State Committee Approves Phosphorus Ban

The Wisconsin state Assembly Natural Resources Committee has unanimously approved a bill that would ban phosphorus in lawn fertilizers.

The committee voted 15-0 to send the bill on to the full Assembly.

The measure would bar people from applying fertilizer with phosphorus to lawns, golf courses and other mowed grass. It still could be used on first-year lawns and phosphorus-poor soils.

The bill's authors say phosphorus from fertilizer run-off contributes to algae pollution in state lakes and ponds.

The bill must pass the Assembly and the Senate and get Gov. Jim Doyle's signature to become law.