MODEL ORDINANCE FOR MANAGING FERTILIZER
APPLICATION TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY
Developed for West Bloomfield Township by Jerry Fisher of
Secrest, Wardle, Lynch, Hampton, Truex & Morley
ARTICLE II. MANUFACTURED FERTILIZERS
Sec. 14.5-11. Intent and purpose.
a) Based upon scientific studies and general knowledge, the _____________ has determined that
certain compounds containing nitrogen and phosphorus which are contained in manufactured
fertilizers, when used within the _________, enter into the ____________鈥檚 water resources,
including wetlands and watercourses, resulting in excessive and accelerated growth of algae
and aquatic plants (eutrophication) which is detrimental to such resources. Therefore, the
_________ has determined it necessary and appropriate to regulate the rate and application
of manufactured fertilizers.
b) It is the intent of this article to regulate the application of manufactured fertilizers on turf
areas and not on or in areas such as gardens, farms, or landscape amenities.
c) It is also the intent of this article to implicitly recognize that mature topsoil has sufficient
compounds such as phosphorus which occur naturally to promote adequate turf root growth.
It is the further purpose and intent of this article to require licensure of commercial and
institutional applicators of manufactured fertilizers within the ________.
Sec. 14.5-12. Definitions.
In the interpretation of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
COMMERCIAL APPLICATOR: Any individual or entity who applies manufactured fertilizer in
the ________ in exchange for money, goods, services, or other valuable consideration.
DEPARTMENT:
DIRECTOR: The director of the department.
INSTITUTIONAL APPLICATOR: Any individual or entity who applies manufactured fertilizers
for the purpose of maintaining turf areas of more than one (1) acre. Institutional applicators shall
include but shall not be limited to, owners, operators, and caretakers of golf courses, public lands,
schools, parks, religious institutions, utilities, industrial or business sites and any residential
properties maintained in condominium and/or common ownership. Owners of individual parcels
in single-family residential districts shall not be considered as institutional applicators.
MANUFACTURED FERTILIZERS: A commercially manufactured substance which enriches the
soil containing elements essential for turf growth, being primary nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium.
TURF: A covering of grass vegetation which has both aesthetic and functional benefits
maintained at a given level of management.
Sec. 14.5-13. Construction of article
This article shall be liberally construed in favor of protecting the water resources of the
________, including watercourses and wetlands.
Sec. 14.5-14. Rates and application schedule; prohibitions.
The following regulations shall apply for turf applications of manufactured fertilizers:
1) Manufactured fertilizers shall not be applied more than once every six (6) weeks or more than
five (5) times during any one (1) calendar year to any turf area.
2) Application of manufactured fertilizers shall not be permitted prior to April 1 nor after
November 15 in any year (due to the inability of frozen soil to absorb nutrients).
3) Manufactured fertilizers shall not be applied to sidewalks, streets, driveways, or other
nonturf or nonlandscaped areas unless removed within a period of two (2) hours.
4) In view of the specialized needs of golf course turf areas, the application schedules set forth
in subsection (1) above shall not apply to golf courses. Golf courses shall conform to the
permissible rates specified in subsection (5). New greens and tees on golf courses shall be
allowed a greater amount of annual rate of fertilizer than permitted permissible rates will be
exceeded is given to the department prior to or immediately following the initial application
of manufactured fertilizer to the green or tee area, which notice shall contain the intended
schedule and rates for the two year exemption period. Written notice of any changes or
deviations from the intended schedule and rates shall be given to the department.
5) Individuals who are not commercial or institutional applicators shall use their best efforts to
conform with the following rates and applications. Commercial applicators and institutional
applicators shall apply manufactured fertilizer only at the lowest rate necessary without
exceeding the maximum weight per application. Section 14.5-22 is intended to assist all
applicators in making the determination necessary to comply with these maximum rates.
a. Nitrogen (n). Element nitrogen shall be applied at the maximum of three and one-half
(3 _) pounds per one thousand (1,000) square feet of turf area per year. Single
applications of elemental nitrogen shall not exceed one (1) pound per one thousand
(1,000) square feet of turf area.
b. Phosphorus (p). Elemental phosphorus shall be applied at the maximum rate of
seven-tenths (0.7) pound per one thousand (1,000) square feet of turf area per year.
Single applications of elemental phosphorus shall not exceed one-quarter (0.25) pound
per one thousand (1,000) square feet of turf area.
c. Potassium (K). Concentration of potassium is not regulated under this article.
Sec. 14.5-15. Administrative relief.
a) All applicators desiring to apply manufactured fertilizers more frequently than permitted in
subsection 14.5-14(1) or in amounts exceeding the quantities prescribed in this article may
seek administrative relief in accordance with this section.
b) An applicator desiring to seek administrative relief under this section shall file an application
with the department of the form approved by the ________ board.
c) A soil sample or samples shall be taken from the site on which an applicator is proposing to
apply manufactured fertilizers in amounts exceeding the quantities prescribed in this article.
Such soil samples shall be taken by the director or his designee and forward to the County
Extension Service for analysis. Following completion of the analysis, the results shall be
reviewed by the director or the director鈥檚 designee.
d) Approval or denial of the application shall be determined by the director as expeditiously as
possible, but in no event later than five (5) days after receipt of the soil analysis, taking into
consideration the following criteria:
1) Anticipated environmental impact upon surrounding water resources.
2) Permeability of soils and topographic conditions of the site.
3) Conditions of stormwater management systems and ability of the system for nutrient
uptake.
4) Percentage of the site allocated to impervious surface.
5) Necessity demonstrated by the application with regard to the turf management
requirements of the site.
Sec. 14.5-16. Special regulation for wetlands and watercourses.
Manufactured fertilizers shall not be permitted within any wetland, watercourse, or fringe area as
defined in ____________. The ________ board may impose additional requirements of
prohibitions with regard to the rate, area, and applications of manufactured fertilizers for the
purpose of protecting wetlands, watercourses, and fringe areas.
(Ord. No. C-310, 搂 1(6), 4-15-91
Sec. 14.5-17. Licensure requirement and procedure.
a) All commercial and institutional applicators shall be licensed in good standing by the
________ prior to applying manufactured fertilizers on any lands in the ________.
b) A license issued under this article shall be valid until expiration, suspension, or revocation.
c) To secure a license, a commercial and/or institutional applicator shall complete and submit to
the ________ clerk a license application. Previously licensed applicators shall submit their
application shall include the following:
1) Legal and business name(s), address, telephone number and contact person of
applicant
2) Name (if applicable), address, and description of institutional applicator property,
including the use, area, and dimension of the property.
3) A copy of the applicant鈥檚 material safety data sheets (MSDS) may also be required as
park of the license application.
4) The product name or names of manufactured fertilizers to be used, including the
percentage weight and ratios of elemental nitrogen and elemental phosphorus.
5) A description of the vehicles, including trailers, which will be used by the applicator
during the license period to apply manufactured fertilizer to turf areas in the
________, which shall include to make, model, year, and weight of the vehicle; the
size of any manufactured fertilizer tanks; the vehicle identification number; the license
plate/registration number assigned by the Michigan Secretary of State and any other
registration or identification numbers assigned by other state or federal governmental
agencies.
d) Upon submission of an application to the clerk, the applicant shall pay the fee according to
the schedule established by resolution of the ________ board, which fee schedule shall be
calculated to cover the license review, issuance and periodic field inspection.
e) The clerk shall forward the completed application to the department for determination
whether the manufactured fertilizers to be used comply with the provisions of this article.
f) The application shall be approved or denied within thirty (30) days by the department, and if
approved:
1) A numbered license shall be issued, to expire on the next day immediately following
November 15.
2) A sticker or decal for each vehicle disclosed in the application under subsection ( c )
(5) shall be issued, which shall immediately be permanently affixed by the licensee tot
he inside lower left corner of each vehicle鈥檚 windshield.
g) The ________ clerk shall maintain a current list of all licensed commercial and institutional
applicators.
h) A licensee shall notify the department in writing of any changes in the information disclosed
in the license application. Additional vehicles shall not be used to apply manufactured
fertilizer to turf areas in the ________ until a sticker or decal for that vehicle has been used
and permanently affixed to the vehicle windshield as provided in subsection.
Sec. 14.5-19. Inspection and license revocation.
a) The ________, through the department and ________ enforcement officer, shall monitor for
conformance with this article and shall be permitted to conduct periodic spot checks on all
commercial and institutional applicators for such purpose.
b) Should a commercial or institutional applicator be found to be in violation of this article, the
________ board, following notice, and an opportunity of the licensee to be heard, shall have
the right to revoke a license for a period of up to one (1) year. If a commercial or institutional
applicator is found to be in violation of this article on more than one (1) occasion, in any one
(1) calendar year, the ________ board shall revoke the license of such applicator for a period
of not less than one (1) calendar year by not more than five (5) calendar years.
Sec. 14.5-21. Calculations for proper application.
In order to determine permitted rates under this article, the following calculations reference the
proper application levels per one thousand (1,000) square feet of lawn area:
1) Methodology for determining the greatest amount ( in pounds per one thousand
[1,000] square feet) of manufactured fertilizer allowable in accordance with this
article:
a) The three-number ratio given on the manufactured fertilizer bag represents the
percent ratio for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for any given
manufactured fertilizer weight.
Example: 29-3-4 mean 29% nitrogen, 3% phosphorus, and 4% potassium.
NOTE: The third number may be disregarded, since potassium is not
regulated in this article.
b) To determine the maximum amount (in pounds per one thousand [1,000]
square feet) of applied manufactured fertilizer allowed annually, divide 3.5
(the maximum amount of nitrogen allowed) by the first number in the ratio
(percent nitrogen) and then multiply by 100.
Example: 3.5 divided by 20 = 0.121
0.121 multiplied by 100 = 12.1 pounds
c) Compare the number of pounds as determined from the percent nitrogen with
the number of pounds as determined by the percent phosphorus. The smaller
weight represents the maximum amount of manufactured fertilizer that shall be
used.
Example: The sample problem above gave 12.1 pounds and 23 pounds as
the maximum quantities of manufactured fertilizer. Using 12.1 pounds of
manufactured fertilizer ensures that neither phosphorus nor nitrogen will
exceed the allowable annual application rates described in this article. If 23
pounds were used, the amount of nitrogen would exceed its limits of 3.5
pounds per one thousand (1,000) square feet of turf area.
d) To convert the maximum allowable pounds per one thousand (1,000) square
feet per year into the maximum allowable pounds per one thousand (1,000)
square feet per application, divide the pounds per year by the number of
applications per year.
Example: 12.1 pounds per year divided by 5 applications = 2.4 pounds
per 1,000 square feet per application
EXAMPLES OF MANUFACTURED FERTILIZERS SELECTIONS
Annual Application Possible Fertilizer Maximum Amount of
(lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft.) Analysis Fertilizer Allowed*
N (Nitrogen) P (Phosphorus) (lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft.)
3.5 0.7 35-7-X 10
3.5 0.3 35-3-X 10
3.4 0.3 35-3-X 10
3.3 0.4 30-4-X 11
3.5 0.4 29-3-X 12
3.4 0.5 28-4-X 12
3.4 0.4 28-3-X 12
*Numbers are rounded to the highest whole number permissible by this article.
X - Does not apply to this article.
2) Methodology for determining how many square feet of turf can be covered by a given
bag of manufactured fertilizer:
a) To determine the total pounds of nitrogen in a given bag of manufactured
fertilizer, multiply the percent ratio of nitrogen (the first number) by the total
bag weight. Then divide by 100.
Example: If you have a 12-pound bag of manufactured fertilizer with a
28-4-X ratio, the equation would be as follows:
28 multiplied by 12 = 366
366 divided by 100 = 3.36 or rounded 3.4 total pounds of nitrogen
b) To determine the total number of square feet that can be treated by the
nitrogen in the given bag of manufactured fertilizer, divided by the total
pounds of nitrogen by 3.5 (the maximum amount of nitrogen allowed). Then
multiply by 1000.
Example: 3.4 divided by 3.5 = 0.97
0.97 multiplied by 1000 = 970 square feet can be treated by nitrogen
c) To determine the total pounds of phosphorus in a given bag of manufactured
fertilizer, multiply the percent ratio of phosphorus (the second number) by
the total bag weight. Then divide by 100.
Example: 4 multiplied by 12 = 48
48 divided by 100 = 0.48 or rounded 0.5 total pounds of phosphorus
d) To determine the total number of square feet which can be treated by the
phosphorus is the given bag of manufactured fertilizer, divide the total pounds
of phosphorus by 0.7 (the maximum amount of nitrogen allowed). Then
multiply by 1000.
Example: 0.5 divided by 0.7 = 0.71
0.71 multiplied by 1000 = 710 square feet can be treated by phosphorus
e) Compare the total square feet that can be treated by the nitrogen and the total
number of feet that can be treated by the phosphorus. The larger number of
square feet represents the amount of square feet to be covered by the bag of
manufactured fertilizer. This ensures that neither the phosphorus nor the
nitrogen will exceed the limits outlined in this article.
Example: If you apply the manufactured fertilizer to 970 square feet, both
nitrogen and phosphorus fall within their minimum limits of application.
However, if you apply manufactured fertilizer to only 710 square feet, then the
nitrogen is not being applied to a large enough area (970 square feet). Therefore,
the nitrogen exceeds the limits specified in this article.
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