gypsum.
(b) "Soil
				conditioner" includes but is not limited to materials such as compost, peat,
				vermiculite, or perlite that are incorporated into the soil.
(22) "Soil test" means a technical
				analysis of soil conducted by a laboratory using standards recommended by the
				University of Maryland.
(23)
				"Trained employee" means a person who applies fertilizer under the direct
				supervision of a certified professional fertilizer applicator.
(24) "Turf" means land, including residential
				property and publicly owned land that is planted in grass, except land that is
				used in the sale and production of sod, as defined in Agriculture Article,
				§
										9-101, Annotated Code of
				Maryland.
(25) "Water-soluble
				nitrogen" means nitrogen that is readily soluble in water.