History of the Fertilizer Regulation Act of 1998September 2001 In the fall of 1996, the mayor of Quincy, Washington contacted several government agencies about a variety of health and environmental concerns, including concerns about the recycling of hazardous wastes into fertilizer. In early March 1997, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) officials met with a small group of Quincy growers who had contacted the department about many of the same health and environmental concerns raised by the mayor of Quincy. In response to these concerns, staff from the departments of Agriculture, Ecology, and Health, and Washington State University formed a workgroup to look into the issue of recycling hazardous waste into fertilizer. The workgroup conducted a screening survey of 55 fertilizer products and compared concentrations of metals in the fertilizers with three related standards: the EPA Biosolids Rule, the Canadian sewage sludge and fertilizer regulations, and the Washington State Hazardous Waste Land Disposal Restrictions. In addition, 44 potato samples were collected in April 1997 and tested for lead and cadmium. The levels found in the potatoes were similar to previously reported U.S. average concentrations of these two metals. In its subsequent report, “Screening Survey for Metals in Fertilizers and Industrial By-Product Fertilizers in Washington State, Dec. 1997,” the workgroup recommended:
All of these recommendations were addressed through subsequent legislative or agency actions. The Seattle Times ran a series of articles in July 1997 titled “Fear in the Fields,” which addressed the practice of recycling waste into fertilizer. The articles received national attention. In August 1997, the departments of Agriculture, Ecology, and Health proposed a ten-point plan to ensure that fertilizer used in Washington did not pose a risk to human health or the environment. As part of this plan, an advisory group was established. It included representatives from the fertilizer industry, agricultural commodity producers and processors, environmental interests, county health agencies, the departments of Agriculture, Ecology, Health, and Labor and Industries and the Governor’s Office. One of the primary tasks of the group was to advise the agencies in developing legislation that would authorize the Department of Agriculture to adopt standards for heavy metals content for all fertilizer products and authorize the Department of Ecology to approve or reject fertilizers produced from industrial by-products. The advisory group met a number of times in late 1997 and, in January 1998, the agencies proposed legislation to significantly revise the state's fertilizer law. The proposed legislation generated considerable discussion throughout the legislative process. On March 18, 1998, the Fertilizer Regulation Act of 1998 was signed into law by Governor Locke and Washington became the first state in the country to adopt metals standards for fertilizer. The act adopted the Canadian standards for maximum acceptable heavy metals additions to soil. The standards limit the levels of the nine heavy metals in fertilizers – arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, lead, selenium, and zinc. The act also:
The Department of Agriculture subsequently adopted implementation rules and began registering fertilizers under the new law in July 1998. In 1999, the Fertilizer Regulation Act of 1998 was modified to address issues that were raised as the act was implemented. The amendments:
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