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Urban Water Quality and Fertilizer Ordinances:Avoiding Unintended Consequences:A Review.... 19 cases,some states and counties have chosen the local compared to upstream sites.The ordinance not only ordinance approach as a means to locally control controlled P fertilization but also included strong urban fertilizer application(Florida Department of education programs about proper fertilizer Agriculture and Consumer Services,2007;Hartman management.The study showed a positive et al.,2008).In particular,the severe Florida red tide relationship between P reduction in the water with blooms in 2005 and 2006 precipitated local the implementation of the ordinance BMPs,but the governmental action in Florida(Hartman et al.,2008). authors acknowledged that it was impossible to determine if the controls on fertilizer solely led to the Examples of other states with fertilizer reductions in P.Other components of the overall ordinances program,such as fertilizer-management education, Minnesota enacted in 2002 the first state may have also played a role. regulation on P in urban fertilizers.This regulation The Ann Arbor ordinance and the Minnesota law prohibited P application to soils already high in P are similar to the Florida Green Industries Best content.The Minnesota Department of Agriculture Management Practices(BMPs)(FDEP,2008)and reported to the Minnesota Legislature on the the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program(FFL) effectiveness of the Minnesota Phosphorus Lawn approaches(FDEP,2009b).These best-management Fertilizer Law over the first years(Minnesota Dept. approaches control fertilizer applications through Agriculture,2007).The findings included:P-free research-based turfgrass management decisions. fertilizer had become widely available in Minnesota; 'These ordinances do not have across-the-board amount of P applied was reduced 48%;and the law blackouts of fertilizer use during the active growing created a"teachable"moment for fertilizer period.Wisconsin is seeking to manage P fertilizer in management.Also,the report pointed out that a similar manner to Minnesota.It is interesting to note additional research was needed to ensure avoidance that Dane County(Madison)is the only county of"un-intended"negative consequences of P-free allowed to pass fertilizer ordinances fertilizers on turf health and water quality. (http://wwva.wisconsinlakes.org/pressl-12-09.html). Ann Arbor,Michigan,enacted a fertilizer While other counties cannot use the ordinance ordinance controlling P fertilization(Ann Arbor, approach,the municipalities can do this.Madison, 2011).The ordinance was in conjunction with a Wisconsin,has a P ordinance addressing P loads to statewide EPA Total Maximum Daily Load Lake Mendota.Apparently Wisconsin counties and (TMDL)-driven P fertilizer reduction effort.The municipalities are interested in a statewide fertilizer ordinance went into effect in 2007.Manufactured fie. fertilizers cannot be applied prior to April 1 or after These programs in Minnesota,Wisconsin,and November 15,coinciding to the colder part of the Michigan demonstrate the potential improvements in year when the turf is not growing.P fertilizer cannot water quality by following the BMPs in the ordinance be used except where establishing new turfgrass or and implementing a strong public education program. where a soil test indicates a deficiency in soil-P. Other municipalities in the country have enacted Researchers established water quality sampling ordinances controlling fertilizer,most often P stations in the Huron River watershed in southeastern fertilizer.A brief summary is presented below: Michigan(Lehman et al.,2009). Sampling was conducted under the jurisdiction of the Ann Arbor, •Municipalities in New Jersey-- Michigan,fertilizer ordinance and upstream in a http://www.lakehopatcong.org/ordinances.htm geographic area not under the city ordinance.P --ban P fertilizer in the winter when the ground is concentrations in the water were compared for 2008 frozen and have set-backs from water bodies. data against older data collected before the ordinance They do not prevent P fertilization of newly was enacted.P concentrations in the river water were established turf. lower in 2008 compared to the period prior to the ordinance and lower for the Ann Arbor sampling sites 13 -2�