2.4 Kentucky Posting & Customer Notification Rules

2.4 Kentucky Posting & Customer Notification Rules

Quick Answer: 302 KAR 26:080 - Lawn, turf, ornamental and interior plantscape pesticide-related notice posting - is the most Kentucky-specific regulation on the Core exam. It requires a physical marker after every lawn application, written information to the customer at contract signing and at each application, a prior-notification right for neighbors, thirteen records kept at the business address, and it makes each of those a separately enforceable violation. Nothing in FIFRA or the Worker Protection Standard requires any of it.

---

Who Is Covered

Section 1 opens with "Any operator or applicator who engages in lawn care by making applications to lawns." Sections 2, 3, and 4 extend parallel rules to golf courses, interior plantscapes, and sports turf. In practice this is the Category 3 (Ornamental, Turf and Lawn Care) licensee's daily compliance burden - which is exactly why Category 3 is one of the largest commercial sectors in Kentucky and one of the most heavily inspected.

---

The Two Customer-Information Duties

These are separate obligations at separate moments, and applicators routinely satisfy one and miss the other:

The Section 1(2) duty is per-product, not per-visit. A three-way tank mix means information for all three products.

---

The Lawn Marker: Exact Specifications

Section 1(1)(b) requires that immediately following an application to a lawn the applicator place a lawn marker at a prominent location in the lawn. The regulation then specifies the marker in a level of detail that makes it very easy to write exam questions:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                 302 KAR 26:080 LAWN MARKER SPECIFICATION                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  MINIMUM SIGN SIZE .............. 4 in. x 5 in., WHITE                      |
|  SUPPORT ........................ dowel or other support, >= 12 inches       |
|                                   attached at the UPPER portion             |
|  LETTERING ...................... CONTRASTING color, >= 3/8 inch high        |
|  REQUIRED TEXT (one side) ....... "LAWN CARE APPLICATION -                   |
|                                    PLEASE STAY OFF GRASS UNTIL DRY"         |
|  OPTIONAL ....................... a symbol depicting the message, plus the  |
|                                   applicator's name, logo, and service mark |
|  REMOVAL ........................ may be removed and discarded by the       |
|                                   owner, resident, or their designee        |
|                                   THE DAY FOLLOWING the application         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

How Many Markers, and Where

The golf course and sports turf markers carry the same physical specification as the lawn marker - 4 in. x 5 in. white sign, support of at least 12 inches, contrasting lettering at least 3/8 inch high - but different wording:

One narrow exemption exists: under Section 3(1), interior plantscape posting does not apply if the plants are taken off-site for the application and are not returned until they have adequately dried.

---

The Prior-Notification Right (24 to 48 Hours)

Section 1(3) creates a right that belongs to three groups of people:

1. Any customer of the applicator;
2. Any employer of the applicator; and
3. A neighbor whose residence adjoins a customer or employer of the applicator.

Any of them may request notification twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours in advance of an application by contacting the applicator and providing their name, address, and telephone number. Once requested, the applicator shall provide notification in writing, in person, or by telephone, giving the date and approximate time of application. If the applicator cannot reach the person because of absence or inaccessibility, the applicator shall leave a written notice at the residence.

Golf courses run the same right through the superintendent's office (Section 2(1)(e)), and if advance notice cannot be given, the resident must be contacted at the time of application. Golf courses must additionally keep safety data sheets for each pesticide or pesticide-impregnated fertilizer used in an area of the superintendent's office where patrons can easily read and access them (Section 2(1)(f)).

---

The Section 5 Record List - Thirteen Items, Not the Section 2 List

This is the sharpest trap in the regulation. A Category 3 lawn care applicator keeps two record sets that overlap but are not identical: the general application record under 302 KAR 26:030 Section 2(2), and the notification record under 302 KAR 26:080 Section 5. Section 5 requires the applicator to provide the following information on request to all persons requesting notice, and to record and maintain it at the applicator's business address:

Note what is here that is not in 302 KAR 26:030: fertilizer rate and analysis, concentration of end-use product, total gallons of end-use product, and the label's post-application use instructions and hazard information. Note also what is here that 26:030 does not require: the applicator's license or certificate number. Golf course records under Section 5 must be maintained in the superintendent's office, be readily available on request, and be retained at least three (3) years and available for department inspection (Section 2(2)).

---

Enforcement: Section 6 Itemizes the Violations

Section 6 provides that the department may assess civil penalties as established in KRS 217B.193, and may suspend, revoke, delay issuing, or modify any license or registration issued under the chapter, for any of:

1. Failure to provide direct on-the-job supervision of a trainee by a licensed operator or applicator;
2. Failure to maintain the Section 5 records; and
3. Failure to follow the notification and information requirements of Sections 1 through 4, including specifically failure to:
   • provide customer written information prior to application;
   • place the required marker;
   • meet the minimum requirements for the required marker;
   • provide the customer required information at application; or
   • provide prior notification of application when requested.

That sub-list is the closest thing Kentucky publishes to an inspector's checklist for lawn care. A marker that is the right idea but the wrong size - a 3-inch flag, or lettering a quarter inch high - is an independently citable violation under Section 6(3)(c).

Exam Alert: Memorize the marker: 4 x 5 inches, white, on a support at least 12 inches, lettering in a contrasting color at least 3/8 inch high, removable by the resident the day after. Then memorize the placement rule: one marker for residential property of three families or less; entry-point markers everywhere else; tees 1 and 10 on a golf course.