Regina-SaskPower recently announced that it plans to build a transmission line from southwest of Saskatoon to the Agrium potash mine near Vanscoy. The project would be completed by June 2010 and cost $5.2 million. The power line, carrying 138 kilovolts, would extend from an existing transmission line southwest of Saskatoon to the mine. “The new transmission line will deliver additional reliable energy to meet the growing demand from Agrium at the Vanscoy site,” Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said in a news release. “SaskPower must ensure the required infrastructure is in place to help meet the demands of the mining industry in the province.” SaskPower said it is considering several routes for the line, and will take agricultural, environmental, social, and economic impacts into account. Approval will be requested from the Ministry of Environment, and SaskPower said consultations are underway with municipal officials. A public open house was planned for March 19 at Vanscoy Circle Hall.
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Yara backs out of gas pipeline project
Oslo-Yara International announced on March 17 that it was about to drop out of a project to build the Skanled gas pipeline, which would bring North Sea gas to industrial sites in Scandinavia. StatoilHydro is due to supply gas to Skanled. Yara said it was backing out because the gas prices offered are not competitive, claiming it can buy gas in Europe and take it by ship to Yara’s facilities in southern Norway for less money. According to wire reports, Skanled has been struggling to find enough gas buyers to justify building the $1.5 billion pipeline.
Port of Tampa funds repair of ammonia-release siren
Tampa-Port of Tampa officials on March 17 approved spending $17,150 to repair a faulty siren designed to warn the port and nearby neighborhoods of an accidental ammonia release. Repairs to the siren at Kinder Morgan and Yara North America in the Port Sutton area will take about a month, according to local press reports. The siren is one of four at the port. The other three sirens, on Davis Islands, Palmetto Beach, and Hookers Point, are in operation.
Truck containing AN bags stolen from Florida motel
Dania Beach, Fla.-Authorities in Florida’s Broward County are looking for a stolen pickup truck containing a dozen 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate. The Broward Sheriff’s Office said the red Ford F-350 was stolen sometime Wednesday night from the parking lot of a Dania Beach Red Carpet Inn. Local reports said the truck belongs to a landscaping company in Jacksonville, and has the words “Dean’s Environmental Service” written on the side. Authorities are asking anyone who sees it to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Cargo ship spills AN, oil off Queensland coast
Queensland, Australia-All patrolled surf beaches on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast were slated to reopen on March 21 after a massive clean-up following the March 11 spill of oil and ammonium nitrate from a cargo ship off the state’s southeast coastline. As of late in the week, a state government disaster declaration was in effect only for Moreton Island, where mopping-up operations continued. The Pacific Adventurer, a cargo ship owned by a Hong Kong global private enterprise called the Swire Group, lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate and spilled 250 mt of oil into rough seas off Moreton Island on March 11. Three tons of ammonium nitrate was also reportedly spilled on the deck of ship. The incident occurred while Cyclone Hamish was battering coastal areas. There were no injuries onboard the ship, but environmental damage to coastal areas and wildlife prompted a massive clean-up effort along coastal areas affected by the oil spill. Searches continued for the lost ammonium nitrate containers, with reports late in the week that some 23 containers had been located by mine hunters from the Royal Australian Navy.
Utah awards tax break to GSLM
Salt Lake City-Utah economic development officials are showing how much they want to keep Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp. operating in the state by offering to give back part of what the company pays every year in corporate income, payroll, and state sales taxes – as much as $153,638 over 10 years based on current figures. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) made the offer as GSLM, a subsidiary of Kansas City-based Compass Minerals, is getting ready to invest $40 million to upgrade its 43,000 acres of evaporation ponds on Great Salt Lake to increase production of sulfate of potash, along with salt and magnesium chloride. What attracted the state’s attention are projections from Great Salt Lake Minerals that the upgrade will result in the addition of 50 new full-time jobs to its payroll, which amounts to $16 million annually for 330 existing employees, according to GOED spokesman Michael Sullivan. Sullivan said annual salaries of the new employees are expected to be 125 percent of the area’s annual average of $32,268 in 2008, and over the life of the 10-year incentive that will add up to more than $27 million. “That’s a high-quality, family-sustaining wage (being paid by) a good corporate citizen that’s been here a long time,” he said, pointing out that the incentive sets goals the company must achieve each year. At year’s end, when the company documents it has achieved those goals, it may request the tax credit for the next year.
N.Y. officials push for phosphorus ban
Albany, N.Y.-State officials, including Gov. David Paterson, are proposing legislation to ban phosphorus in dishwashing detergents and sharply restrict it in lawn fertilizer to improve the quality of New York lakes and rivers. New York Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis said he expects lawmakers to take up the bill after the budget is resolved. The law would prohibit the application of fertilizer containing more than two-thirds of 1 percent phosphorus on lawns, except for use on newly planted lawns and on grass that testing had shown to be deficient in phosphorus. “That means if the fertilizer contained more than a trace it doesn’t meet the requirement,” said Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Yancey Roy. Retailers would be allowed to sell fertilizer containing phosphorus, but it would have to be separated from other fertilizers that were phosphorus-free. Stores also would have to post signs warning that phosphorus harms water quality and laying out the conditions for its lawful use. Grannis said there would be no enforcement of the law as it pertained to consumers, and retailers would not be required to quiz fertilizer buyers about their purchase. Instead, it is hoped that consumers will make an educated decision to avoid phosphorus-laden fertilizers. “The marketplace will make the decision. Stores will not stock products that are not high-sale products,” Grannis said. “They can have a great looking lawn and they don’t need to use the phosphorus fertilizer.”
Retailers join effort to cut down on phos
Battle Creek, Mich.-Retailers in Battle Creek, Mich., are getting behind the city’s efforts to reduce runoff into streams and lakes by banning phosphorus in lawn fertilizers. “Too much phosphorus is making its way into the Kalamazoo River, primarily from storm water runoff,” said Christine Kosmowski, the city’s environmental programs coordinator. “Using lawn fertilizers without phosphorus is one way to reduce the amount entering our waterways. Area retailers are willing to carry fertilizer products without phosphorus, and the city applauds their willingness to assist with phosphorus-cutting measures.” Kosmowski said the ordinance, adopted in September 2007, went into effect March 15, making Battle Creek one of a growing number of Michigan communities that have passed an decree regulating the use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus to help protect water quality. The ordinance requires retailers to post signs and provide pamphlets to consumers. Nearly 20 retailers in the city also agreed to carry no-phosphorus fertilizer, and others outside the city that are not affected by the law have added their names to the list. Included are ACO Hardware, the Battle Creek Farm Bureau (Battle Creek store), Felpausch Ace Hardware, Horrocks, Kmart, Lakeview True Value Hardware, Level Park Hardware, Lowe’s, both Meijer stores, Menards, Sam’s Club, Scooters True Value Hardware, Springfield Do-It Center, Struble’s Hardware & Mini Storage, Target, Tractor Supply Co., and Wal-Mart.
Phos problem tough on little Indiana town
Monrovia, Ind.-Tiny Monrovia, with a population of 628 in the 2000 Census, has a phosphate problem and not a lot of money to fix it. Levels are running too high in the drinking water, according to the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management (IDEM), and the town council has had to tap the general fund for $12,000 to get a treatment system up and running. And that doesn’t include the chemicals, which are even more expensive. IDEM is advising Monrovia that at least part of the solution is for residents to cut back on using phosphate, particularly starting this spring, by applying low or no-phosphate fertilizer on their lawns. “Residential fertilizer is IDEM’s main focus while working to reduce phosphate levels in Indiana streams,” spokeswoman Amber Kent Finkelstein said. “Indiana soil is already naturally high in phosphate. So for residential use, additional phosphorous is usually not necessary. In fact, IDEM encourages all Hooziers to apply zero or low phosphate fertilizer, which as far as I know is available throughout the state.” Monrovia’s town leaders are also encouraging residents to use phosphate-free cleaning products in the home. Actually, phosphate in laundry detergent has been banned in Indiana since 1973, and the state legislature voted to remove it from dishwasher detergent last year. “The 1973 law went into effect prior to the creation of IDEM, and specifically concentrated on removing phosphate from detergent used in homes,” Finkelstein reported. “Due to the temperatures reached in the process, detergents used in commercial applications were exempt.” She said the 2008 law also focuses on removing phosphate from home applications of dish detergent. “From what I understand, commercial applications are overwhelmingly exempt due to the heat involved in the dishwashing process. Manufacturers are concerned that there is not currently a substitute that will work under the conditions required in a commercial setting.”
Small California district gets biosolids award
Fallbrook, Calif.-The Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) has received the prestigious Honor Award from the American Public Works Association for becoming the first district of its size to replace costly hauling of sewage to a landfill with a high-tech process that recycles it into fertilizer. The biosolids equipment cost more than $1 million, but FPUD will recoup that by 2014 from new revenue and savings on trucking costs, according to Engineering Manager Mike Page. Page said FPUD was paying $150,000 a year to haul sewage to Riverside County, but that location is set to close soon and the next closest is Kearn County or out of state. Now, he added, the plant produces about 350 tons of fertilizer a year, and all of that is being sold to a local grower. But more customers are welcome at only $20 per ton. “In today’s environment, with the push to reduce our carbon footprint, this recycling project is absolutely the right thing to do,” said Page, who accepted the award for the district.