Annapolis, Md.-Residents, businesses, and others caught in the record wintry onslaught in the east are being warned never to use fertilizer to melt snow because it can add unnecessary nitrogen and phosphorus to waterways. This message was directed particularly at Maryland, where Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance put out this advisory: “We have seen recent news reports advising residents to use fertilizer as an option to melt snow. Fertilizer should never be used as it will add unnecessary nutrients and risk damage to the Chesapeake Bay. We all have to do our part to help the Bay. Farmers don’t apply nutrients on frozen ground; neither should urban and suburban residents.” Hance noted that the University of Maryland Extension offers a fact sheet to help residents decide which type of product may be most appropriate for their needs. The fact sheet also identifies methods to melt snow without de-icing products, ways to avoid damage to plants, and whether products are corrosive. There are also new, more environmentally friendly products on the market to consider, such as sugar beet molasses, known as Ice Bite, which the State Highway Administration plans to test on state roads this winter. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also weighed in on the issue by strongly discouraging using lawn fertilizer or deicers containing urea to melt ice, particularly near or on hard surfaces, because of the increase in runoff potential. The foundation emphasized that fertilizer and urea contain nitrogen and most fertilizers also contain phosphorus, both chief pollutants of the Chesapeake and the local creeks and rivers that feed the Bay.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain