Sioux City-Terra Industries Inc. and Kemira GrowHow Oyj have announced that the UK Office of Fair Trading has referred their planned joint venture to the Competition Commission. This review could take six months. The two announced in October their plan to create a jv to operate the fertilizer and associated process chemicals businesses of both companies in the UK. Both businesses produce ammonium nitrate, which is the main nitrogen fertilizer consumed in the UK. Terra said that due to the complex nature of the case, it was not surprised by the OFT decision.

Oslo-Yara International ASA has confirmed that it has sought arbitration in Stockholm with Russia’s Acron. The two share ownership of Nordic Rus Holding ?Çô 49 percent for Yara, 51 percent Acron. Nordic oversees Yara/Acron interests in the Russian firm Apatit; Yara’s interest in Apatit is 8.2 percent. Yara says Acron has treated Nordic Rus as a wholly-owned subsidiary and exercised influence over Apatit with no regard for Yara’s requests or interest. After repeated attempts to get Acron to change, Yara said it was compelled to seek arbitration.

Smoky Canyon, Idaho-An Afton, Wyo., man was severely injured Jan. 29 in an accident at the J.R. Simplot Co.’s Smoky Canyon Mine in Southeast Idaho near the Wyoming border. Jedd Nield, 51, is in intensive care at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Nield was operating drilling equipment at the open pit phosphate mine. A U.S. Mine Safety Health Administration team is investigating the accident. Operations have been suspended in immediate proximity to the scene and will not resume until the investigation is complete. Simplot safety experts are also conducting an internal investigation to determine what went wrong.

Tulsa-Operating margins were off for Magellan Midstream Partners LP’s ammonia pipeline business in the fourth quarter and year ending Dec. 31, 2006. Fourth-quarter margins were $300,000 on sales of $4.8 million and volumes of 189,000 st, compared to the year-ago $4.6 million, $5.9 million, and 226,000 st, respectively. Magellan said the quarter was negatively impacted by high integrity costs and an October 2006 pipeline release that reduced volumes and increased environmental costs. For the year, margins were down to $2.5 million on sales of $16.5 million and volumes of 726,000 st, versus 2005’s $7.7 million, $15.8 million, and 713,000 st. Magellan-wide, the company saw a boost in earnings for both the quarter and year. Fourth-quarter net income was $59.4 million on sales of $316.1 million, up from $37.6 million and $309.2 million, respectively. For the year, net income was $195.7 million on sales of $1.22 billion, versus 2005’s $159.5 million and $1.14 billion, respectively.

Benson, Minn.-A newly formed LLC expects to start this spring producing fertilizer from the ash generated by burning turkey litter as boiler fuel for an innovative 50-megawatt power plant. Both plants are completing construction in a large industrial park on the edge of town, and Randy Tersteec, president of North American Fertilizer, told Green Markets that limited production will begin in April and grow to 80,000 tons per year. The power plant being built by Fibrominn LLC will be the first of its kind in the U.S., although parent company Fibrowatt has three already in operation in the United Kingdom. It will burn 700,000 tons of turkey litter per year, which is available in such abundance in west/central Minnesota that it’s actually a problem for growers. Tersteec said the ash will be transported via conveyor to the North American plant just southwest of Fibrominn, where it will undergo conditioning with additional moisture, be put in storage for a while, and then ground and screened for uniformity. The combustion process will eliminate the nitrogen, explained Tersteec, but uniquely the final product will be an 0-17-13 fertilizer plus micronutrients such as sulfur and zinc, which he believes will be ideal for row crop farmers. “If they’re spreading four tons of litter per acre now,” he claimed, “they’ll get the same nutrients in 400 pounds of our product.” Tersteec reported that initially the fertilizer will be marketed through the dealer network already in place. “For the startup phase we are just looking at the agriculture market, and our intent is not to sell directly to farmers,” he noted, “but residential and landscape sales will be looked at in the future. And if customers are willing to take it in non-granulated form, it would cost substantially less than other commercial fertilizers.”

Washington, D.C.-The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with Dow Chemical Company, Union Pacific Railroad, and the Union Tank Car Company to develop new railcar technology to enhance the strength and safety of hazardous materials tank cars. The Next Generation Rail Tank Car Project will help FRA establish design standards that the agency hopes to implement in 2008. “Our goal is to jump beyond incremental design changes,” said FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman. “We and our partners are looking to apply the latest research and advanced technology to provide increased safety for rail shipments posing the greatest safety risk.” According to FRA, the agreement provides for extensive information sharing and cooperation between ongoing FRA and industry safety research programs for rail shipments of hazardous commodities such as toxic-by-inhalation hazards and high risk gases and liquids. This includes efforts to strengthen the structural integrity of tank cars by examining types of materials and the outer shell thickness, as well as research into insulation materials between the outer shell and inner tank. In addition, FRA said it is evaluating technology such as pushback couplers, energy absorbers, and anti-climbing devices designed to prevent a derailment of the tank car by keeping it upright and on the tracks after an accident. To date, FRA has held two public meetings in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to receive comments on the design and operation of hazardous materials tank cars, and anticipates holding a third meeting in early 2007.

Washington, D.C.-The Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard have released the final rule for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Implementation in the Maritime Sector; Hazardous Materials Endorsement for a Commercial Driver’s License. The final rule was posted on the TSA Website. The Fertilizer Institute said it is working with its Security Task Force to review the rule, which is several hundred pages long, and to analyze its effect on the fertilizer industry. TFI said the proposed rule required any individual entering the secure area of a Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 regulated facility to possess a government-issued TWIC. TFI submitted comments on the proposed rule (GM Aug. 14, p. 12) and is still determining whether these were accepted by TSA and the USCG in the final rule. TFI said on Jan. 4 that the final rule would be published in the Federal Register in the next few days. Although it will go into effect within 60 days of the Federal Register notice, TFI said the date of implementation and enrollment will vary for each Caption of the Port (COPT) zone. The enrollment process for each COTP zone will be announced at least 90 days in advance by separate notices in the Federal Register, TFI said. The latest date by which facilities, vessels, and mariners can expect to be required to comply will be 20 months after publication in the Federal Register.