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made additional changes to the Model Fertilizer Ordinance, and he is now presenting the revised <br />draft ordinance for Board approval, with the following amendments: <br />• Require the use of slow release nitrogen <br />• Prohibit Phosphorous (without soil testing) <br />• Establish a 10' separation between fertilized areas and the water bodies <br />enumerated in the Model Ordinance <br />• Exempt commercial applicators who receive certification through the Model <br />Fertilizer training programs from the additional stringent standards adopted by the <br />Board, and subject them only to the requirements consistent with the Model <br />Fertilizer Ordinance <br />Vice Chairman Davis relayed the suggestions of the Agricultural Advisory Committee <br />(AAC) regarding the proposed Ordinance and related matters: <br />• Reclassify the County in the University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food & <br />Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension Administrative District as a central sector <br />• Ensure that references to soil testing stipulate that verification of a soil or plant <br />tissue deficiency must be verified by a UF IFAS approved testing methodology <br />• Encourage the slow-release nitrogen even for those who receive certification in <br />the "Florida -Friendly Best Management Practices for Protection of Water <br />Resources by the Green Industries" fertilizer Best Management Practices (BMP's) <br />or an equivalent program <br />• Employ a horticulture agent with a stormwater background for the educational <br />component of the ordinance <br />Commissioner Zorc relayed that he has learned that many professional applicators are not <br />averse to a summer ban on fertilizer application, and he has reversed his earlier position of <br />exempting licensed applicators from several provisions in the Ordinance. <br />August 20, 2013 39 <br />OK 144 PG 217 <br />