ADI Agronomy okays $54,922 ammonia penalty

Kansas City, Kan.-ADI Agronomy Inc., which owns a group of farm supply facilities in southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas, has agreed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to a $54,922 civil penalty to resolve chemical risk management program violations involving anhydrous ammonia operations at ADI’s Ag Distributors retail facility at Kennett, Mo. According to EPA Region 7, the Kennett facility was issued an administrative compliance order in July 2010 after an inspection noted eight violations, including failure to establish and implement maintenance procedures to ensure the ongoing integrity of ammonia process equipment, and failure to document that the equipment complied with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. ADI uses, stores, manufactures, or handles on-site movement of 10,000 pounds or more of anhydrous ammonia in its fertilizer production process. Like other such facilities that mix or blend fertilizers using anhydrous ammonia but do not sell directly to farmers, EPA pointed out, ADI must implement the most stringent preventative program, which requires detailed safety precautions, preventative maintenance, operating procedures, and employee training measures. As part of its settlement with EPA, ADI has certified that the Kennett facility is now in compliance with regulations. ADI is a unit of Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, LaVergne, Tenn.