Florida: "EPA Agrees To Limit Fertilizer Pollution"

"NAPLES, Fla. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to set limits on nutrient pollution blamed for turning Florida’s waters into algae-choked messes.

The agreement, which environmental groups called a major milestone, settles a lawsuit the groups filed in 2008 seeking quicker action by EPA to shore up Florida’s water quality standards.

“This will be the engine that drives restoration of Florida rivers,” said David Guest, an attorney for public interest law firm Earthjustice, which filed the lawsuit.

Too much nitrogen and phosphorus, ingredients in fertilizers and farm animal waste, trigger devastating algae blooms that can poison water supplies, kill marine life and cause human health problems."

Eric Staats reports for the Naples News August 21, 2009.