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Link to: CGCSA Legislative Update 

Number May 2008

NEW IDLING LIMITS FOR OPERATORS AND DISCLOSURE /RECORD RETENTION

REQUIREMENTS FOR DEALERS AND SELLERS OF IN-USE OFF-ROAD VEHICLES

EFFECTIVE 6/15/08

The regulation for In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicles will become effective on June 15, 2008. This
regulation is designed to reduce harmful emissions from diesel powered construction and mining
vehicles operating in California. In addition to requiring fleets to accelerate turnover to cleaner
vehicles and/or to install exhaust retrofits, this regulation imposes idling limitations on operators and
notification and record keeping requirements on individuals and businesses who sell off-road diesel
vehicles.

The first elements of the regulation to become effective will be the idling and disclosure requirements.

Starting June 15, 2008, the regulation requires an operator of applicable off-road vehicles (self-propelled
diesel-fueled vehicles 25 horsepower and up that were not designed to be driven on-road)
to limit idling to no more than five minutes, and it requires sellers in California to notify the buyer that
the off-road diesel vehicle may be subject to retrofit or accelerated turnover requirements. In
addition, the seller must keep records of the disclosure notice for three years. These requirements
are specified in Title 13, California Code of Regulations as follows:

§2449(d)(3)(A) Idling Limit
“No vehicle or engines subject to this regulation may idle for more than 5 consecutive minutes.”
Some exemptions to the idling limit apply for queuing, safety and to accomplish work for which the
vehicle was designed.

§2449(j) Disclosure of Regulation Applicability:
“Any person selling a vehicle with an engine subject to this regulation in California must provide the
following disclosure in writing to the buyer on the bill of sale, ‘When operated in California, any offroad
diesel vehicle may be subject to the California Air Resources Board In-Use Off-Road Diesel
Vehicle Regulation. It therefore could be subject to retrofit or accelerated turnover requirements to
reduce emissions of air pollutants. For more information, please visit the California Air Resources
Board website at http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/ordiesel.htm.’”1

§2449(h)(8) Record Retention:
1 On May 1, 2008, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) mailed potential sellers of off-road vehicles a letter that
identified disclosure language that must be provided in the bill of sale. Unfortunately, the last sentence of the disclosure
language providing the website was omitted. The disclosure needs to contain all three sentences listed above.

ED – Form #075 (Rev. 07/04)
“Dealers must maintain records of the disclosure of regulation applicability required by Section 2449(j)
for three years after the sale.”
Non-Compliance: Any violation of these requirements may carry civil penalties as specified in state
law and regulations, including but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Section 39674. The
standard for assessing penalties is thus one of strict liability.

Health and Safety Code, Sections 39674 (a) and (b) authorize civil penalties for the violation of the
programs for the regulation of toxic air contaminants of not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)
or not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) respectively, for each day in which the violation
occurs.

ARB enforcement is not intending to conduct field audits until after September 15 of this year, but
enforcement will pursue idling complaints and cases reported by buyers who have not received
proper notification. Penalties for failure to notify will be assessed based on the time elapsed from
June 15, 2008 to the time of the transaction(s) in question.

For further information about the In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicle regulation, please visit our website
at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/ordiesel.htm. Fact sheets are available at
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/factsheets.htm, and the full text of the regulation is available at
http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/ordiesl07/frooal.pdf

For questions regarding enforcement of the In-Use Off-Road Vehicle regulation, please contact Mr.
Tajinder Gill at (626) 459-4304 or tgill@arb.ca.gov.

If you have questions about the regulation or our outreach efforts, please contact Ms. Kim Heroy-
Rogalski, Manager of the Off-Road Implementation Section, at (916) 327-2200 or by email at
kheroyro@arb.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Pesticide Regulation today reported 2006 pesticide use statistics that showed continued progress toward safer, less toxic pest management.

Overall statewide pesticide use declined by nearly six million pounds from 2005 to 2006 (from 195.3 million to 189.6 million). While use increased in landscape maintenance, public health and other categories, production agriculture saw a 10 million pound drop.

Use of many high-toxicity chemicals dropped for the third consecutive year.

In accordance with Article VII, Section 1 of the GCSAA Bylaws, this is the official call for nominations for candidates for the 2009 GCSAA Board of Directors.

The following offices will be up for election at the 2009 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La.:

President 
Vice President 
Secretary/Treasurer 
Board of Directors (three (3) positions) 
Chapters choosing to nominate a candidate should do so in the form of a letter sent on chapter letterhead to the Nominating Committee Chairman at the following address:

GCSAA Nominations Committee Chairman
c/o Scott Woodhead
1421 Research Park Drive
Lawrence, KS  66049-3859

The deadline for receipt of nominations is July 1, 2008. 

The committee will meet by conference call to consider nominations and to select the official slate of candidates for the available offices.

Nominated candidates will receive documentation explaining the new governance model under which the board is now operating, the roles and responsibilities of GCSAA board members, along with more detailed information regarding the travel requirements and time commitments. 

If you have any questions concerning the election process, please contact R. Scott Woodhead, Sr. Manager of Governance/Member Standards at (800) 472-7878, ext. 4418 or swoodhead@gcsaa.org.

Two options are available to document this requirement:

1. Provide a copy of your state pesticide license or

2. Successfully complete a GCSAA-developed IPM Exam. This exam will test on the basic principles of safe pesticide storage, disposal and application. The exam and its study materials are currently available for a $40 test fee. And can be taken as an online exam or a proctored paper-based exam.  If you choose the Online Exam option you may order online now or you can call us at 800-472-7878.

After you enroll, you will have access to the study guide right away. You can print this material or view it online. The online exam is 100 multiple choice or fill-in-the blank questions. It is divided into three sections of equal length that you can complete independently.

The GCSAA Integrated Pest Management Study Manual, along with other reference materials of your choice, may be used during the examination. The use of a pocket calculator is also permitted. You may not solicit help from other outside agencies such as members or superintendents in completing the exam.

The score for each section of the exam will be transmitted electronically to GCSAA. You will be notified of your score by email within five business days. You can also contact us if you have questions at any time.
 

IPM examinations administration guidelines 

A properly repaired ball mark heals completely in 2-3 days, while an unrepaired ball mark takes 15-20 days to heal properly. 

A typical 18-hole golf course covers approximately 125 - 150 acres of land. The total landmass of golf courses in the United States equals about 1/2 the state of Connecticut. 

A typical 18-hole golf course produces enough oxygen to support 4,000 to 7,000 people. 

Golf courses nationwide combine to filter 13 million tons of dust from the air every year. 

Who is the most important person at a golf facility? According to a 1997 survey of 500 Golf Digest subscribers, the golf course superintendent was listed the most (48 percent). Other responses included the course/club professional 25 percent, club/course manager 14 percent, beverage cart or halfway house person 11 percent. 

Golf courses have a cooling effect during the hot summer months. The average temperature on the golf course in typically 5- 7 degrees cooler than a residential area and 7 - 15 degrees cooler than an urban downtown setting. 

The infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to four holes of the Brickyard Crossing golf course. The remaining 14 holes outside the oval are accessed through a tunnel under the track. 

Golf courses delay play on frost-covered turf (especially greens) because stepping on frost-covered grass causes the frozen leaf cells to rupture. The turf will turn brown and eventually die. 

The Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Mont., is the first golf course built on an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site. 

Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the land served as a smelting location for the mining of iron ore. The golf course opened in June of 1997. 

Why do golf course superintendents aerate turf? Because it reduces compaction on a golf course by removing soil cores from the ground, allowing the movement of water, air and nutrients to the turf roots. Highly traveled areas plus poor soil composition creates compacted surfaces. 

What is the origin of the stimpmeter? In the early 1900s, a man by the name of Edward Stimpson was looking for a means to create more fairness in the game of golf. Specifically, he was looking to make putting surfaces on a particular course all relatively the same speed. He developed the stimpmeter to achieve this purpose. By using this device, he could determine, for example, if the fourth green was the same speed of the 17th. The device is often misused and misinterpreted by the novice and avid golfer alike. It is best used to compare greens on the same course, NOT to compare greens from one course to another. 

How much has technology and research improved speed and quality of a putting green? In the early 1960s, professional tour event superintendents cut putting green turf heights at about 1/4 inch. Today, the height of putting green turf for professional tournament competition is 1/8 inch or less. 

How do trees affect the quality of a putting surface? All things being equal, a putting green with air circulating around it will be in better shape than a green with little or no air circulation. Trees tend to reduce circulation, thereby having a negative effect on putting green quality. Older, more mature trees adjacent to putting greens will negatively impact surface conditions because the tree roots will grow under the putting surface and disrupt the flow of water and nutrients. 

What is a golf course superintendent doing when he/she syringes a green? Syringing is the process of spraying a light cover of water on a green during hot weather to reduce the temperature of the turf. This prevents putting surfaces from becoming “baked” and “dried-out,” and having a negative impact on putting surface quality. 

What is topdressing? It is the practice of spreading material over a putting green to level and smooth the surface. The material is generally sand and/or organic matter that improves drainage, controls thatch and maintains biological balance. 

Golf courses have a positive impact on the economy. It is estimated that more than 25 million people annually spend 2.5 billion hours outside, playing one of the nation’s 17,000-plus golf courses. The impact of golf facilities on the economy is $20 billion annually.

Yes, please add me to the RISE Grassroots Network!

Name:  ________________________________

Title:  ________________________________

Company: ________________________________

Address:  ________________________________

Phone:  ________________________________

Fax:   ________________________________

Email (most important!): _____________________

List states of interest:  ________________________

Please return this form to:

Elizabeth Grotos, RISE grassroots manager
egrotos@pestfacts.org
1156 15th St, NW #525, Washington, DC  20005
Fax (202) 872-8808
Phone (202) 872-3869

GCSAA Webcast Series
GCSAA's live education webcasts will be 90 minutes long and will take place at the computer of your choice. 
To increase the event's interaction, we recommend the use of a microphone, but you can ask questions and participate using the text chat feature.
Visit the system check today to learn more about what's required and test your system, free of charge.

GCSAA's live education Webcasts Series;  Next Series to begin in September 2008, because Superintendents are working on the golf course. 
All Webcast times are Central.

GCSAA Education CD's are available for purchase in the GCSAA Online Store: Click here for link.

To register today, use our online shopping cart. From the details description page, select "Add to Cart" from the quick facts box to put your course in a shopping cart. 
When your cart is full, "View cart/Check out" will take you to the payment options. You may also complete and fax the registration form to (785) 832-4449. 

Visit the ON DEMAND Webcast events, Coming soon ON DEMAND WEBCAST will be listed by categories!
Choose any of our recorded webcasts - view them when you want and as many times as you want (within one year from purchase.)

For Details; visit the GCSAA Webcast Address: http://www.gcsaa.org/education/webcast/webcast.aspx
Or call  (800) 472-7878 x 5167 

The turfgrass research project is "The Management and Biology of Brown Ring Patch on Annual Bluegrass Greens". Dr. Frank Wong's, UC Riverside. 

The Water research project is "The Fate and Transport of Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, and Endocine Disrupting Compounds in Golf Courses Irrigated with Reuse Water". Mike McCullough, NCGA.

Researchers at North Carolina State University have begun tackling one of turf management's more perplexing questions: which fungi cause fairy ring, and what are the best management practices for dealing with each of them? 

If you have been plagued with fairy ring, you already know that textbooks identify over 60 different fungi that are known to cause fairy ring. But what the textbooks don't say is that most of these fungi are uncharacterized. What's more, it isn't clear whether management methods that work for one fairy ring fungus will work for others.

Luckily, plant pathologist Lee Miller, who is a graduate student in Dr. Lane Tredway's lab, will be taking a closer look. But he needs your help in the form of samples of fairy ring-affected turf. To submit a sample to Miller for analysis, please follow the instructions below: 

Fairy ring sample submission: 

§                         Send 1-2 cup cutter plugs from the leading (outside) edge of the ring. 

§                         Wrap bottom and sides of sample in aluminum foil to keep stable 

§                         If mushrooms or puffballs are present, place as many as possible in soil sample box or paper bag (no plastic!!). 

§                         Put samples in shipping box and stuff with newspaper to keep plugs in place during shipping. Send to: 

Plant Disease and Insect Clinic
North Carolina State University
Attention: Lee Miller
Campus Box 7211
1227 Gardner Hall
100 Derieux Place
Raleigh, NC 27695
919-515-3619 

Last month’s recycled water article discussed the benefits of using recycled water for golf course irrigation. Golf Course Superintendents know what recycled water is and understand the benefits of using recycled water, but may not be familiar with the recycled water treatment process. There are several types of recycled water treatment processes, which may include one or more of the following methods to meet Title 22 standards: ultra-violet light, chlorination, microfiltration, or reverse osmosis. 

This month I would like to let you know about the basic steps that wastewater in the Coachella Valley Water District’s (CVWD’s) sewer system must go through in order to become recycled water approved for non-potable use. The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) is a multi-faceted public agency with a service area of approximately 1,000 square miles mostly within the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, but also into Imperial and San Diego counties. 

Most homes and businesses in the Coachella Valley are hooked up to a sewer system that takes used water from sinks, showers, toilets, and appliances to one of CVWD’s six Wastewater Reclamation Plants (WRPs). Before it even arrives at the WRP, the district’s Source Control program prevents harmful constituents from entering the wastewater system and ensures those types of waste are disposed of in an approved manner.

Wastewater, which is recycled for reuse at three of the WRPs, is made up of two components that must be broken down or removed for treatment: organic waste and inorganic waste. Organic waste is that which can be broken down and treated biologically. Inorganic waste, which must be removed from the wastewater stream, is unable to be biologically broken down and treated. That being said, as wastewater enters a plant, it is first mechanically screened to remove large inorganic debris such as rags, paper products and sticks. These removed materials are hauled away to an approved disposal facility. Sedimentation tanks are used to remove the remaining smaller inorganic material such as sand, grit and rocks. This is considered the primary treatment process.
The organic waste continues to the secondary treatment process, also called the activated sludge process. This is a biological process which takes place in large aeration basins. In these basins, the organics in the wastewater provide food for trillions of microorganisms. While these microorganisms are busy consuming the organic waste, the aeration basin provides dissolved oxygen to help keep the microorganisms alive. 

The broken down organic waste, now considered to be activated sludge, settles to the bottom of a clarification tank. The sludge is pumped from the bottom of the clarification tank to a DAF (dissolved air floatation), which removes some of the water and thickens the sludge. It then moves to the belt press process where the sludge is squeezed between two belts and a series of rollers. The belt press process produces a sludge cake of approximately 15% to 18% solids. The clear water separated from the sludge in the clarification tank is called secondary effluent. Secondary effluent water is further treated for various stages of recycled water. The sludge cake, also called biosolids, is hauled away by composting companies to undergo another treatment step before becoming compost. 
The highest level of recycled water is called tertiary disinfected recycled water. Tertiary treatment is achieved when secondary effluent is sent through a filtering station and disinfected. The filtered water is chlorinated to kill any residual bacteria and viruses which could potentially be harmful. When the process is finished, the tertiary disinfected recycled water will meet the Title 22 regulations and requirements and is only one step below drinking water standards. At other facilities, the tertiary treatment process could also include ultra-violet light, microfiltration, and/or reverse osmosis. 
Tertiary disinfected recycled water can be used for virtually all non-potable applications and is safe for full body human contact, but can not be consumed. Disinfected tertiary recycled water is so clear and odorless that it is hard to tell with the naked eye the difference between it and drinking water.

Title 22 Code of Regulations is a California health law related to recycled water. Depending on the level of treatment for recycled water (secondary or tertiary) the requirements include meeting a specific required limit for total coliform bacteria. Total coliform is a bacterium that has been determined to be an indicator of potential disease causing organisms. Coliforms come from the same sources as pathogenic organisms. Coliforms are relatively easy to identify, are usually present in larger numbers than more dangerous pathogens, and respond to the environment, wastewater treatment, and water treatment similarly to many pathogens. The presence of coliform bacteria can be an indication of other pathogenic bacteria. 

Title 22 requires that filtered tertiary wastewater must also go through a chlorine disinfection process following filtration that provides a modal contact time of not less than 450 milligram-minutes per liter at all times with a modal contact time of at least 90 minutes. In other words, the water must have a chlorine residual at a certain level and remain in the chlorine contact channel for at least 90 minutes so that the modal contact time is not less than 450 milligram-minutes per liter. Title 22 also states that recycled water meet turbidity limits. Turbidity means the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by suspended solids. These are a few of the Title 22 standards that recycled water must meet before distribution is allowed. 

In order to ensure that CVWD’s treatment plants are meeting Title 22 standards, a recycled water sample is collected every day and analyzed for total coliform bacteria. Chlorine residual, modal contact time and turbidity are also continuously monitored. The WRPs have state-of-the-art alarm systems to notify the operators if the water is nearing these prescribed limitations. If this occurs, the plant water delivery system stops. Some recycled water is stored in an on-site reservoir so that minor interruptions in the system will not result in a disruption of service. When the water returns to acceptable levels the water delivery system returns to normal. These alarms are safety mechanisms that ensure that water which is outside the Title 22 limits will not reach the delivery system. If this were to happen, recycled water users would be notified immediately.

The final step of producing recycled water at CVWD’s WRPs is when Title 22 tertiary disinfected recycled water is sent through purple pipes to irrigate golf courses and landscaping in home owner’s associations. This recycled water is used in lieu of precious groundwater. These are the basic steps that wastewater in CVWD’s sewer system must go through in order to become Title 22 approved disinfected recycled water for non-potable use. If you are interested in seeing one of CVWD’s WRPs and would like to observe the recycled water process in person, we would love to give you a tour. To organize a tour, please give me a call at (760) 398-2651 ext. 3586.

Olivia Daniels,
Recycled Water Manager
Coachella Valley Water District
(760) 398-2661 ext. 3586
odaniels@cvwd.org

 Pesticides Regulated to Protect Ground Water
(Section 6800(a) of the California Code of Regulations) 

As of May 27, 2004, all agricultural, outdoor industrial, and outdoor institutional uses of the following pesticides are regulated to protect ground water:
Atrazine (such as Aatrex®)
Simazine (such as Princep®)
Bromacil (such as Hyvar®, Krovar®)
Diuron (such as Karmex®, Direx®, Krovar®) except for products containing less than 7% diuron that are applied to foliage 
Prometon (such as Pramitol®)
Bentazon (such as Basagran®)
Norflurazon (such as Solicam®, Predict®, Zorial®)