Annapolis—A coalition of 20 different environmental groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, want Maryland to impose tighter rules that would further limit local farmers’ use of animal manure and biosolids for fertilizer. The coalition claims the nutrient management regulations proposed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) “fall short of what is possible and what is necessary.” Tighter regulations would include moving the wintertime ban on applying fertilizer to farm fields from 2016 to 2014. Further restrictions would keep fertilizer farther away from drainage ditches and streams in Chesapeake Bay, and tighter limits would be placed on storing phosphorus-based manure or sludge in farm fields. Spokesperson Julie Oberg responded that MDA already has met demands from environmentalist groups by revising existing nutrient management regulations. “We have spent two years developing revisions to nutrient management regulations, and we feel that the revised regulations will help strike a more even balance,” declared Oberg. Still, the coalition argues that agriculture is the largest source of Chesapeake Bay pollution, and that manure accounts for half of the runoff from Maryland farms. Farmers and local government groups are saying that the proposed rules are costly and unnecessary.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain