Ordinance banning gas-powered leaf blowers in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, takes effect

Some neighbors on the Main Line are happy about a new ordinance on gas-powered leaf blowers. A ban that started Monday in Lower Merion Township will gradually get longer over the next few years before the gas-powered leaf blowers are permanently banned. 

Landscapers and people who do lawn care do not just use them to blow leaves. 

"It goes anything from cleaning up leaves, to cleaning up the job site after we're done, to prepping a job site," Mike Mominey of E&M Outdoor Services said. 

Mominey says they're something his company cannot go without, but it may have to — or replace the gas-powered ones it uses. 

The company has recently started doing more work in Lower Merion, Mominey said. 

According to the ordinance, the fines start at $100. 

This year, you can't use gas-powered leaf-blowers from June 1 to Oct. 1.  

Next year, it's that period plus Jan. 1 to April 1.  And in 2028, it's straight from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, before the full ban begins on Jan. 1, 2029.

Lower Merion Township mentioned the noise that the leaf-blowers make in the ordinance. 

"I think with the noise and everything, yeah, it's too much," Vibe Andersen of Lower Merion said. 

The township mentioned pollution and contribution to climate change as reasons for the ban. 

"The tank of fuel isn't even a gallon of fuel and then you're going and putting 15 gallons in your car," Mominey said. 

Mominey says having to use an electric leaf-blower brings issues about finding power and charging. It may have him thinking twice about doing business in Lower Merion. 

"When a job comes up that's in Lower Merion, it's going to — the first thing that comes to mind is going to be you can't use a gas-powered leaf blower," he said.