Ind. Code ch. 15-16-2.7

in effect

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-1 Applicability; construction

Sec. 1. (a) Nothing in this chapter impairs any authority granted to the Indiana department of environmental management under IC 13-13-5-1(1). (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), this chapter applies to any person that: (1) uses; or (2) distributes; fertilizer material for the purposes of producing an agricultural crop. (c) This chapter does not apply to any person that uses or distributes less than ten (10) cubic yards or four thousand (4,000) gallons of fertilizer material in a calendar year. (d) This chapter is in addition to any rules passed by the water pollution control board regulating confined feeding operations. To the extent that provisions of those rules require conditions or actions that are more stringent than any of the provisions in this chapter, operations that have a confined feeding operation or a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit approval must comply with the more stringent provision. Compliance with the more stringent provision satisfies the similar requirement of this chapter. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-2 Application of fertilizer material

Sec. 2. A person applying fertilizer material for the purposes of producing an agricultural crop shall: (1) develop a fertilizer application plan before applying fertilizer material; (2) apply fertilizer material in accordance with the fertilizer application plan for the target application site; (3) not apply fertilizer material directly to surface water; (4) not apply fertilizer material to saturated ground; and (5) not apply fertilizer material from a public road. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-3 Application of unmanipulated organic fertilizer

Sec. 3. (a) Unless there is a gradient barrier and a minimum setback of ten (10) feet or a filter strip with a minimum width of fifty (50) feet located between the application site and any of the known features in the following table, a person shall apply unmanipulated organic fertilizer according to the setback distances as follows: Unmanipulated Organic Fertilizer Application Setback Distances (in feet) Liquid – Surface Application Known Liquid – Liquid – < 6% >6% Feature Injection Incorporation; Slope; Slope or Surface or Single Pass Application Residue Incorporation (solid or Cover (liquid/solid) compost); or Surface Application to Pasture Public 500 500 500 500 Water Supply Wells and Surface Intake Surface 25 50 100 200 Waters Sinkholes 25 50 100 200 Water 50 50 100 200 Wells Drainage 5 50 100 200 Inlets Property 0 10 50 50 Lines and Public Roads (b) All setback distances described in the table under subsection (a) shall be measured from the edge of the area of actual application of unmanipulated organic fertilizer on the ground. (c) The term "liquid incorporation", as used in the table under subsection (a), means only unmanipulated organic fertilizer that has been incorporated into the soil within twenty-four (24) hours of application. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-4 Application of unmanipulated organic fertilizer to highly erodible land

Sec. 4. A person may not apply unmanipulated organic fertilizer to highly erodible land, unless the land has: (1) at least forty percent (40%) crop residue; or (2) a vegetative cover crop. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-5 Application of unmanipulated organic fertilizer to frozen or snow covered ground

Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person may not apply unmanipulated organic fertilizer to frozen or snow covered ground as follows: (1) Within two hundred (200) feet of surface water. (2) Within a floodway. (3) In an amount that exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the agronomic rate for the planned crop. (4) With greater than two percent (2%) slope unless the ground has: (A) at least forty percent (40%) crop residue; or (B) a vegetative cover crop. (b) A person is not prohibited from applying unmanipulated organic fertilizer under this section if the unmanipulated organic fertilizer is applied by means of injection or same day incorporation. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-6 Unmanipulated organic fertilizer application monitoring

Sec. 6. A person who applies unmanipulated organic fertilizer shall do the following: (1) For the twenty-four (24) hour period immediately before the application, monitor application site soil conditions and the weather forecast for predicted rain events to ensure that fertilizer runoff does not occur. (2) During and immediately following the application, monitor the application site effluent from field tile outlets and surface water conveyance channels for a change of: (A) color; (B) flow; or (C) volume. (3) If there is a change to the effluent caused by the application: (A) stop the application immediately; (B) stop or capture the effluent; and (C) land apply or store the effluent. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-7 Staging restrictions for inorganic fertilizer

Sec. 7. A person may not stage inorganic fertilizer as follows: (1) Within three hundred (300) feet of: (A) surface waters; (B) drainage inlets; or (C) water wells. (2) In standing water, a waterway (as defined in IC 13-11-2-265.2), or a floodway. (3) For more than seventy-two (72) hours unless the fertilizer is as follows: (A) Covered with a tarpaulin or other suitable covering. (B) Applied to a target field within thirty (30) days. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-8 Staging restrictions for organic fertilizer

Sec. 8. (a) A person may not stage organic fertilizer: (1) within three hundred (300) feet of surface waters, drainage inlets, or water wells unless there is a: (A) cover; or (B) gradient barrier that contains or directs any organic fertilizer away from the surface waters, drainage inlets, and water wells; (2) on an area with a slope greater than six percent (6%) unless run-on and runoff are controlled; or (3) on any standing water, waterway (as defined in IC 13-11-2-265.2), or floodway. (b) Organic fertilizer that is staged for more than seventy-two (72) hours must be: (1) protected by a: (A) cover; or (B) gradient barrier; (2) applied within one hundred twenty (120) days; (3) set back from property lines one hundred (100) feet; (4) set back from public roads one hundred (100) feet; and (5) set back from residential buildings four hundred (400) feet. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-9 Organic fertilizer distribution records

Sec. 9. (a) A person required to be licensed under IC 15-16-2.5 that distributes organic fertilizer material as described in IC 15-16-2.5-4 shall keep and maintain records of each distribution. (b) The records required under subsection (a) include the following: (1) The name of the certified applicator accepting receipt of the organic fertilizer. (2) The certification number of the certified applicator. (3) The amount of fertilizer distributed. (4) The representative nutrient value or values of the organic fertilizer. (5) The month, day, and year of distribution. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-10 Fertilizer material application records

Sec. 10. (a) A person required to be licensed under IC 15-16-2.5 who applies: (1) fertilizer material as described in IC 15-16-2.5-2; or (2) organic fertilizer as described in IC 15-16-2.5-3; must keep and maintain records of all fertilizer material and organic fertilizer applications. (b) The records required under subsection (a) must include the following: (1) The address or location description of the application site. (2) The name of the certified applicator making or supervising the application. (3) The certification number of the certified applicator. (4) The rate applied. (5) The representative nutrient value or values of the fertilizer material. (6) The type of fertilizer material applied. (7) The method of fertilizer application. (8) The month, date, and year of application. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Ind. Code § 15-16-2.7-11 Record keeping period; inspection

Sec. 11. All records required under this chapter must be: (1) kept and maintained for two (2) years; and (2) made available for inspection or copying within thirty (30) days of written or oral request by the state chemist. As added by P.L.98-2026, SEC.43.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/15Fetched: 10/17/2026