Charleston, S.C.-Odfjell Holdings (US) Inc. has concluded a contract for land in North Charleston to construct tank terminal facilities, creating 12-20 jobs. The new tank terminal site in Charleston will consist of 40 tanks with deep draft marine, rail, and truck accessibility. Odfjell says this will be a great supplement to its existing terminal in Houston and its worldwide tank terminal network. The construction of the terminal will start in January 2011, and will be operational in early 2013. Fully developed, the investment will be about US$37 million.

Cairo, Egypt-Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) recently announced the launch of its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program, with BNY Mellon acting as the depositary bank. Each OCI ADR represents one ordinary share and trades on the over-the-counter (OTC) market under the symbol ORSCY. OCI’s ordinary shares trade on the Egyptian Stock Exchange alongside a Global Depository Receipts (GDR) program on the London Stock Exchange. The launch of the ADR program does not coincide with a capital increase or offering of new shares in the company. “We have chosen to establish a U.S. over-the-counter traded DR program to meet the growing demand by U.S. domiciled investors for a dollar denominated security trading in their time zone,” said Nassef Sawiris, OCI chairman and CEO. OCI is one of Egypt’s largest corporations, with projects and investments across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company employed more than 88,000 people and generated US$ 3.8 billion in revenues and US$ 795 million in EBITDA for 2009. The OCI Fertilizer Group is a strategic owner and operator of nitrogen fertilizer plants in Egypt and Algeria, with an international distribution platform spanning Latin America, the United States, Europe and Africa. In addition, it owns a stake in The Gavilon Group LLC, formerly the ConAgra Trade Group (GM July 7, 2008).

Edmonton, Alberta-Agrimax Ltd., Irricana, Alberta, probably won’t be getting its Irricana sulfur-based fertilizer plant up and running again anytime soon because of an order from Alberta Environment indefinitely suspending approval to operate because of numerous regulatory issues since 2003 and enforcement orders in 2005 “which Agrimax has not come into compliance with.” The order states further that contamination on the sulfur processing site, including unauthorized releases of industrial wastewater and improper waste storage, has not been managed appropriately, and because of this and other infractions the plant cannot resume operations until Agrimax is in full compliance. Agrimax is also ordered to develop and implement upgrades to the sulfur handling facilities; develop and implement a groundwater remediation program and a program for the management of contaminated soil at the plant site; upgrade the existing industrial run-off pond; and implement an inspection and maintenance program for the plant and complete a third-party assessment of the facility to ensure that any future operation of the plant does not pose a risk to public health or the environment. Agrimax Chairman Claude St-Martin was not available to comment, but told the local press the plant, which was in poor shape when it was purchased by the company in 2002, has already been shut down for the past year due to the economic downturn and a number of other problems. He said only a relatively small amount of processed water was released from a holding pond and a leaking pipe containing some sulfur. St-Martin said he hoped to start environmental remediation work soon.

Florence, S.C.-The shocking saga of the brutal murder of the owner and manager of Gardner’s Fertilizer and Farm Supplies at Hartsville (GM April 13, 2009) has been brought to a close more than two years later with a surprise guilty plea and sentencing to life in prison without possibility of parole of the man accused of the crime. Last month, Eddie Anthony Huggins, 39, who has been in custody since Oct. 2, 2008, abruptly entered a guilty plea at what was supposed to be a routine motion hearing and status conference in Florence to the axe handle murder of Keith Hancock at Gardner’s Fertilizer. Huggins was sentenced in general sessions court by Judge Michael Nettles in a case in which the state was expected to seek the death penalty at a trial scheduled to begin this month.

Nevada, Mo.-As much as 2,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia were released without causing any injuries when a farmer lost control of two tanks he was towing the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 30, according to the Nevada Fire Department. Firemen on the scene said both tanks overturned in the mishap, which ripped a hole in one of them when it hit the side of a bridge, causing traffic to be halted on both sides of the highway for two hours. Fire Lt. Kelly Wingert, one of the two rescuers on the scene, said the mishap occurred in an open field area with the nearest homes a quarter of a mile or more away, and therefore not requiring evacuation. Luckily there were gusty winds out of the south that helped to disperse the ammonia cloud. But Wingert said getting to the tank venting the ammonia through a ruptured seam was a different matter. “There was a split in the seam where it was welded and we couldn’t see the seam because it was venting pretty vigorously and bubbling up the paint, kind of like it found a hole and was shooting through it,” Wingert explained to Green Markets. On top of that, the fireman in their structural fire-fighting ensemble with breathing apparatus couldn’t close the opening because the plug-and-patch kit they had with them wasn’t big enough. The unidentified farmer was transporting the ammonia tanks from Farmers Ag and Grain Supply at nearby Deerfield, which sent a crew to transfer the ammonia into the second tank to another carrier.

Lansing, Mich.-The new Michigan law banning phosphorus in lawn fertilizer that passed the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm last month took effect Jan. 1, but according to some sources it has its limitations. While the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Assn. supported the measure, its executive director said the fact that the legislature left in place a patchwork system of local ordinances is disappointing. “It’s been a long time in the making, but as far as the industry goes we are for a reduction in phosphorus,” Ann Frankmann told Green Markets. “We had no problem with that. But the problem with what was passed is that it did not exempt the patchwork system of municipal laws. We had asked for preemption of local ordinances, and the result is going to be confusion.” Frankmann said some municipalities charge a fee for applying phosphorus, which is paid by the professional applicator as part of the license. In addition, the legislation leaves it up to townships to find the resources for educational and training programs necessary to inform residents. Michigan joins other Great Lakes states, including Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois, in restricting phosphorus fertilizer, and also put a ban on its use in dishwasher detergent effective last July.

Sudbury, Ontario-Officials with Vale S.A. aren’t revealing any details about the police investigation into ammonium nitrate being discovered in the gas tank of a contractor’s bulldozer at the company’s Sudbury mine in September. Reports are that Vale contacted police about what was termed an act of mischief after the bulldozer couldn’t be operated. “When they started looking at why the bulldozer stopped working, they found something had been poured into the gas line in the bulldozer,” Sudbury Sgt. Rick Waugh told the local press. Vale spokeswoman Angie Robson responded to Green Markets that “I will not be able to comment on this so as not to jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation. All I can say is that we are taking this incident very seriously and are fully cooperating with the police in their investigation.” Nearly a year-long strike of more than 3,000 steelworkers was ended at Vale’s Sudbury operations in July.

Dixon, Iowa-The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) still has in effect an advisory for Dixon residents not to use the municipal water for infants because of high nitrate levels found during routine drinking water testing early last month. In the meantime, DNR reports that the source is still undetermined, but may be from industry, agriculture, or septic systems. Dixon is being required to connect to an existing public water supply or to submit a preliminary engineering report by June 30 looking at alternate water sources, evaluating treatment technologies for nitrate removal, providing a cost analysis of implementing the alternate sources or treatment technologies, and outlining a schedule for implementing the course of action. In addition, the system is required to conduct a viability self-assessment and submit the completed self-assessment to DNR for review by June 30. Paul Brandt in the DNR field office said there will be another meeting with city officials soon. Water samples showed nitrate levels of 13 milligrams per liter, higher than the level of 10 milligrams per liter that is considered safe for infants to drink. Dixon, which has about 300 residents, is near Davenport in Scott County.

Boston, Mass.-Converted Organics Inc. said Jan. 3 that it has received a letter dated Dec. 28, 2010, from The NASDAQ Stock Market notifying the company that it has been granted an additional 180-day grace period, or until June 27, 2011, to regain compliance with the minimum $1.00 bid price listing requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market. During the 180-day grace period, if the company’s common stock closing bid price is at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, Nasdaq will notify the company that it has regained compliance and that the matter is closed. The company said the notification from NASDAQ has no immediate effect on the company’s listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market, nor on the trading of the company’s common stock.

Las Vegas, Nev.-Marifil Mines Ltd. said Dec. 14 that an ongoing exploration program for potash in the Neuquen Basin in Argentina resulted in the identification of a large area highly favorable for potash in the northern portion of the basin in Mendoza Province. By staking 11 claims totaling 86,656 hectares, the company has acquired an area that it believes is highly prospective for potash. The claims, near Vale S.A.’s Rio Potasio potash mine, are also prospective for uranium, biogenic sulfur, lead, zinc, and asphaltites. Marifil said it plans to farm out or joint venture these properties.