Phosphorus lawn fertilizer bill passes Senate unanimously: awaits Governor's signature to become law

Released 3/27/09

Contact Tami Jackson (608) 661-4313, lakeinfo@wisconsinlakes.org) www.wisconsinlakes.org

If you are one of the many Wisconsin citizens who head out to the lake to enjoy good fishing, swimming, touring the water on your favorite boat, or just getting away from it all, our waters promise to be a little cleaner.

The state Senate has unanimously passed the Clean Lakes Bill (AB 3), which will prohibit the display, sale, and use of lawn fertilizer containing phosphorus, with certain reasonable exceptions.

This bill enjoys widespread, bi-partisan support, and is the culmination of several years of advocacy work by the Wisconsin Association of Lakes.

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes member lake associations, lake districts, and concerned citizens from across the state worked together to advance this bill, which is modeled after Dane County's existing and successful county ordinance.

The result is a significant step forward in the efforts to curb the avalanche of nutrients that pollute our public lakes.

Many Wisconsin Association of Lakes members have been working for years to develop phosphorus free lawn fertilizer programs on a lake by lake basis, asking retailers to stock phosphorus free fertilizer, and working with their town, village, or city governments to pass local phosphorus ordinances. But local efforts—while widespread across the state—were not enough.

Nutrients like phosphorus—a common ingredient in lawn fertilizer—are degrading 90% of Wisconsin’s inland lakes. Plants don’t absorb more phosphorus than they can use, and excess phosphorus from lawns washes directly into our lakes and streams, causing smelly algae blooms, fish kills, and declining water quality.

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes would like to thank bill authors Rep. Spencer Black, Rep. Garey Bies, Sen. Mark Miller, and Sen. Robert Cowles for their leadership, and all of our legislators who have shown such strong, bi-partisan support for improving water quality. Passage of this bill has made Wisconsin a national leader and a model for other states.

We look forward to the Governor signing this bill into law.

“Using phosphorus free lawn fertilizer is a common easy way everyone can contribute to better water quality—regardless of where they live. It’s community service for our lakes,” says Earl Cook, Wisconsin Association of Lakes President.