04-11-2001 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ramsey - Washington Metro March 27, 2001 District Representative Al Juhnke 371 State Office Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 Re: HF 1524, 1508, and 2075/SF 1555, 1565, and 1789 - Bills Limiting the use of Phosphorus in Lawn Fertilizer. Dear Representative Al Juhnke: The Ramsey - Washington Metro Watershed District is very concerned about protecting and improving the quality of our surface waters for the continued use and enjoyment of our residents and future generations. With regard to the proposed legislation, we have a number of comments that we would like you to consider. 1. Data has been collected on the content of phosphorus in soils throughout the Twin Cities. Legislation proponents state that soils in this area have high to very high phosphorus content. Our studies concur with this information. We agree that we do not need to add additional phosphorus if the soil conditions do not call for the addition of this nutrient. 2. There have been a number of studies completed to look at the relationship between the use of phosphorus fertilizer and the degradation of water quality, but there is no agreement on the study findings. This debate is captured in the two attachments, which review the discussion from last fall's workshop "Sources of Phosphorus from the Urban Landscape," held in conjunction with the Minnesota Turf and Grounds Conference. There needs to be a rigorous applied field study on this issue to resolve these scientific disagreements. The state should allocate funds, to an impartial study organization, to adequately investigate this issue. 3. In the past several years low (less than 3 %) phosphorus fertilizer has been commonly available in Twin City retail stores. The no- phosphorus fertilizer is still a rare item, but is also becoming more available. National fertilizer manufacturers have been slow to change due to their regional market considerations. We support efforts to increase the availability of phosphorus free fertilizers. 4. There have not been more than a few years of effective public education on this issue. Several communities and agencies have implemented public education programs on this issue and have made some progress at changing resident habits. A metro -wide public education program would be necessary for a major change in no- phosphorus fertilizer usage. The educational message would be the same throughout the Metro area. A metro -wide education program would be more cost effective than a similar program implemented by each city or watershed district. Page 18