Urea nitrate dumping possible source of lake and Hood Canal pollutionOn March 6, 2008 Howard Gilbert, Jefferson County Lake Leland resident, noticed a small piece of paper tacked to a tree in a forest near his home. It was a notice from Pope Resources, the land and timber management group, stating that they intended to aerially fertilize their Lake Leland forest unit with Urea nitrates between the dates of March 3-21, 2008.
Because of the time sensitive nature of the notice, Gilbert immediately called the Jefferson County Environmental Health Department. He left a message for Neil Harrington and then was told to called Al Latham with the Jefferson County Conservation District. Mr. Latham said he had no jurisdiction in the matter, but reassured Gilbert that chemical nitrate fertilizing was approved through the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and therefore posed no problem to the Lake Leland watershed. He suggested that Gilbert get a map of the area to be fertilized, that Gilbert test the lake for nitrates and that he call Glen Maxim with Pope Resources to discuss any further concerns. Glen Maxim returned the call to Gilbert, informing him about the methods that would be used to apply the fertilizer and that government regulations would be followed.
Gilbert shared, “My primary concern about Pope’s use of nitrates within the Lake Leland watershed was that these chemicals might increase the poison algae situation in Lake Leland and also feed into Leland Creek, connecting to the Little Quil River which leads into the already environmentally threatened Dabob Bay and Hood Canal. I was surprised to read on the notice about this planned nitrate dumping. It made me suspect that this forestry practice might be a contributing factor to the inexplicable pollution problems in Hood Canal.”
Pope Resources eventually dropped at Lake Leland the planned 440 pounds of granulated Urea per acre during a 6-hour helicopter operation. Terra Industries of Sioux City, Iowa manufactures the Urea 46-0-0 granular nitrogen fertilizer, which Pope Resources dropped and it consists of a total nitrogen content of about 46%. The primary ingredient in chemical Urea is ammonium sulfate, which is prepared commercially by reacting ammonia with sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
During the helicopter drop, Gilbert called Ross Goodwin from the Department of Natural Resources, who visited Gilbert’s home with a map of the planned operation. When Gilbert looked at the map there was no indication on it of nearby osprey, eagle or red-tailed hawk nests that have been located in the forests around the Lake Leland watershed for many years. This indicated to him a total lack of consideration, not only of the watershed, but also of the surrounding wildlife.
In the U.S. Air Force, July 2005, Proact Fact Sheet - An Environmental Resource sponsored by HQ Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence it states: “Urea, used in pellet form has a high BOD (biological oxygen demand), and is of limited effect at temperatures below 25 degrees Fahrenheit (F). Urea degrades to ammonia, which is toxic to aquatic organisms and may accelerate the growth of algal blooms. Air Force discourages the use of Urea.”
Gilbert concluded, “After researching chemical nitrates I am now even more concerned about their possible negative impact on our watersheds. In this case, the day after the Urea drop occurred and continuing into the following week, it rained hard at Lake Leland, causing all the seasonal streams that flow into the lake to swell, dissolving the Urea granules and sending these nitrates directly into the lake. I hope that citizens in Jefferson County will demand some real answers related to this practice, which I believe has probably been going on for a long time without adequate oversight and public knowledge. It is truly ironic when residents are asked to stop fertilizing their lawns, that forest industries would be dumping many thousands of pounds of fertilizers into our sensitive watershed areas. Who is responsible for approving and condoning this irresponsible practice?”