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New Law Will Protect Baywater Quality
Originally published in the 2009 May 28 edition of The
Wantagh-Seaford Citizen. A new law forbidding the application of fertilizers on lawns and golf courses between November 15 and April 1 each year passed the Nassau County Legislature on May 18. The law, sponsored by Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) Chairman of the Legislature’s Planning, Development and Environment Committee, goes into effect in 60 days, forbidding the use of fertilizers after November 15 of this year. Fertilizing will resume on April 2, 2010.
“The law is one of several pieces of legislation that addresses the issues of nonpoint source pollution in order to help protect the quality of our water,” said Legislator Denenberg. Nonpoint source pollution generally results from stormwater runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage seepage and modifications to the waterways. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has identified polluted stormwater runoff as one of the primary pollutants in the South Shore Estuary – the coastal areas of bays, tidal marshes, mud and sand flats that grace the South Shore of Long Island. “We know that we must address what we put on our lawns and in the streets to clean up our water. This legislation will help to minimize nitrogen leachate to groundwater and surface waters and minimize hazards to our drinking water and our health,” said Mr. Denenberg. Here’s how it works. During the cold months the fertilizer you place on your lawn is not absorbed into the ground. When it rains that fertilizer, a nutrient high in nitrates, is carried into our storm drains and then out into our watershed. According to the South Shore Estuary Reserve Management Plan, “Excessive levels of nitrogen cause this over-enrichment that results in excessive algal growth. Algal blooms create low dissolved oxygen levels (hypoxia) through their nighttime respiration and gradual decomposition, threatening the health and survival of finfish and shellfish...”
“What people need to understand is that we all must take better care of the environment,” said Sig Feile, owner of Atlantic Nursery. “We have many advancements in fertilizers and we don’t encourage anyone to use ‘yesterday’s chemicals’. There are newer, better fertilizers and with timely application you can keep your lawn green.” Mr. Feile added, “the soil must be warm [when you fertilize] and must be applied along with the growing seasons thereby avoiding runoff in the wintertime. When the temperature is too cool, fertilizers don’t work.” The Neighborhood Network, an environmental advocacy group in Farmingdale, estimates that Long Islanders apply over 10 million pounds of chemicals including pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, every year to the environment. “This is all part of the county’s stormwater management plan,” said Mr. Denenberg. “This law, in conjunction with our stormwater management plan, our new filtration systems, our littering ordinances and plastic bag requirements [will] help to address stormwater contamination.” “We’re very happy about this new law,” said Rob Weltner, executive Director of Stop Polluting, Littering and Save Harbors (SPLASH) of Freeport. It makes sense. Why apply chemicals on your lawn when they won’t do you any good?” Mr. Weltner said that SPLASH is now taking water-quality samples to monitor for nitrates. “We’ll now be able to do a comparison to see how effective the law is in reducing nitrates.” What we do on the land effects the bay, Mr. Weltner reminds his neighbors. “There is an unsuspecting chain of events and we have to understand this.” |
