Minneapolis, Minn.-Investigators are still looking into why notification wasn’t made sooner after as much as 100,000 pounds of dry fertilizer was spilled when a storage building collapsed at a farm input retailer near Lewiston. According to the Minnesota duty office, Benson Farm Service didn’t report the incident until a day and a half after it occurred the morning of April 8. Press reports stated that the fertilizer was cleaned up with a front loader and vacuum and hauled to another storage facility. No surface or groundwater was affected, and the fertilizer appeared in good enough shape to be used. Ag Dept. spokesman Michael Schommer said business owners, farmers, and residents are all required to immediately report chemical spills of any substantial amount. “We’re aware of the incident, and both the severity of the situation and the consequences on the environment are being looked at,” he added. Meanwhile, environmental investigators in Kansas have decided that no action will be taken as result of a spill by a dry float spreader truck March 7. State Dept. of Health and Environment spokesman Mike Heideman said that 6,500 pounds of a mixture of solid urea, MAP, and potash were dumped in and near a stream when a bridge gave way beneath the spreader truck. “The spill was properly reported and highly localized,” Heideman reported. “The decision has been made not to take any enforcement action and the case is closed.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain