Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is Nonpoint Source
Pollution?
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from
industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution
occurs when rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation runs over land or through the ground, picks
up pollutants throughout the watershed, and deposits them into rivers, lakes, and coastal waters or
introduces them into ground water. Imagine the path taken by a drop of rain from the time
it hits the ground to when it reaches a river, ground water, or the ocean. Any pollutant
it picks up on its journey can become part of the NPS problem. NPS pollution also includes
adverse changes to the vegetation, shape, and flow of streams and other aquatic systems.
NPS pollution is widespread because it can occur any time activities
disturb the land or water. Septic systems, urban runoff, construction, recreational
boating, agriculture, forestry, grazing, physical changes to stream channels, and habitat
degradation are all potential sources of NPS pollution. Careless or uninformed household
management also contributes to NPS pollution problems.
For pointers on how you can help prevent NPS pollution, see
the NPS Pointers Fact Sheet
Q. What is the 319 program?
Congress amended the Clean Water Act
(CWA) in 1987 to
establish the
section 319
Nonpoint Source Management Program because it recognized the need for greater federal
leadership to help focus State and local nonpoint source efforts. Under section 319,
State, Territories, and Indian Tribes receive grant money which support a wide variety of
activities including technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training,
technology transfer, demonstration projects, and monitoring to assess the success of
specific nonpoint source implementation projects.
In Florida, the program is administered by the Stormwater/Nonpoint Source Management
section of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Q. What are cattle dipping
vats?
Cattle dipping vats are concrete lined pits in the earth,
about 3 or 4 feet wide, 5 feet deep, and 25 feet long. One end has a sharp drop into the
pit, the other end is gently sloped so that the cattle could walk out. From about 1906 to
1961, about 3,500 of these vats were built and filled with strong solutions of arsenic, or
later, synthetic pesticides such as DDT and toxaphene. Most of the vats were required to
be built by state law in an attempt to eradicate the cattle fever tick, and so release the
state from a federal quarantine. State officials supervised the construction and paid for
the vats and the chemicals used in them.
Recently, the Legislature acknowledged this and released landowners from the environmental
liability associated with owning a vat. If you have a vat on your property, or know of one
nearby, call your FDEP district office or the FDEP Bureau of Waste Cleanup in Tallahassee at
(850) 245-8927.
Dipping vats may be a serious environmental hazard to people living or working nearby. The
arsenic and other pesticides may have contaminated the ground water and the soils around
the vats, and may put your family at risk.
Cattle Dipping Vats known to exist in Florida, by
County.
Q. What is IPM? (Integrated Pest Management)
Integrated Pest Management, or
IPM, is the practice of using
ALL of the tools available to reduce pest populations below an economically viable
threshold. IPM uses cultural practices such as varying planting times or irrigation
practices, crop rotation, and interplanting with plants that are naturally repellent to
the pests. It also requires cultivation of an environment friendly to beneficial organisms
such as the pest's natural enemies, like parasitic wasps, ladybugs, and birds. It includes
the use of disease and insect resistant varieties of crops, and the use of scouting before
using any active method of pest control. Chemical pesticides may be used in
IPM, but only
as really needed to keep pest populations below the economic threshold, and only after
scouting to actually determine pest populations and their stage of growth. IPM requires
meticulous record keeping to determine the effectiveness of each practice for future
decision making.
Contact your local
County Extension Agent
or independent crop consultant for more information on IPM for your needs.
Q. Are golf courses a serious
threat to our environment?
Golf courses are often singled out because they are seen as
large users of pesticides and fertilizer, and large consumers of water for irrigation.
This may or may not be true, depending on the management of the golf course. While any
human development will have some impact on the environment, steps can be taken to minimize
the adverse impact. Some golf courses have gone so far as to become urban wildlife
sanctuaries.
In the last several years many golf courses have dramatically reduced their use of
pesticides through the use of sophisticated IPM programs. Use of fertilizers has also been
reduced at most golf courses. Agrichemicals, especially pesticides, are very expensive,
and savings in this area directly impact the maintenance budget of the golf course. Many
golf courses use no water other than the rain which collects in the lakes on the course,
and others use only reclaimed water from municipal water reuse facilities.
The homes surrounding the golf courses may be a greater environmental hazard. Homeowners
are often unaware of
urban
IPM or even the basic safe practices to be followed when using fertilizers and
pesticides at home. The result is often improper and excessive use of these chemicals at
rates far higher than used on the golf course itself. Contact a
Master Gardener
with your County
Cooperative
Extension Service for more help in this area. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL
INSTRUCTIONS ON PESTICIDES.
Among the best environmental management programs available is the
Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary
Program For Golf Courses. This is a voluntary program developed by the Audubon Society
of New York State in cooperation with the
United States Golf Association.
Golfweek
Magazine published two excellent articles on the program in late 1996.
Q. Are similar Audubon
Cooperative Sanctuary Programs available to schools, businesses, or homeowners?
Yes, Audubon Cooperative
Sanctuary Programs are available
for schools, businesses, and homeowners.
FAQ for Florida Friendly Landscapes, FYN, Golf BMPs, Green Industry
BMPs, Design Standards, and Model Ordinances.
Q. What is Florida Friendly?
In plain language, Florida Friendly describes practices,
materials, or actions that help to preserve Florida’s natural
resources and protect the environment. All are based on the nine
principles: Right Plant, Right Place; Water Efficiently; Fertilize
Appropriately; Mulch; Attract Wildlife; Manage Yard Pests
Responsibly; Recycle Yard Waste; Reduce Stormwater Runoff, and
Protect the Waterfront. These practices promote the prevention of
nonpoint source pollution of surface and ground waters, water
conservation, and species diversity within the Florida landscape.
Q. What is the DEP Nonpoint Source Management section and where
does it fit?
The Nonpoint Source Management section (NPSM) administers Section
319 of the federal Clean Water Act, which addresses state Nonpoint
Source Management Programs. In addition to administering federal
grant funds, the section develops best management practices and
other educational materials and promotes educational outreach
throughout the state to all levels. The section’s scientific and
engineering staff does some of this. Our partners, such as the
University of Florida’s Center for Landscape Conservation and
Ecology, carry out other parts, often with grant funding and
technical assistance from the section.
Q. How does the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods (FYN) Program fit
in with the Golf and Green Industry BMPs, model ordinances, and the
Florida Friendly program.
All Florida Friendly programs are consistent in their message and
scientific recommendations. Academic oversight is through the UF/IFAS
Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology in Gainesville.
- The Landscape Irrigation and Florida Friendly Design
Standards were published in December, 2006 by DEP in accordance
with directives in 373.228 Florida Statutes. By law, any local
government adopting an ordinance addressing these issues must
use these standards.
- The FYN homeowner program is written for the average
homeowner with no academic or professional horticultural
training. A new edition is being published by UF/IFAS in 2008.
- The FYN Builder-developer program is an outreach effort to
change the way subdivisions and homes are landscaped when they
are originally designed and built.
- The Green Industries manual and the associated training
program is written for the worker in the lawn/landscape industry
who may work with equipment, chemicals or formulations not
readily available to the homeowner, and who works under the
supervision of, or is themselves, an experienced,
horticulturally trained professional. It was published in June
2002 by DEP, and is being revised for 2008.
- The golf course manual is comprehensive and covers all the
environmental aspects of golf course design and operation. It
was published in January 2007 by DEP.
- The model ordinances are drafted to provide sound guidance
to community planners and elected officials who may be
considering an ordinance for their community. Because the
service areas of stores, nurseries, and landscape related
businesses transcend political boundaries, consistent,
science-based regulations are necessary to avoid a hodgepodge of
confusion on the part of all concerned.
Q. What is the history of the program?
The FYN program began in the early 1990’s in the Sarasota/Tampa
Bay areas. It began as a totally voluntary educational effort under
the auspices of the National Estuary Program, and focused on very
low input landscapes. In 1994 the DEP NPSM Section began funding UF/IFAS
to expand the program to more counties, and eventually statewide,
although not all counties have continued with the program after
grant funding for startup expired. As of 2008, approximately 44 of
68 Florida counties offer at least some FYN programming. Several of
the Water Management Districts and other partners provide support
for the county programs, but the statewide office located in
Gainesville is primarily run by UF/IFAS with funding assistance from
NPSM section 319 grants.
The Golf BMPs began in 1994 to address pesticide and hazardous
material contamination and were printed in 1995. As a BMP manual, it
was limited to the subject of pollution prevention in the
maintenance shop area.
The FYN program that was started for the Indian River Lagoon area
in the mid-1990s had a special emphasis on Commercial Landscape
Industry Professionals. Also known as the CLIP program, this project
attempted to broaden the Florida Friendly audience beyond homeowners
in order to influence landscape management practices on a larger
scale. The pilot program was a success but the concept languished
for several years until 2000, when various professional landscape
maintenance groups and others approached the DEP under the umbrella
of “Green Industries” to write a BMP manual for lawn and landscape
maintenance statewide under the authority of urban BMP provisions of
the Florida Watershed Restoration Act (403.067F.S.). This was a
watershed event in the evolution of the Florida Friendly program.
At an early organizational meeting in Orlando, it was decided
that one document could not cover all audiences, and that at least
three would be required. These would be: (1) for the landscape
professional, who often uses different equipment and chemicals than
the homeowner, is horticulturally knowledgeable (or should be) and
has responsibilities as a licensed business entity; (2) for the
homeowner, who may have little or no horticultural training and may
be from another climate where practices and plant species are very
different; and (3) for golf courses, and possibly athletic fields,
which are too specialized to be addressed in either of the others
and where the management is almost always by degreed horticultural
professionals.
Subsequently, it was decided that the FYN Handbook would become
the homeowner BMP manual for all Florida yards, but that it would
have to become more inclusive in that all types of yards, not just
very low impact yards, would have to be addressed in the book. The
focus of the FYN program continues to be minimizing environmental
impact, but the audience now includes those desiring high-end
landscapes and typical suburban landscapes. Whatever type of
landscape you have, or choose in the future; the FYN Handbook will
guide you in maintaining it in the most environmentally responsible
manner.
The Green Industries manual is focused on the professional, with
detailed discussions of fertilizer chemistry, irrigation systems,
pesticide licensing, storage, selection, and handling, landscape
design and installation, etc. It should be noted that the Green
Industries manual and the FYN handbook are consistent in their
recommendations of irrigation and fertilizer application rates, only
the level of detail is different and customized to the audience.
Q. Why do the Green Industry BMPs allow as little as 3 feet of
buffer for fertilizer application? Some think 10, 15, or even 50 feet is
more appropriate.
The “Ring of Responsibility” for fertilizer applicators is not
based on the attenuation of landscape pollution, like a filter strip
or riparian buffer. Rather, it is to prevent directly applying
fertilizer to water bodies when operating near a bank or shoreline.
A rotary broadcast fertilizer spreader can throw a particle about
5-7 feet out to the side. Professional spreaders, and a few
homeowner types, have a deflector shield that can be set to block
off one side, providing a knife-like edge to the fertilizer pattern.
Three feet was considered by the BMP committee to be a minimum
margin of safety to avoid deposition in the water. This is expanded
to 10 feet if a deflector shield is not used because a 7-foot throw
would still be 3 feet from the edge. Since many homes in South
Florida have 30 feet or less of back yard facing a canal, this can
be very limiting.
Larger buffers to address pollutant attenuation are strongly
encouraged, but they are not considered the responsibility of a
landscape worker, who is paid to care for a homeowner’s lawn that is
allowed by local laws to extend to the water’s edge. Rather, the
responsibility for these buffers lies within the land development
code, which may contain riparian buffer requirements of 15 to 150
feet from the edge of the water, depending on soil types, slope,
pollution threat, and other factors. Unfortunately, many land
development codes do not have any buffer requirements and allow
lawns or developed landscapes to extend to the water’s edge.
Q. Why do the Florida Friendly guidelines say to apply only ½ lb.
/1000ft2 of quick release fertilizer, but the state fertilizer rule
allows 0.7 lb./1000ft2?
As of early 2008,
- The manuals recommend a maximum application of 0.5 lb.N/1000ft2
as quick-release nitrogen.
- Up to 1 lb/1000ft2 total N is permitted if using at least
30% slow release fertilizer.
- However, if 1.0 lb/1000ft2 total nitrogen is applied using a
30% slow release product, the actual amount of quick-release N
is 0.7 lb/1000ft2.
This trade-off was negotiated in 2001 while developing the Green
Industries BMP manual, in order to promote the use of slow-release
products. By law, BMPs must be feasible. At the time, most of the
products available were 30%-50% slow release. On the other hand, the
label rule is a legal limit. The 0.7 limit in the rule allows the
manufacturer to recommend 1.0 lb/1000ft2 of materials with as little
as 30% in slow release form.
Q. What is the purpose of the 6 foot no-mow zone in the 2003 model
ordinance?
When putting together the original “strawman” ordinance for the
working group, many ordinances and clauses were gathered from all
around the nation. Unfortunately, DEP staff has never found the
original source again. The oldest version we found also prohibited
mowed grass on greater than 4:1 slopes, and it is thought to have
been a mowing safety issue to prevent tipping of mower and operator
into the water. It seemed like a good setback at the time to also
act as a “trash catcher”, and nobody on the working group spoke up
to change it or take it out.
Q. Why are the professional manuals less enthusiastic about
promoting slow release fertilizer as compared to the FYN homeowner
manual?
Slow release is more forgiving of error in application, but also
more expensive. To an individual, this increased cost is minor, but
to a large company it can mean tens of thousands of dollars. By law,
BMPs must be economically and technically feasible. The ½
lb-N/1000ft2 limit on quick release application in the BMP ensures
that large amounts are not applied at one time, which might pose a
serious leaching or runoff hazard. There are times when a shot of
quick release is just the thing, such as recovering from pest damage
or wear injury. In general, the quick vs. slow release decision is
left to the professional judgment of the BMP-trained applicator. DEP
underwrites and strongly promotes the BMP training program to help
professionals make the best possible decisions.
Nonpoint Source
Management Program
2600 Blair Stone Road Mail Station 3570
Tallahassee, FL, 32399-2400
Phone (850) 245-7508
