By CANDI WALZ
Legislative Correspondent

ST. PAUL -- Holding up a container of green algae-coated water, Ron Kroese said Minnesotans need to work together to keep water clean in the "land of the sky blue waters."

The executive director of Minnesota Environmental Partnership said the green water had come from a Minnesota lake this summer.

Environmentalists and water lovers, alike, from throughout the state, came to the Capitol Wednesday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would toughen state and county laws on development that they said would help the state have cleaner waters.

Pat Larson, the chair of the Tri-County Leech Lake Watershed Foundation; Jack Shaffer, chair of the Tri-County Leech Lake Watershed Project; and Paula West, executive director of the Minnesota Lakes Association, attended the event.

Their main concerns were making sure state government allowed townships to pass legislation protecting water and restricting phosphorus use.

Under current state law, townships can enact local ordinances that protect the health and well-being of their citizens. The local rules have to be stricter than the state and county laws. The activists want that law changed.

"The county and state level ordinances are not strict enough on overdevelopment," Larson said.

She and Shaffer, both from Longville, have been working on protecting Woman Lake. Builders want to develop lakeshore land, which is critical land for habitat. When developers come into this area, they tear up the lake shore or cut grass too close to the water line. This causes problems, the pair said.

"We want much stricter rules," Larson said. She added that townships must have the ability to pass laws. She said she has seen what happens if they don't.

"We want to be proactive instead of reactive," Shaffer said.

Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, and Sen. Paul Koering, R-Brainerd, agreed that townships should have local control.

"I have always been supportive of that. I think that they can plan better for their neighborhood than big government can," Howes said.

"The Republican caucus talks about local control. To think that there is a one size fits all is not true. Each county and township needs to decide what is best for them," Koering said.

Kroese said the green lake water was a result of too much phosphorous.

"One pound of phosphorus can produce 300 to 700 pounds of green algae,"

he said.

Phosphorous is used in many household products including laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, glass cleaners and all-purpose cleaners. It also is used in lawn fertilizers.

Last year, Minnesota became the first state to pass a phosphorus-free lawn fertilizer bill for the seven-county metropolitan area. The law took effect Jan. 1. Under a provision in the same bill, counties could opt to pass their own no phosphorus ordinances. West said that Crow Wing County was one of the three rural counties that passed the ordinance.

"People are restricted to use it," West said, "but it is still being sold, so we are halfway there. We are working with retailers to get it off the shelf."

West said the new law has to be advertised so consumers would know not to purchase phosphorus products and the damage they can cause.

"It's one way consumers can take responsibility," she said.

Howes agreed. He is authoring a bill to enact a statewide ban of

phosphorus use. "We don't need to be dumping more phosphorus on the

lawns up there."

If passed, his legislation would restrict use of phosphorus on turf. There are three exemptions under the proposal, meaning phosphorus can be applied if soil has been tested and has insufficient levels; if the property owner is applying seed or sod for the first-time; and if it is used by a certified person on a golf course.

Activists hope these measures will help clean the state's water supply.

"Clean water is the economic life blood of central Minnesota," West said. "It is the basis of recreation and quality life."

"We need to have clear water we can feel good about," Larson said. "We

want our children and grandchildren to have what we have."