Savannah-Gavilon Fertilizer LLC said Feb. 5 that it plans to expand its fertilizer operation in Sauget, Ill. Construction of the 19,000 st fertilizer storage building is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010. Plans also include the installation of high-speed bulk-fertilizer handling equipment and rail configuration to accommodate the loading of 110-car unit trains. “We are pleased to be expanding and upgrading our fertilizer facility,” said Brian Harlander, Gavilon Fertilizer president. “Upon completion, Sauget will be the first bulk-fertilizer facility in the United States capable of loading multiple products onto a single unit train, providing increased flexibility for our distribution network and supporting our ability to help customers manage inventory price risk over multiple products.” The Sauget facility currently has 25,000 st of storage capacity and distributes bulk fertilizer by truck and rail. The facility is served by all Class I railroads, including BNSF, CSXT, and Union Pacific. The expanded facility will have 44,000 st of storage capacity.

Washington-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its updated renewable-fuel standard last week and confirmed that ethanol emits 21 percent less in greenhouse gases than gasoline when global indirect land-use change is included. “EPA was right to recognize that ethanol from all sources provides significant carbon benefits compared to gasoline,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. “As structured, the RFS is a workable program that will achieve the stated policy goals of reduced oil dependence, economic opportunity, and environmental stewardship.” While some environmentalists were not happy, some fertilizer industry sources last week said more ethanol means more corn – and more corn means more fertilizer.

Port Angeles, Wash.-Many in this port town welcome the Feb. 2 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that procedures resulting in a lenient 22-year sentence for fertilizer bomber Ahmed Ressam were in error and that the case should be sent back to a new judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for a new sentencing hearing. Typical of the response was that of one of the customs inspectors on duty when 41-year-old Algerian-born Ressam was captured here 10 years ago. The inspector told the local press, “My first thought was what it has always been, that he got 22 years for what he was planning to do, and that was just obscene.” The court in San Francisco also removed U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour of Seattle from the case, saying he committed key procedural errors at Ressam’s sentencing hearing and that Coughenour’s “previously expressed views appear too entrenched to allow for the appearance of fairness.” A new judge will be assigned to the case within three weeks, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. Ressam was sentenced Dec. 3, 2008, for his failed plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport in 1999. At that hearing, prosecutors sought a sentence of life in prison after Ressam told the court that the information he had provided to the government to shorten his sentence was the product of an unstable mind. He was arrested Dec. 14, 1999, as he tried to enter the U.S. at Port Angeles with explosive ingredients in the trunk of his rental car. Later, customs inspectors searched the trunk and discovered 118 pounds of urea fertilizer, sulfate powder, four timing devices, and pill bottles of explosive materials. One of the bottles contained an oily liquid more volatile than nitroglycerin.

Bucyrus, Ohio-Mid-Wood Inc. has opened its seventh branch, with start-up of a full-service agronomy operation here effective Jan. 1, according to Edward Miller, Mid-Wood vice president and head of agronomy services. Miller, who is on location getting things organized, told Green Markets he’s acting branch manager until the position can be filled. “We are looking for a branch manager for this location,” Miller reported. “We hired a salesman, Ronnie Shepherd, in September for this area and did a lot of work here this past fall. We saw the need to open an office at this location. Farmers want options, and we were given a very warm reception in the fall.” He also expects to hire four or five full-time employees for Bucyrus Agronomy, which will provide a range of services typical of what’s offered at the six other sites – crop consulting, on-farm seed treating, grid soil sampling, and variable rate fertilizer applications – covering Henry, Hancock, Huron, Lucas, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, and Crawford counties, as well as Wood County, where the other six branches are located. Mid-Wood, a farmer-owned corporation with a nine-member board chosen by stockholders, has been in operation since 1968. The Bucyrus facility was originally occupied between 2002 and 2005 by United Agri Products, but it has been vacant since.

Los Angeles-Rentech Inc. reports that Rentech Energy Midwest Corp. (REMC), its wholly-owned nitrogen fertilizer operation, has secured $62.5 million of debt financing. The net proceeds of the financing will be used to repay REMC’s outstanding term loan of approximately $37.1 million and for general corporate purposes, including funding for development of the company’s technology, synthetic fuels, and power projects. The term loan will mature on July 29, 2014, and REMC is expected to repay it from the company’s cash flow. “We are pleased to have shown our access to the credit market by closing on this $62.5 million term loan, which strengthens Rentech’s consolidated liquidity and extends the maturity of our term debt at REMC,” said Dan Cohrs, Rentech executive vice president and CFO. “This loan demonstrates the value of REMC, which provides both cash and operational expertise as we implement our alternative energy strategy.” The company stated that its fiscal year 2010 budgeted activities are fully financed.

Kilgore, Texas-Martin Midstream Partners L.P. said Feb. 2 that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 1,650,000 common units (plus up to an additional 247,500 common units to cover over-allotments, if any) under its existing shelf registration statement. Martin intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay outstanding debt incurred under its revolving loan facility. An amount equal to the debt may be re-borrowed to fund both recent acquisitions and expansion capital expenditures. On Feb. 3, Martin said it has priced the offering at $32.35 per unit. This would make the total that could be raised $61.4 million. The closing of the offering is expected to occur Feb. 8, 2010, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Sioux City-Terra Industries Inc. reports that approximately $6.87 of the $7.50-per-share special cash dividend paid on Dec. 11, 2009, will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, be classified as a qualified, ordinary dividend. Approximately $0.63 of the dividend will be classified as a non-dividend distribution. The income tax character of the special cash dividend was based on Terra’s accumulated and current earnings for the year ending Dec. 31, 2009.