Science vs. Emotion
Florida's Battle
ERIN WILDER
local ordinances that did not comply with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) State Model Fertilizer Ordinance. But the bill was fought by activist groups who
put pressure on the State Senator who had the House
language in his regulatory bill. The language was withdrawn in
the Senate as impassable.
Following the inability of the State Legislature to pass a statewide fertilizer ordinance, a number of local governments
adopted restrictive anti-turf fertility ordinances. The industry
is fighting these battles one by one, with as many as six city
and/or county meetings in a week.
The restrictive ordinances often include a summertime blackout period, which means that from May 30th to September
30th, no fertilizer can be applied to turf. This is what they call
“If one bag is good, two must be better!” This is what environmental activists in Florida claim many homeowners believe
when fertilizing their lawns. The fact of the matter is, it’s not
true; research shows that on average homeowners use less
than the rate recommended by the University of Florida
Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
The turf industry in Florida—as with many other areas
throughout the country—continues to promote proper turf
care. The industry is using sound science to develop and
create management practices that are best for the environment. Unfortunately, we are faced with highly-emotional and
non-scientific, restrictive anti-turf ordinances that are favored
by activist groups, who in turn promote them with state and
local governments.
Florida’s 2013 legislative session was just an early showing of
what was to come the rest of the year. We had the overwhelming support of the State House of Representatives (by a 5 to 1
margin) for an Environmental Regulation bill, which would have
created a science-based task force to conduct research over a
three year period and provide guidelines on proper urban turf
care. The bill also would have placed a moratorium on all new
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the rainy season in Florida. The belief by some is that the
possibility of excessive rain causes fertilizer leaching and
runoff, but there is no research to support this contention. In
fact, research shows that just the opposite is true. Fertilizer
applied to healthy turf will not leach or run-off.
The goal of our industry advocates who attend the hearings is
to have the local governments adopt the FDEP Model
Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Use of Fertilizer on Urban Landscape. This model ordinance recognizes the environmental
benefits of turf in the urban landscape and prohibits fertilizer
deposits on impervious surfaces, such as streets and
sidewalks, and requires deflectors on application equipment
to prevent misdirected applications. The model ordinance is
based on scientific research and was crafted to make sure that
our water and environment is best protected. The unscientific
and irrational regulations that restrict fertilizer during the
prime growing season may in turn hurt local water quality by
weakening the turf’s root structure and dense coverage.