Excess nitrates in ground and surface water is a major problem in Florida. Consequently Cris Costello of Sierra Club has been working on urban point sources in Florida since 2006 and has now expanded the area of study to North Florida. Today, Tuesday, May 16, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Sierra Club Organizer, hosted a workshop on this topic which was conducted by Cris.
Merrillee had paved the way by providing links to important documents dealing with urban fertilizer, and existing strong ordinances in Florida and also model ordinances now in effect in specific counties.
Major points within policy standards were identified and discussed keeping in mind their application in North Florida counties or municipalities. A few of these include setbacks around springs and sinks, seasonal bans, and dormancy periods.
Much ground was covered but work remains, including target identification and drafting an area-specific ordinance.
The sponsorship of this workshop was Sierra Club, as were many of the attendees, but several groups were represented, including Florida Springs Council, Ichetucknee Alliance, Florida Springs Institute and OSFR.
