Bill Text: FL S1716 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Fertilizers
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Agriculture [S1716 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1716-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1716 By Senator Bracy 11-01391-19 20191716__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to fertilizers; amending s. 403.9336, 3 F.S.; providing legislative intent regarding the use 4 of specified slow-release fertilizers in helping 5 control water pollution and enhancing overall water 6 quality; amending s. 403.9337, F.S.; requiring, rather 7 than encouraging, county and municipal governments to 8 adopt and enforce the Model Ordinance for Florida 9 Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes; 10 specifying that county and municipal governments must 11 require the use of specified slow-release fertilizers; 12 defining the term “estuary runoff area”; providing 13 additional requirements for counties and 14 municipalities within estuary runoff areas; 15 authorizing county and municipal governments to adopt 16 additional standards if certain criteria are met; 17 providing an effective date. 18 19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20 21 Section 1. Section 403.9336, Florida Statutes, is amended 22 to read: 23 403.9336 Legislative findings and intent.— 24 (1) The Legislature finds that: 25 (a) Nitrogen pollution has become a problem due to the 26 volume of fertilizers applied to residential lawns. Fertilizers 27 applied during the summer rainy season cause nitrogen to wash 28 into the waterways and cause additional pollution and harm to 29 the marine animals within those waters. 30 (b) The use of fertilizers that contain a slow-release 31 nitrogen component will help control water pollution and enhance 32 overall water quality. 33 (c) The implementation of the Model Ordinance for Florida 34 Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes (2015)(2008), which35was developed by the department in conjunction with the Consumer36Fertilizer Task Force, the Department of Agriculture and37Consumer Services, and the University of Florida Institute of38Food and Agricultural Sciences,will assist in protecting the 39 quality of Florida’ssurfacewaterand groundwaterresources. 40 (d)The Legislature further finds thatLocal conditions, 41 including variations in the types and quality of water bodies, 42 site-specific soils and geology, and urban or rural densities 43 and characteristics, may necessitate the implementation of 44additional or morestringent fertilizer management practices at 45 the local government level. 46 (2) Therefore, the Legislature intends to increase the 47 quality of Florida’s water resources through the use of the 48 Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban 49 Landscapes (2015) and the application of fertilizers that 50 contain a slow-release nitrogen component. 51 Section 2. Section 403.9337, Florida Statutes, is amended 52 to read: 53 403.9337 Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer 54 Use on Urban Landscapes.— 55 (1) EachAllcounty and municipal governmentgovernments56 shallare encouraged toadopt and enforce the Model Ordinance 57 for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes (2015) 58or an equivalent requirement as a mechanism for protecting local59surface and groundwater quality. 60 (2) Each county and municipal government shall require the 61 use of fertilizers that contain at least a 50-percent slow 62 release nitrogen component for residential lawn use. 63 (3)(a) In addition, each county and municipal government 64 within an estuary runoff area shall implement and enforce a lawn 65 fertilizing holiday to ban the application of fertilizers on 66 established residential lawns from June 1 through September 30 67 annually. Each such government may develop criteria to be used 68 in determining which lawns are considered established. For 69 purposes of this section, the term “estuary runoff area” means 70 any part of a county or municipality where stormwater runoff 71 flows to an estuary, as defined in s. 373.403. 72 (b) Each county and municipal government within an estuary 73 runoff area shall identify setbacks from water bodies within 74 those areas and shall prohibit the application of fertilizers on 75 residential lawns within those setbacks. 76 (4)Each county and municipal government located within the77watershed of a water body or water segment that is listed as78impaired by nutrients pursuant to s. 403.067, shall, at a79minimum, adopt the department’s Model Ordinance for Florida80Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes.A county or 81 municipallocalgovernment may adopt additionalor more82 stringent standardsthan the model ordinanceif the following 83 criteria are met: 84 (a) The county or municipallocalgovernment has 85 demonstrated, as part of a comprehensive program to address86nonpoint sources of nutrient pollution which is science-based,87and economically and technically feasible,thatadditional or88 more stringent standardsthan the model ordinanceare necessary 89in ordertoadequatelyaddress urban fertilizer contributions to 90 nonpoint source nutrient loading to a water body. 91 (b) The county or municipallocalgovernment documents that 92 it has considered all relevant scientific information, including93inputfrom the department, the institute, the Department of 94 Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the University of Florida 95 Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, if provided, on the 96 need for additional or more stringent provisions to address 97 fertilizer use as a contributor to water quality degradation. 98 All documentation must becomepart of thepublic record before 99 adoption of the additional or more stringent criteria. 100(3)Any county or municipal government that adopted its own101fertilizer use ordinance before January 1, 2009, is exempt from102this section. Ordinances adopted or amended on or after January1031, 2009, must substantively conform to the most recent version104of the model fertilizer ordinance and are subject to subsections105(1) and (2), as applicable.106 (5)(4)This section does not apply to the use of fertilizer 107 on farm operations as defined in s. 823.14 or on lands 108 classified as agricultural lands pursuant to s. 193.461. 109 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.