This Week's Updates:

• Lawn Fertilizer Cutoff
• Community Flood Risk Studies

Reminder: Cutoff Date for Fertilizing Lawns is December 1

If you plan to fertilize your lawn this fall, remember that it is against New York State law to fertilize lawns between December 1 and April 1. Some areas also have local laws about selling and using lawn fertilizers (e.g., Suffolk County prohibits the application of lawn fertilizers after November 1).

Visit DEC’s Lawn Fertilizer webpage for more information. The law does not apply to agricultural fertilizer or fertilizer for gardens.

Choose a lawn fertilizer with no phosphorus.

Lawn fertilizer can have unnecessary phosphorus that runs into waterbodies. Excess phosphorus in freshwater lakes and ponds can cause algae overgrowth, with serious impacts to the environment and public health.

Community Flood Risk Studies

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced the state is dedicating $3 million for state-of-the-art studies to reduce flooding and ice jams and improve ecology on 48 priority flood-prone streams throughout New York State. The studies will employ advanced modeling techniques and field assessments to identify priority projects and actions to reduce community flood and ice jam risks, while improving habitat. DEC and the NYS Office of General Services will implement the studies as part of Governor Cuomo's Resilient NY program. For more information, view the Governor’s November 5 press release.