Two lawmakers seek state ban on phosphorus in fertilizer

WISCONSIN – Two state lawmakers want to ban phosphorus in fertilizer, a move they say will be the first step of “an ambitious environmental agenda” for the new legislative session.

The proposal by Rep. Spencer Black, chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. Mark Miller, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Environment, would ban phosphates from lawn fertilizer, which makes up for about half the phosphates that pour into the Dane County lakes, Black said. Fertilizer for agricultural production would be exempt.

Currently only Door and Dane counties ban phosphates in lawn fertilizer.

Black said the measure would be one of many to cut down on lake pollution.

The Capital Times