Doug,
While I have no doubt that there are some serious concerns in that article that must be addressed, a quick read makes it sound (to me) like another one of those scare articles, as it jumps from the original premise on to several others, in the "its all tied together" theory.
I agree most homeownes over water, and home lawns may contribute more fertilizers to the watersheds than golf courses, if only because small lawns mean more fertilizers get thrown out on the concrete streets and driveways where they wash. I don't think you can eliminate nitrogen, but if you were concsicentious, you would put up boards along your street to keep the overspray from going off turf.
Studies show 99.6% or more of N applied to turf stays right there. I think Ag, where its applied to bare soil is a bigger culprit (not to mention far bigger acreages)
I suppose it would help - and will happen - that the fertilizer companies will engineer the fertilizers to increase that retention, and with safe spreading practices, I think the impact of turf fertilizers on waters, and oceans, can be minimized to almost zero.