Environmental protection

A person who uses fertilizer must store, handle and apply the fertilizer in a manner that protects forest resources.

No fertilizer application zone

A 10-metre "no fertilizer application zone" or buffer zone should be left around the following water bodies:

a fisheries lake
any designated fishery stream (S1-S4)*
a stream that can be identified, on a pre-flight inspection, as one observable as open water that flows into any designated fishery stream (S5, S6).*

* Riparian classes are defined in Part 10 of the Operational Planning Regulation.

A typical swath width for helicopter aerial fertilization is approximately 60 m. Fertilizer is spread 30 m on each side of the helicopter. In this case a flight parallel to the water body should have the helicopter 40 m away to maintain a 10-metre buffer strip.

In community watersheds the following buffers are required:

10 m around a flowing stream that is observable from the air
100 m upstream and upslope of a community watershed intake.

Storage and handling of fertilizer

A material safety data sheet for each type of fertilizer should be reviewed by all personnel involved in the fertilization project. These sheets must be kept on site. The data sheet lists preventive and corrective measures for storage and worker safety.

Storage

Forest grade urea is not a controlled product under WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Material Information System) or regulated for rail or road transportation. Because of its solubility in water, however, urea must be stored in dry containers and protected from moisture. Urea is hydrophilic and moisture will make the product go lumpy.

Security of a storage area is important to prevent cattle and wildlife from consuming urea, preventing unauthorized removal of fertilizer, and protecting equipment from vandalism. A night watchman or other method of security, such as fencing may be used.

Contingency plan

Prior to commencement of projects, a contingency plan must be in place, in case of accidental spills of fertilizer.

For areas inside community watersheds the contingency plan must include measures to ensure that water quality is maintained. The contents of the plan include, but are not limited to, the following guidelines:

names and telephone numbers of emergency
plan for an alternate water supply until levels return to normal. The need for alternate supplies will be determined by the medical health officer
water quality monitoring program to document water quality returning to background, or to a level acceptable by the Ministry of Health
accident clean up procedures, including remediation of the site and disposal of spill material.

The spill contingency plan should be carried in designated vehicles.

Protection of water resource

Nutrients from forest fertilizer applications can enter water bodies through leaching, runoff, or directly when fertilizers are applied aerially. Sensitive areas are protected using buffers and limiting the area receiving the fertilizer treatment.

Community watersheds

Up to 30% of a community watershed can normally be fertilized in any 12-month period. If buffer zones cannot be maintained around at least 75% of the total length of flowing streams then a maximum of 12% of the watershed can be fertilized in a 12-month period.

Do not fertilize in community watersheds if waterbodies contain high chlorophyll levels. Check waterbodies for presence of clumps or strings of periphyton (algae) attached to large stones or aquatic plants. Periphyton strings greater than 3-5 centimetres are indicative of high chlorophyll levels. Such waterbodies may exceed the chlorophyll limits for community watersheds. Sampling for chlorophyll should not be necessary if care is taken to visually assess the presence of periphyton. Sampling procedures for periphyton are contained in the Biological Sampling Manual, B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Water Quality Branch. High levels of periphyton can be caused by excess nutrients in the water or the absence of benthic organisms that feed on the algae.

Fertilization in community watersheds must ensure that

(a) the fertilizer is not applied

(i) closer than 100 m upslope of a water intake, or

(ii) within 10 m of a perennial stream that is observable from the air, at the height the fertilizer will be applied, unless otherwise authorized by both the district manager and the Minister of Health, and

(b) the application of nitrogen fertilizer does not cause

(i) nitrate nitrogen levels in a stream to exceed 10 ppm measured immediately below the area where the fertilizer is applied,

(ii) chlorophyll levels in a stream to exceed

(A) 2 micrograms/litre in a lake, or

(B) 5 milligrams/square metre in a stream, or
(iii) water quality to fall below any water quality objectives or criteria approved by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks

In community watersheds with lakes or reservoirs, do not apply fertilizer during times of rising water temperatures. Generally, do not apply fertilizer during the following periods:

May 15-September 15 (Interior: former Cariboo, Prince George, and Prince Rupert Regions)
April 15-September 15 (Interior: former Kamloops and Nelson Regions)

In addition to guidance here, special requirements are needed for fertilizer application in community watersheds. Refer to the Community Watershed Guidebook: Forest Fertilizers.

Fisheries resources

Sensitive aquatic environments that are important for supporting various life history stages of fish must be protected from the direct toxic effects of fertilizer elements (e.g., ammonia, nitrite-N), and indirect effects due to eutrophication. In extreme situations, the eutrophication resulting from excess runoff of fertilizer can lead to a reduction in critical levels of dissolved oxygen necessary to sustain aquatic life, and can cause other habitat impacts. Fisheries-sensitive areas can include fish-bearing streams, tributaries that flow into fish-bearing streams, ephemeral watercourses and flood channels, swamps, seasonally flooded depressions, lake spawning areas, or estuaries.

Protection for these sensitive areas has been provided principally through the use of 10-m buffer zones. Fisheries-sensitive areas containing significant numbers of streams that cannot be seen from the air are not appropriate for aerial fertilization. Streams which are not visible from the air cannot practically be buffered.

Cattle and wildlife

Three aspects should be considered with regard to wildlife when applying fertilizer: the availability, palatability, and inherent toxicity of the applied fertilizer. Urea applied to forest soil as pellets is available to wildlife for a period of a few hours to a few days, depending mainly on precipitation patterns after fertilization. Although small mammals and birds quickly lose interest in the urea pellets, larger wildlife and domestic cattle are attracted to it. Small doses (a few handfuls) of urea are lethal to these animals.�

In range use areas, arrange with the range resource officer to have cattle off the site during treatment. It is improbable that cattle will ingest a lethal dose from a properly spread fertilizer application within the block or from compacted surfaces such as roads or landings. However, cattle are attracted to urea and will even make holes in unopened bags. Therefore, do not leave fertilizer stores unattended on a site if cattle are expected to be in the area.

Daily clean up is required of loading sites to prevent fertilizer being ingested by animals.

Water quality sampling

Water quality sampling is required in community watersheds and should be done when fertilizing near fisheries-sensitive zones. Samples should be taken before, during, and after treatment. Guidelines for sampling and analysis are provided in http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/legsregs/fpc/fpcguide/fert/app4.htm