Protect Your Birdies & Eagles: A Carrier You Can Trust On & Off the Golf Course

Onsite Storage Tanks

An operator error such as forgetting to detach the transfer equipment from the fueling truck before driving off can break off valves or connectors and release the fuel outside the tanks, resulting in costly clean-up. Storage tanks must be in compliance with current governmental regulations in its area of operation. Large amounts of fuels or other chemicals may be stored in bulk storage tanks (i.e., those that hold 55 gallons or more, and can be located above ground, or be partially or completely buried). Releases from these tanks often go undetected for long periods of time which can also result in costly clean-up costs and other damages.

Groundwater Contamination

Turf maintenance activities, including application of nitrogen-rich fertilizer or weed killers and pesticides, can leach down into the soil causing contamination to groundwater, ponds, waterways and nearby drinking water supplies. An insured may also face claims for misapplication and overapplication of pesticides and fertilizers (particularly those containing nitrogen, phosphates, nitrates, and potassium) to both nontarget and target sites. Overusing fertilizer with nitrogen can kill fish and other aquatic life, especially if an algae bloom results, or potentially cause methemoglobinemia (i.e., oxygen starvation or "Blue baby syndrome") in babies, elderly persons, and some livestock.

Airborne Pesticides and Other Chemicals

High winds can increase drift and cause the unintended application of pesticides to nontarget areas, while high temperatures and humidity can cause pesticides to evaporate. Courts have held both golf and country clubs and pesticide manufacturers liable for drift. Moreover, any chemical exposure increases the possibility of children, bystanders, or domestic animals inhaling pesticides.

Disposal of Electrical Batteries and Other Waste

Golf cart batteries have the potential to leak acid into the ground or water. The insured's disposal methods for batteries and other golf course associated waste must be in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and other regulations. In the case of pesticides, containers that were used for pesticides must be triple-rinsed and marked as such before disposal. If the triple-rinsed containers cannot be recycled or are not burnable, they may be crushed, broken, punctured, or buried in a designated disposal site (which has EPA approval) or incinerated in a specially designed, extremely high-temperature incinerator (which also must have EPA approval). Generators of waste are still liable for pollution associated with their waste even after it has been sent of for proper disposal.