Commission Pushes For More Fertilizer Regulation

HARWICH – The impact of excessive phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizer is a major concern, and the conservation commission is seeking to provide residents with education while calling for more controls on fertilizer application. 
In a Jan. 31 workshop, Conservation Commission Chair John Ketchum said fertilizer regulation has been on the table for the past several years and their impacts on the town’s environment is “a top concern.” Nutrients in fertilizers impact the health of local embayments and freshwater ponds, causing algae blooms and eutrophication, he said.
“The public doesn’t understand the issue, and what we’re doing today is educating the public,” Ketchum said. “We want people to have a very good grasp on fertilizer application.”
In last year’s annual town meeting voters rejected two petitioned articles to establish bylaws creating pesticide application restrictions and fertilizer application bylaws.
“They were not supported by our political leadership or town voters,” Ketchum said.
Resident Patrick Otton, who filed the petitions, said the measures will be on the warrant again this year.
About 25 people attended the workshop. Several representatives from landscape companies were on hand along with a few local licensed pesticide applicators.
The guest speaker was Russ Norton, extension educator with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, who presented an extensive overview on phosphorus and nitrogen management. He provided detailed science on phosphorus and nitrogen, how it is generated and its ability to travel through groundwater and enter marine and pond waters.     
Nitrogen and phosphorus can be friend and foe, said Norton. Plants can’t live without the nutrients, which are instrumental to growth, performance and yield. But as plants break down, excess nutrients can be released and lead to eutrophication of water bodies. 
A tremendous amount of phosphorus enters the soil when organics break down, he said. There is also nitrogen in the atmosphere that reaches soil through rain and snow, but the majority of the nitrogen comes from septic systems. Nutrients move from soil to water through erosion and runoff and leach into groundwater, which ends up in ponds and coastal waters. 
“It’s important to know plants’ nutritional needs, because there is no need to provide excessive nutrients because they will go offsite and add to environmental contamination,” Norton said. “It’s a tough situation on Cape Cod because only so much can be held in Cape Cod soil without it leaching.” 
  It is important to know and follow state laws and regulations on fertilizer use established by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, he said. Health Department Director Carrie Schoener said her department has guidelines available for fertilizer application.
Warren Nichols, a licensed applicator, agreed excessive fertilizer applications are not uncommon on lawns, which he said is a costly mistake. Those situations are the fault of the applicator and “there is no policing of the problem,” he said. 
“We who are licensed have to report everything we do to the state,” Nichols said. “There are those who don’t report because they are not licensed. It doesn’t go into the big picture of what’s going into the ground.”
Bob Kingsbury of Harwich Port Golf Course, a licensed applicator, said a license is not required to apply fertilizers in Harwich.  Homeowners do not have to comply with regulations or file reports, added Nichols.  
Licensed applicators “put down the right amount at the right time as required by the license,” Kingsbury said. “The town needs to incorporate their own rules. I’m not saying ban, just regulate in the town. If a cop doesn’t stop you for speeding, you are still going to speed.”
Ketchum agreed, adding that anyone applying fertilizer should be registering with the town, and the town should expect a report at the end of the year.
“I wholeheartedly support reporting,” said Diane DiGennaro of the Garden Club of Harwich. “People say all we need is education. That’s a way of saying we don’t need to be regulated.”
Norton said some towns adopt regulations and others require licensing, but he does not have data on the success of those programs. Nichols said Nantucket requires every applicant to be licensed. 
“We are not going to have that conversation today,” responded Ketchum.  
Doing nothing can lead to shellfish areas being closed, and the town has spent a lot of tax dollars treating algae blooms with alum in Long Pond, Hinckley Pond and Skinnequit Pond.
It’s up to property owners to have an impact, said Norton.
“Everyone should be asking what are the minimum nutrients I need to manage my landscape, instead of saying ‘make my landscape pretty’,” said Otton.
Licensed applicators at the workshop said they would be happy to work with the commission to put fertilizer application regulations and licensing provisions in place.
Usowski also referred residents to a Cape Cod Freshwater Buffer Guidance document by the Cape Cod Commission that addresses best practices for planting plans, alternatives to lawns, and low maintenance options that will help improve conditions in these ponds.
The conservation commission will be scheduling another workshop in the near future focusing on ways of improving water quality.