TURF INDUSTRY NEWS
OPEI Announces First Ever ANSI Standard for Robotic Lawn Mowers Te Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) recently announced the first-ever standard for robotic, battery- powered, electrical lawn mowers issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Publication of the robotic lawn mower standard has been highly anticipated by the outdoor power equipment industry and start-ups designing products for the category. “It is predicted that this market category will grow considerably in the next six years, as the outdoor power equipment industry continues to innovate and improve products in response to consumer needs,” said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI. “Standards play an important role in everyday life and ensure that consumers know what they are getting when they purchase a product like a robotic mower.” Te global robotic lawn mower market is expected to grow by nearly 22 percent over the next six years, according to a recent study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc.
EPA Officially Repeals Obama Era WOTUS Rule On September 12th, 2019, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Rickey R.D. James officially repealed the Obama Administration’s rule defining the “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, during a press conference at the headquarters of the National Association of Manufacturers. In his opening statement, Administrator Wheeler announced that as part of President Trump’s effort to eliminate extraneous regulations, the EPA and Army Core of Engineers are officially repealing the Obama Administration’s rule defining “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. Administrator Wheeler explained that the 2015 rule had expanded the definition of Navigable Waters that could be regulated under the act to include isolated ponds and channels. In his view, this rule was a large federal overstep, and caused regulatory confusion for anyone trying to comply with the Clean Water Act. Te 2015 rule was immediately challenged in court and left the U.S. in what the Administrator described as a “regulatory patchwork.” He believes repealing this rule is the first step in correcting this regulatory confusion, the second step will be a new rule to define Navigable Waters which he hopes to have finalized by this winter. Administrator Wheeler promises that the new rule will clearly define federal and state authority over water pollution regulations and limit federal authority over private property. Te administrator then signed the official repeal, along with Assistant Secretary James. Additional information is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/wotus-rule.
TurfMutt Foundation Launched by OPEI Te Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) has announced the official launch of Te TurfMutt Foundation, an organization that will further the mission of the TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program launched ten years ago. Te Foundation will continue to encourage outdoor learning experiences, stewardship of our green spaces, and care for all living landscapes for the benefit of all, and will likely expand into new areas in the next few years. Te Foundation launch has a bittersweet beginning as its founding “spokesdog,” Lucky the TurfMutt, a real-life rescue dog who “pawed it forward” by spending a decade educating children and families on taking care of our green spaces, passed away recently while at work at the TurfMutt Foundation office in Alexandria. “TurfMutt got started thanks to a little black and white dog from Indianapolis who 13 years ago I rescued from an Indianapolis roadway,” said OPEI’s President and CEO, Kris Kiser. “He shot in front of my car on a freezing winter morning, cold and hungry, and we’ve been together ever since.” Over the last ten years, environmental education lessons featuring Lucky were distributed to children in grades K-8 through partners Weekly Reader, Discovery Education, and Scholastic, the TurfMutt youth curriculum’s current home. Lucky also was animated and “cartoonized” in videos and the program developed a robust online presence with www.
TurfMutt.com and social media platforms. Lucky’s passing comes as the TurfMutt program marks its 10th anniversary year. Te program’s educational materials, available at
www.TurfMutt.com, are free and support Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) standards. Te TurfMutt environmental education program has reached 70 million students, teachers, and families since 2009. TurfMutt educational materials also can be found on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Global Learning Lab, a national database offering environmental education curriculum to teachers. TurfMutt’s focus on environmental stewardship and best practices for water use and landscape maintenance have been widely accepted, as evidenced by its listing as a resource by the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Apple, the Center for Green Schools, the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, the National Energy Education Development (NEED) project, Climate Change Live, Petfinder and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lucky’s story was featured in a 2018 National Geographic book, Love Unleashed: Tales of Inspiration and the Life- Changing Power of Dogs. Photos of Lucky appeared in the annual calendar published by the Wildlife Habitat Council for the last three years. Here is a link to see a Tribute to Lucky on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDQpz53NOv0&feature=
youtu.be
TPI Turf News November/December 2019
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