Media Release

February 20, 2009

3:45 p.m.

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL - The Alachua County Environmental Protection Department (ACEPD) is holding a public meeting to discuss the development of a landscape fertilization ordinance for Alachua County. The meeting is on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Alachua County Health Department at 224 SE 24th Street, Gainesville.

The purpose of a landscape fertilization ordinance is to reduce the impact of nutrients from the application of fertilizer, on Alachua County's surface and groundwater. The meeting begins with a short presentation that includes information about the model ordinance developed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Fertilizer Task Force. Included in the presentation are sample ordinances from other counties and municipalities.

The proposed ordinance, if adopted, is an addition to the Water Quality Code and implemented Countywide. The ordinance includes standards for:

• Timing of fertilizer application
• Training and licensing requirements
• Fertilizer application rates 
• Fertilizer-free zones

Exemptions are proposed for golf courses and athletic fields (following best management practices), bona fide farm operations as defined in the Florida Right to Farm Act (Section 823.14), vegetable gardens, edible fruit and nut trees, and turf or landscape plants that have received damage.

For more information, contact Gus Olmos at 352-264-6806 or gus@alachuacounty.us