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This excerpt taken from the SMG 10-K filed Nov 29, 2007. Environmental and
Regulatory Considerations
Local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations relating
to environmental matters affect us in several ways. In the
United States, all products containing pesticides must be
registered with the U.S. EPA (and similar state agencies)
before they can be sold. The inability to obtain or the
cancellation of any such registration could have an adverse
effect on our business, the severity of which would depend on
the products involved, whether another product could be
substituted and whether our competitors were similarly affected.
We attempt to anticipate regulatory developments and maintain
registrations of, and access to, substitute active ingredients,
but there can be no assurance that we will continue to be able
to avoid or minimize these risks. Fertilizer and growing media
products are also subject to state and foreign labeling
regulations. Our manufacturing operations are subject to waste,
water and air quality permitting and other regulatory
requirements of federal and state agencies.
The Food Quality Protection Act, enacted by the
U.S. Congress in August 1996, establishes a standard for
food-use pesticides, which standard is the reasonable certainty
that no harm will result from the cumulative effects of
pesticide exposures. Under this Act, the U.S. EPA is
evaluating the cumulative risks from dietary and non-dietary
exposures to pesticides. The pesticides in our products, certain
of which may be used on crops processed into various food
products, are typically manufactured by independent third
parties and continue to be evaluated by the U.S. EPA as
part of this exposure risk assessment. The U.S. EPA or the
third party registrant may decide that a pesticide we use in our
products will be limited or made unavailable to us. We cannot
predict the outcome or the severity of the effect of these
continuing evaluations.
In addition, the use of certain pesticide and fertilizer
products is regulated by various local, state, federal and
foreign environmental and public health agencies. These
regulations may include requirements that only certified or
professional users apply the product or that certain products be
used only on certain types of locations (such as “not for
use on sod farms or golf courses”), may require users to
post notices on properties to which products have been or will
be applied, may require notification to individuals in the
vicinity that products will be applied in the future or may ban
the use of certain ingredients. We believe we are operating in
substantial compliance with, or taking action aimed at ensuring
compliance with, these laws and regulations.
State and federal authorities generally require growing media
facilities to obtain permits (sometimes on an annual basis) in
order to harvest peat and to discharge storm water run-off or
water pumped from peat deposits. The state permits typically
specify the condition in which the property must be left after
the peat is fully harvested, with the residual use typically
being natural wetland habitats combined with open water areas.
We are generally required by these permits to limit our
harvesting and to restore the property consistent with the
intended residual use. In some locations, these facilities have
been required to create water retention ponds to control the
sediment content of discharged water.
This excerpt taken from the SMG 10-K filed Dec 14, 2006. Environmental and
Regulatory Considerations
Local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations relating
to environmental matters affect us in several ways. In the
United States, all products containing pesticides must be
registered with the U.S. EPA (and similar state agencies)
before they can be sold. The inability to obtain or the
cancellation of any such registration could have an adverse
effect on our business, the severity of which would depend on
the products involved, whether another product could be
substituted and whether our competitors were similarly affected.
We attempt to anticipate regulatory developments and maintain
registrations of, and access to, substitute active ingredients,
but there can be no assurance that we will continue to be able
to avoid or minimize these risks. Fertilizer and growing media
products are also subject to state and foreign labeling
regulations. Our manufacturing operations are subject to waste,
water and air quality permitting and other regulatory
requirements of federal and state agencies.
The Food Quality Protection Act, enacted by the
U.S. Congress in August 1996, establishes a standard for
food-use pesticides, which standard is the reasonable certainty
that no harm will result from the cumulative effects of
pesticide exposures. Under this Act, the U.S. EPA is
evaluating the cumulative risks from dietary and non-dietary
exposures to pesticides. The pesticides in our products, certain
of which may be used on crops processed into various food
products, are typically manufactured by independent third
parties and continue to be evaluated by the U.S. EPA as
part of this exposure risk assessment. The U.S. EPA or the
third party registrant may decide that a pesticide we use in our
products will be limited or made unavailable to us. We cannot
predict the outcome or the severity of the effect of these
continuing evaluations.
In addition, the use of certain pesticide and fertilizer
products is regulated by various local, state, federal and
foreign environmental and public health agencies. These
regulations may include requirements that only certified or
professional users apply the product or that certain products be
used only on certain types of locations (such as “not for
use on sod farms or golf courses”), may require users to
post notices on properties to which products have been or will
be applied, may require notification to individuals in the
vicinity that products will be applied in the future or may ban
the use of certain ingredients. We believe we are operating in
substantial compliance with, or taking action aimed at ensuring
compliance with, these laws and regulations.
State and federal authorities generally require growing media
facilities to obtain permits (sometimes on an annual basis) in
order to harvest peat and to discharge storm water run-off or
water pumped from peat deposits. The state permits typically
specify the condition in which the property must be left after
the peat is fully harvested, with the residual use typically
being natural wetland habitats combined with open water areas.
We are generally required by these permits to limit our
harvesting and to restore the property consistent with the
intended residual use. In some locations, these facilities have
been required to create water retention ponds to control the
sediment content of discharged water.
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