Minnesota Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan

The Groundwater Protection Act of 1989 (Minnesota Statutes, section 103H) significantly altered the direction of groundwater resource protection with regard to nitrogen fertilizer management. This was a result of three separate but related components of the law: - Development of a groundwater protection goal; - Enhanced regulatory authority for fertilizer practices within the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA); and - Development of a Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan (NFMP) by the MDA. The NFMPis the state's blueprint for prevention or minimization of the impacts of nitrogen fertilizer on groundwater. By statute, the NFMP must include both voluntary components and provisions for the development of requirementsif the implementation of the Best Management Practices (BMPs) is proven to be ineffective.