Stronger Fertilizer Ordinances Needed

By Kelly McNab, Conservancy environmental planning specialist

Nutrient pollution from fertilizer, whether it be residential or agriculture runoff or leaky septic systems or inadequately treated sewage, is the most prevalent water quality problem in our area. It’s the basis for these harmful algal blooms that we see. Right now there is an opportunity to improve fertilizer ordinances and help reduce nutrient pollution.

Collier County Board of County Commissioners held a joint workshop with the local cities on February 5th to discuss strengthening local residential fertilizer ordinances. Representatives from the County, City of Naples, and the City of Marco Island listened to presentations and public comments regarding ways to strengthen local residential fertilizer ordinances to address our water quality problems in Southwest Florida. County and City staff offered several good recommendations on how to improve their ordinances; however, these recommendations do not go far enough to ensure protection of our vital water resources. Staff’s recommendations did not include two critical components of a strong fertilizer ordinance: a rainy season ban on the application of fertilizer and a 4lbs. cap on the amount of nitrogen that can be applied to turf grass.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida gave public comment regarding our suggestions for a stringent fertilizer ordinance that includes the two critical components. Minimizing nutrient pollution on lawns is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to reduce pollution in our waterways. Of the 20 registered speakers, at least 15 spoke in support of a more stringent ordinance.

As the City of Marco Island already has the two critical components in their fertilizer ordinance, the Conservancy encouraged their officials to retain the ordinance they adopted in 2016 and to focus on enforcement and education efforts. We also encouraged City of Naples to revert back to their once stringent ordinance they had in place for nine years that included a rainy season blackout period.

There were three positive outcomes that emerged from the workshop.

• First, the County assured the cities that they would not compel them to adopt a county-wide ordinance that may not include these protective elements. This is important because every municipality should be able to adopt more stringent standards if desired.
• Second, Marco Island councilmembers made it clear they support their restrictive ordinance and instead of regressing on their protections, they want to focus on better enforcement.
• Third, Naples Code Enforcement, when asked, shared that the previous city ordinance with the blackout period was very easy to enforce. Even more interestingly, the Code Enforcement representative stated that he has not even tried to enforce the current weaker ordinance because it is too difficult to understand. We hope this will mean that Naples and Collier County will make progress in addressing nutrient pollution through sufficiently-protective fertilizer ordinances, education, and enforcement.

What are the next steps?

The Conservancy expects that each city and the County will to bring this issue forward in future workshops. They are then likely vote to either update or keep their fertilizer ordinance the same.

The Conservancy will continue to monitor this issue and advocate for stringent fertilizer ordinances to protect our water resources.

You can be part of the solution. Click here to learn more about this issue.