Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 2546
       
       
       
       By Senator Baker
       
       
       
       
       20-01367C-10                                          20102546__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the model ordinance for fertilizer
    3         use; amending s. 403.9336, F.S.; revising a reference
    4         to the Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer
    5         Use on Urban Landscapes; amending s. 403.9337, F.S.;
    6         revising the criteria for a local government’s
    7         adoption of more stringent standards; providing an
    8         effective date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 403.9336, Florida Statutes, is amended
   13  to read:
   14         403.9336 Legislative findings.—The Legislature finds that
   15  the implementation of the Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly
   16  Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes (2009) (2008), which was
   17  developed by the department in conjunction with the Florida
   18  Consumer Fertilizer Task Force, the Department of Agriculture
   19  and Consumer Services, and the University of Florida Institute
   20  of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will assist in protecting the
   21  quality of Florida’s surface water and groundwater resources.
   22  The Legislature further finds that local conditions, including
   23  variations in the types and quality of water bodies, site
   24  specific soils and geology, and urban or rural densities and
   25  characteristics, may necessitate the implementation of
   26  additional or more stringent fertilizer management practices at
   27  the local government level.
   28         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 403.9337, Florida
   29  Statutes, is amended to read:
   30         403.9337 Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer
   31  Use on Urban Landscapes.—
   32         (2) Each county and municipal government located within the
   33  watershed of a water body or water segment that is listed as
   34  impaired by nutrients pursuant to s. 403.067, must shall, at a
   35  minimum, adopt the department’s Model Ordinance for Florida
   36  Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscapes within 6 months
   37  after being listed. For those counties that currently have a
   38  listed water body or water segment, such adoption must be
   39  completed by January 1, 2011. A local government may adopt
   40  additional or more stringent standards than the model ordinance
   41  if, before adoption, the following criteria are met:
   42         (a) The local government has implemented demonstrated, as
   43  part of a comprehensive program to address nonpoint sources of
   44  nutrient pollution and a component of that program requires
   45  which is science-based, and economically and technically
   46  feasible, that additional or more stringent standards than the
   47  model ordinance are necessary in order to adequately address
   48  urban fertilizer contributions to nonpoint source nutrient
   49  loading to a water body. A comprehensive program, adopted after
   50  January 1, 2010, must document in the public record the need for
   51  more stringent standards, including scientific documentation of
   52  the vulnerability of the waters within the local government’s
   53  jurisdiction to nutrient enrichment due to landforms, soils,
   54  hydrology, climate, or geology. The comprehensive program may
   55  include:
   56         1. Nonpoint source activities adopted as part of a basin
   57  management plan developed pursuant to s. 403.067(7);
   58         2. Adoption of Florida-friendly landscaping requirements,
   59  as provided in s. 373.185, into the local government’s
   60  development code; and
   61         3. The requirement for and enforcement of the
   62  implementation of low-impact development practices.
   63         (b) The local government documents that it has requested
   64  and considered all relevant scientific information, including
   65  input from the department, the institute, the Department of
   66  Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the University of Florida
   67  Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, if provided, on the
   68  need for additional or more stringent provisions to address
   69  fertilizer use as a contributor to water quality degradation.
   70  All documentation must become part of the public record before
   71  adoption of the additional or more stringent criteria.
   72         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.