San Antonio-The NuStar Ammonia Pipeline System will be imposing a 7.5 percent tariff increase, effective July 1, to 70 percent of its ammonia pipeline volumes. The company said that 30 percent of ammonia pipeline volumes have a settlement rate that caps at 3 percent. NuStar is implementing the 7.5 percent increase at its other pipelines and said the increase should positively affect revenues and offset a likely decline in throughputs.
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Colorado farmers get emergency loan boost
Lakewood, Colo.-U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has authorized the transfer of unused Farm Service Agency subsidized operating loan funds to the agency’s direct operating loan program to assist farmers in the Greeley area who are in a bind paying for inputs for spring plantings and other expenses with the state-ordered closure of New Frontier Bank. Vilsack’s actions will provide an additional $110 million of direct operating loan funds and $143 million of unsubsidized guaranteed operating loan funds. “It is some money we didn’t have before,” Gary Wall, acting state FSA executive director, told Green Markets. “But it is available to New Frontier customers until it’s gone. We’ve offered to make these a priority to get them processed as soon as possible.” The Colorado state bank commissioner closed New Frontier Bank, which specialized in agricultural lending, on April 10 for more than four months after the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission issued the bank a cease and desist order for “unsafe” and “unsound” banking practices.
Agrium faces Madison fine, but not in millions
Madison, Wisc.-Agrium Inc. won’t be facing millions of dollars in fines as reported in the local press for the condition of the abandoned Royster-Clark fertilizer plant the company has been trying to sell for over a year. According to a local paper, an October deadline passed and the maximum fine against Agrium grew to more than $4 million. In reality, city ordinances do allow for fines of between $1 and $1,000 per day per offense, City Building Inspection Director George Hank told Green Markets. “But those incredibly high figures were the result of the reporter doing the math for the maximum fines for the total number of days Agrium has not been in compliance.” He indicated the two parties are probably headed for court, where the judge will have the final say. “Will Agrium be required to pay in the millions?” he asked, and then answered, “Probably not. It’s really up to the judge to determine what that will be.” But Hank indicated that won’t be anytime soon, because Agrium has requested that prosecution be held off because “there’s something in the works.” An Agrium source also indicated the same thing, but he declined to elaborate. Hank reported that the city is concerned about an unsecured vacant building posing a public nuisance. He said the fence around the property is in bad shape, with a lot of openings inviting entry. “The large-scale fertilizer mixing building is slowly coming apart with large sections already blown off. High winds pose a threat to people walking in the area.” Agrium has had plans for demolition, but complained that city red tape takes months for just getting approval to apply for a permit, and then requires it be accompanied by a plan for redevelopment. “In order to tear a building down you have to go to the planning commission,” Hank explained, “and the commission has a deed restriction as to what the future developer plans to do with the property.”
Itronics may file 10-K late
Reno-Specialty fertilizer maker Itronics Inc. said May 12 that while it is making every effort to file its Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission prior to May 18, 2009, its board of directors has decided to spend current resources on the business. Specifically, Itronics said it has a record backlog of orders it is attempting to fill, causing a major increase in cash flow requirements. “While we understand the impact this has on our loyal shareholders, we simply have to do what is best for the future of the entire company,” said Dr. John Whitney, president.
Simplot applies for permit
Boise-The J.R. Simplot Co. on May 5 applied with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for a permit to construct and operate a 10-acre decant pond at its Don phosphate fertilizer plant west of Pocatello as part of a larger project of lining the entire receiving surface of its existing phosphogypsum stack. The 320-acre gypsum stack’s lining project is crucial in order for Simplot to comply with an April 2008 voluntary consent order/compliance agreement with IDEQ to reduce phosphorus discharges into the nearby Portneuf River by 50 percent in 2013, 75 percent in 2015, and 94 percent in 2021. It could cost Simplot an estimated $50 million in cleanup costs to comply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also recently proposed to amend a Record of Decision (ROD) to add phosphorus as a major contaminant of concern and require additional pollution source controls. EPA previously identified arsenic, boron, chromium, mercury, nickel, radium, vanadium, and zinc as contaminants of concern emanating from the plant. The Simplot plant is part of the 2,475-acre Eastern Michaud Flats Superfund site, where FMC Corp. also operated an elemental phosphorus plant until it was shut down in December 2001.
TFI says cow deaths not due to potassium chloride
Caddo Parish, La.-TFI Vice President of Public Affairs Kathy Mathers nipped in the bud the suggestion this past week that potassium chloride might be responsible for the death of cows in Louisiana. “It is impossible that potassium chloride is the cause,” she told Green Markets. “Potassium chloride is essentially a type of salt, and ruminants need a fair amount. Based on our product testing program…which has received international regulatory approval – we can say with certainty that it has very low toxicity. These folks need to keep digging, they will ultimately find another explanation.” Both Mathers and Green Markets recalled that one fertilizer industry player in the past ate potash to show its safety. State environmental authorities say the investigation is not yet completed into the deaths of nearly two dozen cows in Caddo Parish from possibly ingesting potassium chloride. Jean Kelly, public information officer for the Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality, told Green Markets that tests have confirmed elevated levels of the substance in the soil where the cattle collapsed and died. “We have no results that can be released at this point since the incident is still under investigation,” she added. Asked if there was any connection to agriculture, Kelly said it was too early to tell. “We’ll know for sure about these things next week,” she concluded. Potassium chloride is used widely as a fertilizer, but there is considerable natural gas exploration and development in the area, and chlorides, particularly potassium chloride, are also used as completion fluid in drilling operations.
TFI submits letter of support on SAFE Trucker Act
Washington-The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) this week, along with other industry associations who have members that ship hazardous materials, sent a letter in support of the Screening Applied Fairly and Equitably to Truckers Act of 2009 (SAFE Trucker Act). Members of the House Homeland Security Committee reached an agreement this week to include the SAFE Trucker Act in the development of legislation to authorize the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the committee favorably reported the TSA authorization bill on Thursday. TFI supports the SAFE Trucker Act, which will eliminate redundant background checks for drivers of hazardous materials by replacing current threat assessment requirements with the background checks provided by the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC). In addition, it will include rulemaking that will create a security sensitive hazardous materials list, restore the commercial driver’s license hazardous materials endorsement, and preempt non-federal entities from requiring separate background checks and credentials. The bill is expected to be considered on the House floor in the near future.
ARA, TFI, others press House for HOS support
Washington-The Agricultural Retailers Association, The Fertilizer Institute, CropLife America, and CHS Inc., along with more than 45 trade associations representing a wide range of agricultural interests, sent a letter on May 14 to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urging support for the agricultural hours-of-service (HOS) exemption. Congress is working to pass a new surface transportation reauthorization bill before the current authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2009, and some organizations, including the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), have lobbied for the removal of the HOS exemption (GM May 4, p., 15) on the grounds that it results in higher crash rates. “On behalf of the agricultural producers in this country, we want to set the record straight on this issue and pledge our assistance to ensure that this exemption be maintained with the highest possible regard to safety,” the letter states. “The flexibility provided by this exemption is needed in the agricultural industry to ‘finish the job’ during busy planting and harvest season, when seasons and weather patterns do not comply with normal work schedules. Elimination of this exemption would not only increase agricultural operating costs and reduce transportation efficiency, but it may also create safety issues during harvest and planting seasons if producers are required to hire more temporary and possibly less experienced drivers.” The letter claims that a recent study by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, which forms the basis for CVSA’s claims about HOS safety problems, is insufficient and lacks specificity. “The facts simply do not support the assertion that ‘data indicated an alarming trend’ regarding safety issues for agricultural trucking operations,” the letter says. “In truth, there are no known safety issues related to the ag HOS exemption. Further, each state has the authority to modify or eliminate the exemption in the event that safety issues are identified.”
TFI meets with EPA on Waxman Markey bill
Washington-The Fertilizer Institute has met with Reid Harvey, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chief of the Climate Economics Branch, and his team to discuss EPA’s economic Preliminary Analysis of the Waxman Markey Discussion Draft. During the meeting, TFI questioned the assumptions that the agency utilized in its analysis of the legislation and stressed the unique role fertilizer plays in food production. TFI cited the loss of 26 nitrogen fertilizer production plants since 2000 as evidence that nitrogen is not only energy intensive, but vulnerable to policies that drive up natural gas prices.
PFCs focus of Alabama biosolids investigation
Montgomery, Ala.-Decatur Utilities, which provides electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater services in the greater Decatur, Ala., area, has suspended distribution of biosolids for use as fertilizer after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency detected perfluorinated compounds last November in samples from the utility’s Dry Creek Plant. Decatur officials were not available for comment, but a statement indicated that the utility is working closely with EPA and the Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management to determine the source of the compounds. Researchers now believe the compounds can cause serious health problems, including cancer. PFCs are used in manufacturing and in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including those with Teflon, which reportedly can degrade into perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). “The EPA has indicated that its concern is with compounds detected in sewage sludge sampled at the Dry Creek Plant in September 2007,” according to the statement. EPA and the state notified Decatur Utilities of this detection in November 2008. Decatur management stressed that the compounds have not been found in public drinking water and that the notification relates only to lands upon which the biosolids have been applied that may have absorbed or accumulated the substance, either in the soil or groundwater. Decatur Utilities has ensured that no sludge has been land applied since EPA’s November notification. “It is important to note that EPA has confirmed that Decatur Utilities is in compliance with all sludge regulations and the Dry Creek plant sludge does meet all EPA and ADEM requirements for land application,” Decatur General Manager Ray Hardin said. “We are told that due to the complexity of these substances and the analytical difficulties, it will take some time to establish regulatory limits. In the interim, Decatur Utilities will continue to suspend land application of Dry Creek plant sludge.” He said public inquiries have been prompted by EPA’s Jan. 8 provisional health advisory for these substances, which is the first time EPA has established any level for PFOA or PFOS. Meanwhile, voters in Lawrence and Franklin counties in northwest Alabama have gained legislative approval of constitutional amendments allowing referendums to decide if use of biosolids as fertilizer should been prohibited. An amendment also is expected to be passed for Colbert County. The decision by voters could affect Synagro Technologies, which has been operating a plant in the area and making available biosolids shipped in from New York.