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4 Smart Irrigation Special Edition www.landscapeirrigation.com INDUSTRY NEWS NALP issues legislative alert: Waters of the United States rule On Wednesday, April 15, the House Transportation and Infra- structure Committee passed H.R. 1732: The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act by a 36-22 vote. The legislation, which was intro- duced by the Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw their proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and to develop a new rule in consultation with state and local governments and other affected stakeholders. Similar legislation could soon be introduced in the Senate. A final Waters of the U.S. rule, or Clean Water Act (CWA) rule as the EPA is now calling it, is currently being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the last step in the federal review process before a rule can be finalized. We expect a final rule to be published in June that will be substantially similar to the proposed rule. The CWA currently applies to "navigable waters." The proposed rule could extend the law's regulatory authority to manmade lakes, golf course water hazards, ditches or areas that have flowing water during heavy storms. Under the proposed rule, permits may be required for activities such as removing debris and vegetation from a ditch, applying fertilizer or pesticides, and building a fence or pond. In addition, the future development potential of certain land may be affected. The proposed rule also includes a number of imprecise and broadly defined terms, such as "adjacent," "riparian area" and "floodplain," that do not clearly delineate which waters are cov- ered. The new designations will create confusion and make it dif- ficult for landscape professionals to know if they are complying with the law. Businesses could also be subjected to litigation under citizen suit provisions of the CWA for the failure to abide by per- mit requirements. Requested action: Write to your member of Congress now and ask him or her to support the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act (H.R. 1732). California water crisis precipitates restrictions The water crisis in California could hardly be more severe than it already is. Due to the extreme seriousness of the circumstances, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order on April 6 mandating a 25 percent reduction in water compared with 2013 levels. In his executive order, Brown called on the state's 411 urban water agencies to replace 50 million square feet of lawns, and cash incentives are being used in some areas to get homeowners to vol- untarily give up their lawns. Some California communities, such as American Canyon, are taking measures as extreme as banning front lawns from new homes altogether. Are such turfgrass re- placement and elimination programs really the answer? Might this trade-off have consequences down the road? Lawns and turfgrass have many environmental benefits to of- fer that are often overlooked or of which the public is unaware. Among these benefits are those that could help to mitigate the negative impacts of droughts, including turfgrass reducing storm water runoff (thus protecting the potable water supply) and cap- turing and filtering precipitation so it can be reintroduced into the water supply. Turfgrass offers additional benefits that can help to prevent or lessen the severity of future droughts, such as cool- ing the air, producing oxygen, reducing pollution, capturing and suppressing dust, controlling soil erosion, retaining and seques- tering carbon, assisting in the decomposition of pollutants, restor- ing soil quality, dissipating heat, lowering allergy related problems, reducing home cooling costs, serving as a fire barrier, etc. The problem isn't that we have lawns, the problem is how we care for our lawns. In general people over-water their lawns think- ing if their lawn isn't green it may be dying when in fact grass goes into a dormant state during a drought and needs a minimal amount of water to survive. Grass is able to sustain itself even though it goes dormant, as long as the crowns and the root system are preserved and have adequate moisture to sustain themselves. A healthy estab- lished lawn can do surprisingly well during the hot summer season and during lengthy dry periods. In fact, grass shuts down when the temperature reaches 95 to 98 °F. (35 to 37 °C), allowing the plant to go into a cooling-down process. During the hotter months of the year, an established lawn can do fine with as little as one-half inch of water per week and, depending on the species, even less. Can water conservation and lawns co-exist? They must, if Cali- fornia and other regions of the country impacted by the drought want to prevent potential heat islands, serious erosion concerns, storm water runoff problems and other consequences in the fore- seeable future. Encouraging the removal of lawns from the landscape in an effort to accomplish a quick fix will have consequences down the road. Everyone should consider the long-term consequences of such measures before things really begin to heat up. For more information about caring for your lawn and the envi- ronment, visit The Lawn Institute at www.thelawninstitute.org. BY JIM NOVAK, TURFGRASS PRODUCERS INTERNATIONAL