The industry was an active participant with the state in formulating Florida’s Urban Turf Fertilizer Rule, adopted Aug. 30 in the interest of improving water quality by reducing nitrogen by 20 to 25 percent and phosphorus by 15 percent in every bag sold to the public. “Staff or members of the Florida Fertilizer & Agrichemical Assn. (FFAA) participated in every workshop leading up to the rule adoption,” according to Mary Hartney, president and executive director. Hartney told Green Markets that turf authorities from RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) and Tru-Green and turfgrass researchers from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences provided valuable data on turf in the urban environment and ways to prevent leaching or runoff of nutrients. She noted that the rule, effective Dec. 31, gives manufacturers until July 1, 2009, to change their labels to be in compliance.
“This should allow the channels of trade to be cleared and give the industry time to make the changes, which they can do sooner than July 2009 if they so choose,” Hartney added.
The new rule, handed down by the Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Dept., requires that all fertilizer products labeled for use on urban turf, sports turf, and lawns be limited to the nitrogen and phosphorus needed for healthy turf maintenance.
“Establishing these responsible use rates will allow Florida’s citizens to continue to care for their lawns and landscapes without sacrificing water quality,” Florida’s Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole declared. “Implementation of the new fertilizer rule is vital to Florida’s continuous efforts to protect our water and will especially be beneficial to Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries’ water quality through source control. The new rule will enhance land management practices, improve water quality and protect the health of the Southeast’s largest lake and America’s Everglades.”
South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Carol Wehle added, “This rule compliments the numerous efforts that are currently underway to address excess nutrients in the Northern and Southern Everglades. We look forward to working with the Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection as we expand our efforts, integrate new technology, and achieve this important undertaking.”
Hartney explained that the industry’s involvement was driven by the desire to curb the need for municipalities and counties to adopt their own fertilizer ordinances. She noted, “Unfortunately, many are seeking to do or have done just that. So FFAA supported in this year’s Florida Legislature a temporary moratorium on county and municipal fertilizer ordinances while a consumer fertilizer task force studied the matter. The preemption language was stripped from the bill, but the task force survived.”
The 13-member task force, with Rich Martinez of The Scott’s Co. and Ron Olson with The Mosaic Co. representing the fertilizer industry, was to hold its first meeting Sept. 6 and will deliver its report to the legislature Jan. 15. The panel will be studying strategies for reducing fertilizer impacts on water quality; developing guidelines for non-agricultural fertilizer use rates, formulations, and applications; recommending methods to ensure local ordinances are based on best available data; and developing model ordinances for municipalities and counties.