How H4421 changes current law

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The bill establishes new regulations for post-construction soil performance guidelines and revises definitions related to turf and lawn management in environmental laws.

• Chapter 21A

  Section 29. The department, in consultation with the division of conservation services, shall promulgate regulations relative to post-construction soil performance guidelines that shall include but not be limited to soil depth and quality, carbon storage capacity, storm water runoff, water quality, fertilizer and nutrient input mitigation, and compaction or infiltration capacity. For the purposes of this section the term “the department” shall mean the department of environmental protection. The department may limit the scope of those regulations regionally as appropriate. The department shall work in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension to ensure any regulations of the department relative to soil guidelines are consistent with the program’s published information, educational materials and other public outreach programs. Said regulations shall also be consistent with healthy soils practices, as defined by section 7A of chapter 128. The department may establish fines for violations of regulations promulgated under this subsection which shall not exceed $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1000 for a third or subsequent offense. A person aggrieved by the assessment of a fine under this subsection may appeal that fine by filing a notice of appeal with the division of administrative law appeals within 10 days of the receipt of the notice of the fine. An appellant shall be granted a hearing before the division of administrative law appeals in accordance with chapter 30A. The hearing officer may affirm or, if the aggrieved person demonstrates by a preponderance of evidence that the fine was erroneously issued, vacate or modify the fine. A person aggrieved by a decision of the hearing officer may file an appeal in the superior court in accordance with said chapter 30A.

  This establishes a new section for soil performance guidelines and the corresponding regulatory framework.

• Section 64 of chapter 128

  The definition of “Lawn” or “non-agricultural turf”.

  This removes the existing definition of 'Lawn' or 'non-agricultural turf' from the statute.

• Section 64 of chapter 128

  “Functional turf”, turf that is located on private property or on recreational use areas or other space that is regularly used for civic, community or recreational purposes which may include but not be limited to residential lawns, playgrounds, sports fields, parks, golf courses, picnic grounds, cemeteries and amphitheaters.

  This adds a new definition for 'Functional turf' to clarify the use of turf in various recreational and community contexts.

• Section 64 of chapter 128

  “Turf”, a natural living ground cover that produces a dense canopy of contiguous plant coverage and an interconnected subsurface root network comprised of any of the grass plants of the Poaceae family or living plants in other taxa serving a similar purpose as often found in lawns and commercial green spaces.

  This adds a definition for 'Turf' to better describe its ecological characteristics.

• Section 64 of chapter 128

  “Utility turf”, turf that is established primarily to fulfill ecological or practical functions which may include but not be limited to stabilizing soil, preventing erosion from wind or water, sequestering carbon, mitigating heat island effect, vegetative buffer strips from watersheds capturing and filtering urban pollutants and for community planning and safety purposes.

  This introduces a definition for 'Utility turf' to address its ecological and functional roles.