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Bay County, Mich. officials are mulling a countywide ban on phosphorus lawn fertilizers. A neighboring county has already outlawed phosphorus, and landscapers say the ban should be instituted on a statewide level if it must arrive at all.
Officials say phosphorus appears to be a leading cause of the algae and muck problems that plague the Saginaw Bay.
Local landscaping company owners spoke before the County Board, encouraging commissioners to consider lobbying for a statewide ban instead of adopting a local ban.
‘’I think we’re about five degrees off, running parallel, going down the same road,’’ said Jerry Somalski, an owner of Bay Landscaping Inc. in Hampton Township.
Multiple commissioners, however, agreed with Chairman Kim Coonan that ‘’this is our bay’’ and Bay County needs to lead by example with a ban that the other 21 counties in the Saginaw Bay Watershed can follow.
Phosphorus is a nutrient found in most lawn fertilizers. A local ban could only apply to phosphorus use, not sales, because that’s regulated by the state, officials say.
Minnesota adopted a statewide ban on phosphorus in 2002, and since then has seen a large reduction in phosphorus levels in water, officials noted.
Source: The Bay City (Mich.) Times
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