Miami Beach says it has ‘strongest’ fertilizer ban in Florida. Will county follow?
Spurred into action by the August fish kill in Biscayne Bay, the city of Miami Beach this month became the latest Florida municipality to ban the use of fertilizers during the rainy season and near waterways. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who represents some Beach residents, will propose a similar law in March.
Elected leaders and environmental activists view the restrictions as a way to limit over-fertilization, which can lead to nutrient runoff and water pollution. But just like the more than 100 other Florida municipalities that have passed similar laws, the Miami Beach ban won’t restrict the use of fertilizers on golf courses.
Higgins, who has yet to release details of her proposal, said she has already faced “push back” from the golf industry for considering further restrictions. She said she may propose tougher measures on county-run golf courses to show the industry that the grounds remain “great to play on.”
“We must take all necessary action to protect the bay, and a strong fertilizer ordinance is a crucial first step,” Higgins said in a statement Friday. “Every stakeholder and advocate I’ve spoken to recognizes the importance of getting this right and protecting the lifeblood of our community, our bay. I believe this ordinance will set a strong example for our state.”
The Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association, an industry trade group for golf course management, opposes fertilizer restrictions on its grounds and has lobbied local governments against passing tougher laws. Miami-Dade municipalities that restrict the use of fertilizer include Miami, Key Biscayne, North Bay Village and West Miami.
Jennifer Bryan, the group’s executive director, said in a statement that the use of fertilizer on golf courses has “virtually zero impact” on water pollution. She said golf courses are fertilized at “extremely low rates but on a more frequent basis.”
“These low rates are applied on a weekly to bi-weekly basis to maintain optimal growth during the growing season,” Bryan said. “These low application rates have virtually zero impact on nutrient runoff or leaching that could possibly contaminate surface and ground water.”
Rainy season fertilizer restrictions
Miami Beach’s fertilizer ban, which the City Commission passed Jan. 13, prohibits the use of fertilizers from June to November and at all times within 20 feet of waterways and storm drains. The law, which carries a minimum fine of $150 for first offenses, requires commercial landscapers to complete a six-hour training program by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection every five years.
Golf courses, athletic fields and the high-impact areas of public parks are exempt from the law’s most restrictive components. But the city will require fertilizer-use reports and run periodic soil nutrient tests to track nutrient levels over time. Any future development at golf courses or parks, which involves redoing at least 50% of the property, must also now include a 10-foot-tall maintenance buffer near waterways or storm drains.
Commissioner Michael Góngora, who sponsored the proposal, said the city will track fertilizer use and water quality data near golf courses to “see if additional policy changes are necessary.”
“This ordinance is the strongest in the state of Florida,” he said in a statement.
During the Jan. 13 meeting, Commissioner Ricky Arriola said it was “a shame” that the law exempted golf courses.
“I would very much like to include golf courses,” he said.
Do fertilizer bans work?
In 2007, the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association partnered with the FDEP and the University of Florida to publish a manual of recommendations for safely maintaining golf courses. The manual, titled “Best Management Practices for the Enhancement of Environmental Quality on Florida Golf Courses,” comes with a UF certification program for course superintendents.
In the manual, the authors provide fertilizer application caps and write that “excessive and unnecessary fertilization should be avoided to prevent water contamination and the possible penalties faced by those deemed to be the source of water pollution.
UF environmental horticulture professor J. Bryan Unruh, a golf course management expert who helped launch the manual nationwide, said municipal fertilizer bans are “not based on science” and following the state’s best practices would limit water pollution.
“Golf course superintendents are highly trained individuals,” he said.
The Miami Beach Golf Course and Normandy Shores Golf Course, which are owned by the city but managed by a private company, follow the state’s best management practices already, a city spokeswoman said.
Unruh said local fertilizer bans give elected leaders a “false sense of security.” He cited research conducted last year in Sarasota and Satellite Beach that suggests fertilizer bans did not prevent nutrient runoff.
One of the studies, conducted by UF researchers, attempted to assess the effectiveness of fertilizer black-out periods in single-family neighborhoods. They found “no statistical reduction in the nutrient concentration of lawn runoff from either landscape design or the implementation of a fertilizer blackout ordinance.”
Mary Lusk, an assistant professor of urban soil and water quality at UF, co-authored the study and wrote in an email Friday that the research showed “no one approach to nutrient management is a magic bullet.”
“The science doesn’t support the blackouts,” Unruh said.
Rachel Silverstein, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Miami Waterkeeper, said “anything we can do to limit fertilizer use and to reduce nutrients getting into the bay is going to help water quality.”
“What we really want is for the golf industry to be a part of the conversation,” she said. “I think there are improvements that can be made without degrading the golf courses.”
Risk to golf industry
Strict restrictions on golf courses could “negatively impact” the golf industry in Florida, which drives property values and tax revenue, said Bryan of the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association in a Dec. 21 email to Miami Beach commissioners.
“This exemption will allow golf courses in Florida to remain a viable employer, contribute to the tax base and provide habitat for local wildlife,” Bryan wrote.
Cris Costello, a senior organizing manager with the Sierra Club, said the golf industry “cannot expect a free pass.”
“Getting an ordinance passed to tackle golf course nutrient pollution will be a new endeavor that requires a different set of provisions and standards along with bold leadership at the local government level to make it happen,” she wrote in an email. “It will also take understanding from the golf course industry that they cannot expect a free pass when everyone else is already doing their part.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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