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Orleans Supporters and Lawn-Care Industry Clash Over Local Fertilizer Restrictions
Summary
Supporters from Orleans urged home-rule authority to restrict fertilizers to protect ponds and coastline; industry groups warned the state’s nutrient-management law and MDAR-backed best practices provide a statewide framework that preempts local ordinances.
House Bill 994, a home-rule petition from Orleans seeking local control to restrict plant nutrients, prompted testimony both for and against the proposal at the committee hearing.
Michael Herman, speaking for Orleans, said the town’s water bodies have recently been closed for pollution and that excess nitrogen and phosphorus—he singled out fertilizer—are proven contributors to freshwater and coastal pollution. "Water is our most valuable environmental resource and economic asset,"…
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