Is it Illegal in Louisiana to Blow Grass Clippings Into the Street?

Summertime in Louisiana means a lot of things, not the least of which is a heavy dose of yard work.

The next time you finish up the yard and just blow all of the grass clippings into the street, know that you're probably breaking the law and it could cost you thousands of dollars in fines.

Is It Illegal To Blow Grass Clippings Into The Street?

The last thing you want to do after spending a few hours cutting the grass is to spend even more time sweeping up all of the grass clippings that are in the street.

However, it's time well spent for a multitude a reasons.

Leaving the road covered in grass is a definite safety hazard.

Grass clippings on the road can become slippery when wet, posing a risk to vehicles and especially motorcycles.

In some places in Louisiana, blowing grass clippings into the street is considered a form of littering or illegal dumping, a fineable offense.

Then of coarse, Summertime means the start of Hurricane Season for Louisiana.

Clippings can clog storm drains, leading to flooding and water quality issues.

The last thing you want is to be the cause of your neighborhood's storm drains clogging causing houses to flood, right?

From lafayettela.gov -

"Grass clippings and leaves blown or swept into storm drains or into the street harms waterways and our river. Storm drains flow into coulees and into the Vermilion River. Grass clippings in the river rob valuable oxygen from our Vermilion River.
When leaf and grass clippings enter the storm drain, flooding can occur. Only rain must enter the storm drain. When anything but rain goes down the storm drain, it can become a drainage problem."

In Lafayette Parish, blowing yard clipping and leaves into the street can cost you some serious bucks.

First Offense - $250 per day, per offense.

Second Offense - $500 per day, per offense.

Third Offense and Every Offense Thereafter - $1,000 per day, per offense.

You can read more about this ordinance over at lafayettela.gov.