Rejecting calls from environmentalists, Hillsborough County backed away from a proposed ban on the sale of lawn fertilizer with nitrogen in the rainy seasons.
Instead, the county's Environmental Protection Commission, which is made up of Hillsborough County commissioners, on Thursday approved new regulations that will restrict homeowners from applying nitrogen-based fertilizer before heavy rainfalls under the new rules. The fertilizer could not be used within 10 feet of a body of water.
Farmers who use fertilizer for agricultural purposes will be exempt from the new rules.