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Urban Water Quality and Fertilizer Ordinances:Avoiding Unintended Conseauences:A Review 21 a model for counties and municipalities in Florida, program,which targets the education of homeowners; especially around Tampa Bay to follow in their own and the FYN Builder&Developer program,which ordinances. does outreach to Florida's many builders and In 2007 the FDACS created the Urban Turf developers.The FFL Program educates each of these groups with print and online materials,in-person Fertilizer Rule(FDACS,2007)to help protect water workshops and trainings,Florida-Friendly Yard quality in Florida by restricting the application of N Recognitions,and continuous outreach. and P fertilizers for urban turf and lawns.The rule requires that all fertilizers less than 50 lbs.sold for The FFL Program has come increasingly into the urban turf use are labeled with only the amount of N spotlight since the July 2009 passage of SB494, and P needed to sustain healthy turf.The rule requires which determined that all commercial fertilizer the directions on any turf fertilizer label to limit the applicators in Florida must be certified in the Florida amount of N and P that can be applied in a single Green Industries Best Management Practices for application and per year.This rule was designed to Protection of Water Resources in Florida by January help guide Florida's citizens to apply fertilizers in the 1,2014;and of SB2080,which prevents homeowner urban environment at rates that sustain healthy associations from interfering with residents' turfgrass and minimize potential nonpoint source implementation of Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM pollution from nutrient movement.After reviewing practices.The FFL Program is the UF/IFAS vehicle urban landscape leaching and runoff literature reports, for delivering sound scientific information to the the Urban Fertilizer Task Force,established by the public for educational purposes,including Florida Legislature in 2008,decided not include a scientifically based fertilization practices.More restricted period(ban)in their report to the Florida information on the FFL Program can be found at: Legislature(FDACS,2008).Evans et al.(no date) http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu. from the Conservation Clinic of the University of Florida,College of Law,summarized the arguments Take-home lesson: Will fertilizer for and against BMPs or fertilizer bans.These authors restricted periods result in an suggested that bans should be considered after improvement of urban water mandated or voluntary BMPs have been tried and quality? found ineffective. The literature reviewed in sections 2 and 3 Center for Landscape Conservation and regarding urban nutrient management and water Ecology/Florida-Friendly LandscapingTo quality,and the experiences of other states shows Program that: Education programs and timely communication •Nutrient losses are negligible during the active of new research results to the stakeholders is growth period for healthy turf being fertilized extremely important in addressing urban water according to BMPs. quality issues(Heisler et al.,2008).The Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM(FFL)Program is a •Increased runoff and increased nutrient loss UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension program that may result when turfgrass is over-fertilized or educates Florida's citizens about protecting the when fertilizer is applied to unhealthy turfgrass. state's water resources and environment through sustainable landscaping practices.In conjunction •Properly fertilized turfgrass helps prevent soil with the Florida Department of Environmental erosion which moves soil and nutrients off-site. Protection(FDEP),the FFL Program operates out of .There are no scientific reports relating summer Extension offices in all 67 counties.The three-part fertilizer bans with improved water quality,but educational program is composed of the GI-BMP fertilizer control by science-based BMPs has program,which trains commercial horticulture been shown to be effective in reducing water professionals in BMPs;the FYN Homeowner pollution. 13- ��