The Town of East Hampton appears to be following the lead of other municipalities on the South Fork in moving to enact restrictions on the use of gas or diesel-powered leaf blowers.
Tuesday's town board discussion of recommendations made by its energy sustainability advisory committee provoked deep thoughts on profound changes in the town over the years, prompting Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc to lament what he called an "obsession with having the perfectly manicured, monolithic" lawn and the quest for "some unattainable standard of perfection," a far cry from the bucolic East Hampton of the past.
At the meeting, by video conference, Lena Tabori, the committee's chairwoman, conveyed the committee's recommendation that the board adopt a law minimizing the use of gas and diesel leaf blowers. In doing so, she read a litany of harmful effects of such landscaping equipment on the operator, the public, and the environment. Emissions, she said, include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the amount of carbon monoxide emitted from a backpack leaf blower in one hour is equal to that emitted from the tailpipe of an automobile operating for more than eight hours. Ms. Tabori said that landscaping equipment "contributes substantially to non-road emissions of VOCs," and that nitrogen oxides and VOCs when in contact with heat and sunlight produce ground-level ozone pollution.
"The American Lung Association reports that even short-term exposure to ozone pollution can lead to cardiac issues, pulmonary disease, and death," she said. "Besides being a nuisance, the noise produced from some gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers can exceed levels known to cause hearing damage in the ears of the operator and [those] up to 50 feet away."
Fuel spillage and leakage are also frequent occurrences, she said, citing the federal Environmental Protection Agency's estimate that around 17 million gallons of gasoline are spilled annually in the refilling of landscaping equipment. "Fuel spills are a hazard to both air and water quality," she said.
Electric plug-in and rechargeable models are viable alternatives, Ms. Tabori said, calling them comparable in performance and with advantages including both better health benefits and lower operation and maintenance costs. They are also quieter and produce no emissions.
Ms. Tabori said that the committee recommends a ban on gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers from May 20 through Sept. 20. From Sept. 21 through May 19, they could be used between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Use would be prohibited on Sundays and federal and state holidays. The restrictions should apply to beach, golf, and tennis clubs as well as municipal employees. Walk-behind leaf blowers would be prohibited unless the property being cleaned is greater than one-half acre, and no more than two handheld, backpack, or walk-behind leaf blowers could be used at one time except on a property greater than one-half acre. Use of gas or diesel generators to power electric leaf blowers would also be prohibited.
Exceptions could be made when responding to an emergency or cleanup after a major storm if the supervisor has declared a state of emergency.
The committee is not asking that all gas and diesel leaf blowers be retired immediately, Ms. Tabori noted, as electric models matching the most powerful gas-powered leaf blowers are not on the market. The committee recommends a full transition to electric models once they are available.
Paul Munoz, the committee's vice chairman and the owner of Eco Harmony, a landscaping company that uses battery-powered equipment and limits the use of gasoline, said that the committee favors a ban during the summer, rather than throughout the year, because "we have to be realistic and take what the technology offers us." He said that landscapers have indicated that cost is the biggest deterrent to transitioning to electric equipment, but as he explained it, "You're buying your fuel upfront. It's offset by no fuel costs, no maintenance." His clients have sought his services because he offers quieter, emission-free electric equipment, he told the board.
Ms. Tabori said that the proposed restrictions are similar to those adopted by the Village of Southampton, which took effect this year. The Village of East Hampton adopted restrictions on gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers, also taking effect this year, and Sag Harbor Village and the Town of North Hempstead have adopted restrictions as well.
The East Hampton Village Board's initial discussions on the topic, several years ago, generated substantial pushback from landscapers, and some board members asked how landscapers would be impacted by legislation mandating what equipment can and cannot be used. The board would survey landscaping businesses, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said, and legislation would likely allow landscapers a reasonable time frame to transition to electric equipment.
But the board appeared united in the belief that the discussion was overdue. "It sounds like the future is happening," said Councilman Jeff Bragman.
"I have to say, over my time on the board the number of complaints I've gotten specifically about leaf blowers has increased," Mr. Van Scoyoc said, "and during the time of Covid, exponentially increased.
. . . If you're living in a residential neighborhood with half-acre lots or smaller, you might have 20, 30 residences within earshot of a leaf blower, and it seems like perpetual leaf blowing all day." It was the first "real discussion" the board has had on the topic, he said, "and I think we'll need to talk about it some more, about options, and get input from residents and landscape-business owners."
Returning to the theme of "perfect" lawns, the supervisor said, "If your lawn is so clean and filled with chemicals that you don't see any insects, that means you're poisoning your groundwater" and damaging the environment. "Some people in town have worked very hard to present a different approach to landscaping that's environmentally sound and still beautiful."
Mr. Munoz agreed. While the Covid-19 pandemic "has been very hard, there is some good to this," he said, "because it allows us to go back and see that our 'normal' was not okay. . . . Ideally, I would like no lawns and just take care of meadows. But that takes education. This time allows us to say how can we be better . . . and I wanted to finish with saying the health for operators is very important, but at the same time we are doing a big damage to our neighbors, and that includes wildlife."
