St. Lucie’s lagoon course changes ST. LUCIE COUNTY — In the months leading to its Jan. 7 decision to ban the use of fertilizer on landscapes during the rainy season, the St. Lucie County Commission met with several environmental groups to learn more about the issue. The group, in a 5-0 vote, approved banning the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on landscapes during the rainy season from June 1 to Sept. 30. The purpose of the fertilizer ban is to limit nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into the Indian River Lagoon to stop the algae blooms that shade and eventually kill sea grass. Passing the ban is considered a change in course from the Aug. 13 informal meeting when four commissioners — Tod Mowery, Frannie Hutchinson, Kim Johnson and Paula Lewis — rejected a push by Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky to have an immediate public hearing about a stronger fertilizer ban. Instead, the four board members, with Dzadovsky, unanimously agreed to have staff research the issue and come back at a later date with a stronger ordinance. “My hope and personal belief is I hope this is a change in course for the commission as a whole,” Dzadovsky said earlier this month. “My hope is that because of the damage to the impaired waters, the county commission is taking a sea of change.” A Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers review of the commissioners’ calendars shows they attended local rallies for the lagoon and met with members of the Sierra Club and people who helped passed stronger fertilizer bans in Vero Beach and Indian River and Martin counties. Mowery, who was chairman of the commission at the time of the Aug. 13 meeting, said the group’s lack of support wasn’t against protecting the lagoon but against not following proper procedures. Traditionally, the board doesn’t vote on issues at informal meetings. “There’s this perception that St. Lucie County didn’t want a (stronger) fertilizer ordinance and actually it was, ‘No, guys if we’re going to have a fertilizer ordinance discussion then this is how things develop,’ ” he said. “If (a commissioner) has a concern on an item, we have staff research it, have a workshop on it, set it for public hearing so to give everyone involved time to attend the meeting and talk about it.” Also, Mowery said the county’s ordinance affects only unincorporated areas, which have about 70,000 people, and not cities where about 75 percent of the county’s population resides. The Port St. Lucie City Council will vote at its February meeting on a fertilizer ban ordinance, which mirrors the county’s ordinance. Fort Pierce doesn’t have an ordinance banning the use of fertilizers, Deputy City Manager Nick Mimms said. However, the City Commission is expected to discuss the ordinance at its Feb. 10 meeting, Mimms said. “Why wouldn’t you want the county and the municipalities together saying, ‘Here’s what we’re doing for the lagoon.’ So that way, everybody would be on the same page so that we’re all clear and we’re all together,” Mowery said. John Orcutt, a member of Pelican Island Audubon Society and Audubon of Florida, and who led the charge for Indian River County and Vero Beach to pass a stronger fertilizer usage ban, agrees with Mowery. Orcutt said he doesn’t think the commission’s change in course has to do with pressure from outside groups or playing politics as two commissioners — Hutchinson and Mowery — are up for re-election this year. Instead, Orcutt said, the change has to do with commissioners “doing their due diligence” and using the time to learn more about the issue. “I got the impression that they came around because they learned more and more about the problems and about the issue,” Orcutt said. “They genuinely are looking for solutions to the problem.” Also, Orcutt said the commissioners’ ability to revisit the issue shows “good governance.” “I really think they showed some leadership to be able to make one decision and then evolve with the problem and as their knowledge base changed they showed the willingness to go a different direction,” he said. “That’s pretty special.” KEONA GARDNER ANALYSIS
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 11:42:33 +0000
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