Landscape professionals and builders back 'healthy soils' standards for construction and new plantings

Landscape professionals and municipal planners who work directly with post‑construction sites testified in favor of H125/H142/S65, an act establishing healthy soil performance guidelines, urging that construction practices preserve and restore topsoil to protect plant establishment, water retention and long‑term landscape health.

Bob Mann, senior director of technical and regulatory affairs for the National Association of Landscape Professionals and a board member of the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care Professionals, told the committee he often finds construction sites with ‘‘nothing there that resembles soil’’ — crushed rock, building debris or inadequate topsoil — and said that short‑term contractor shortcuts create long‑term restoration burdens for homeowners and landscape professionals. Mann pointed to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Healthy Soils Action Plan as a policy touchstone and urged consistent post‑construction standards.

Joseph Schiavets (testifying from the landscape industry) described cases where builders omitted quality topsoil or irrigation from contracts, leaving landscapes with hard packed, poor growing medium and repeated planting failures. Schiavets recommended requiring a minimum depth of quality topsoil (he cited about four inches as a baseline in testimony) and consistent testing standards to ensure purchasers and municipal reviewers know what will be placed on site.

Committee members asked about enforcement and existing site conditions; witnesses said the objective is to protect consumers and reduce pesticide and water use by starting projects with appropriate soil and to provide clear, implementable specifications for construction plans. The committee accepted testimony and invited written submissions.