Message to the Assembly: “DON’T P IN THE LAKE”

Released 2/21/08 Contact Tami Jackson (lakeinfo @ wisconsinlakes.org)

The waning days of this two-year legislative session are trickling away, and so far there is not much to show for the time spent. The problem is not that there haven’t been good bills to pass; it is that the full legislature hasn’t passed any.

An important water quality bill (SB 197)—passed by the Senate with strong bi-partisan support—is a case in point. This bill would make the right fertilizer choice for lakes—phosphorus free lawn fertilizer—the default choice for consumers (with a few reasonable exceptions).

This simple, common sense bill doesn’t result in any increased costs for consumers, retailers, or taxpayers. It’s a policy that is has been working in Dane County, Minnesota, and parts of Michigan for several years. Yet despite broad public support from across the state, this bill is languishing in the Assembly Natural Resources committee.

Phosphorus runoff from lawns goes directly into surface waters, fueling smelly algae blooms and nuisance plant growth, suffocating fish, and making summertime unpleasant for property owners and recreational users on some of Wisconsin’s beautiful lakes.

The vast majority of Wisconsin’s lawns are already saturated with too much phosphorus. “Plants don’t absorb more phosphorus than they can use. When the soil is saturated with too much Phosphorus, it starts bleeding out, toward streams and lakes,” says Tami Jackson, Wisconsin Association of Lakes Communications Director.
Soil test results from across the state show phosphorus levels in residential lawns often contain five times more phosphorus than necessary for healthy lawns.

If our Assembly can’t pass the easy solutions that are already working and have widespread support, what does this say about our commitment to citizens who use our waters to fish, paddle, and enjoy?

In order for our government to do the people’s work, legislators must get to work.
It’s time the Assembly stop P’ing in the Lakes and adopt the good bill already approved by the State Senate.