Statement of Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Decision re: Phosphorus in Commercial Lawn Fertilizers

December 27, 2005
Topf Wells 608-266-9069
County Executive

This is a great decision for all the residents and visitors to Dane County and Madison who love our lakes. By each of us doing a little, we can have green lawns and blue lakes. Keeping phosphorus out of lawn fertilizer will help reduce phosphorous going into our lakes. That, in turn, will help reduce the obnoxious algae we have to deal with every summer. It sets the stage for more work to preserve and improve our lakes in ’06. For example, we are working with our farming community to stop manure run-off in our lakes and with cities and villages to treat stormwater before it reaches our lakes. The county’s attorneys worked closely with the city attorneys; they drafted and defended the ordinance superbly. Dane County Corporation Counsel Marcia MacKenze, Assistant Corporation Counsel Tracy Kuczenski, and Assistant Corporation Counsel Dave Gault (now serving in the Middle East in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps) did a great job. # # #