The Charlotte County, Fla., Commission voted 7-1 on March 19 for regulations to restrict the application of fertilizers near waterways, joining several other counties passing similar ordinances in the state, according to local media reports. Charlotte’s ordinance, which is somewhat less strict than one passed by nearby Sarasota County last year, limits the amount of fertilizer that can be used and requires greater use of timed-release products.
The county rejected an initial setback of 10 feet from water, however, and replaced that with a three-foot setback if a curtain is used. In addition, it dropped a prohibition against using fertilizers from June until the end of September, which is the rainy season in Florida. Lawn care operations must also become certified through a training course, which will cost $25 per class.
Fertilizers flowing into waterways in the state have increased algae blooms and, possibly, red tide, which can be deadly to marine life and disastrous for the tourist business.
More aggressive measures were announced in Manitoba last week. Beginning next year, farmers in the province will no longer be allowed to apply fertilizers near rivers, lakes, wetlands, streams, or drains. After nearly five years of deliberation on the issue, the provincial government on March 18 announced new regulations that will apply to farms, wastewater treatment plants, golf courses, parks, and homeowners.
The regulations, many of which will start in January 2009, divide the province into water quality management zones, each with their own set of fertilizer limits that farmers must follow using soil tests. Common to all zones is the establishment of a buffer zone of at least three meters along all waterways in the province, within which farmers, homeowners, and groundskeepers will no longer be allowed to apply fertilizers. The buffer zone will be 15 meters along rivers deemed by the government’s water protection plan as “vulnerable” that are also drinking water sources, including the Red and Assiniboine rivers, as well as along lakes not considered vulnerable. Around vulnerable lakes and reservoirs, including Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, the buffer will be 30 meters. For areas not covered in permanent vegetation, the buffer zones increase to 8 meters along all waterways, 20 meters along vulnerable streams, rivers, and creeks, as well as all lakes, and 35 meters along vulnerable lakes and reservoirs.
The regulations will also block the siting of confined livestock operations, manure storage pits, outhouses without a composting pit or holding tank, and sewage and wastewater treatment facilities in the buffer zones or in specified water quality management zones. In addition, the regulations will prohibit the city of Winnipeg from spreading city sewage sludge on fields during the winter months after 2010, and will prohibit golf courses from using any fertilizer unless soil tests prove that the nutrients are needed. The regulation also puts new limits on development of septic fields, manure storage facilities, and sewage treatment plants in areas labeled as environmentally sensitive.
“Along with livestock and grain producers, other Manitobans such as cottagers and golf course owners will have clear regulations to guide how nutrients can be applied to land to better protect water quality,” provincial Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said.
The regulations, along with an earlier move by the provincial government banning new or expanded hog operations in Manitoba’s southeast, Interlake, and Red River Valley regions, have drawn criticism from a coalition of agricultural groups, including The Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) and Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).
“This is completely unfair to farm families who are already working hard to protect the environment by following all of the provincial regulations and guidelines,” said MPC chairman Karl Kynoch. Added KAP President Ian Wishart, “This ban not only puts one of Manitoba’s agricultural sectors in jeopardy, (it) is a threat to all of us in agriculture.”
Melnick said further restrictions will be announced for the use of lawn fertilizers later this spring. Earlier this year, Manitoba became the first Canadian province to ban application of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus in residential areas (GM Jan. 7, p. 14).
There are also restrictions coming over the next few years on the application of nitrogen and phosphorus to all types of land in the province, local reports said. Specific limits on N and P will depend on whether the area is high-yield farmland, grazing pasture, or urban, however.