Terral River Services Inc. in Alexandria, La., is no longer in the ammonium nitrate business. Don Philley, fertilizer manager for Terral, said the company opted to drop AN from its fertilizer line this spring because of burdensome security regulations enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“We’ve had all the fun that we can handle,” Philley told Green Markets, referring to the many security steps the company has taken to stay in compliance with the strict handling requirements for AN. The regulations are part of the 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), and have been in effect since 2004 (GM Oct. 11, 2004). The Coast Guard, under the Department of Homeland Security, is the lead enforcement agency in the U.S.
A partial list of the MTSA requirements for AN handlers includes the establishment of a Coast Guard approved security plan; maintenance of vessel and facility security records, including records of training, drills, breaches of security, and audits; the establishment and training of vessel and facility security officers so that AN supplies are “continuously patrolled;” the installation and maintenance of vessel and facility security systems; strict control of restricted areas, as well as the monitoring and control of vessel and facility access; security training for all vessel and facility personnel, including regularly scheduled drills and exercise requirements; and security procedures for interfacing with other facilities and vessels.
At one time, Terral shuttled as much as 20,000 st/year of AN through its Alexandria facility, Philley said. That volume dropped to less than half in recent years, however, and has continued to shrink as the number of AN customers dwindles. Terral operated a dedicated, 3,000-ton storage dome for AN that will now be used to store other fertilizer products such as potash and ammonium sulfate, thereby freeing up space at the company’s 18,000-ton primary warehouse in Alexandria.
Philley said the company had closely followed “list after list” of security regulations for handling AN, and had implemented numerous measures and policies to abide by federal regulations. These included lock-down gates, 24-hour guards, additional fences and equipment, emergency plans, and a lengthy checklist to follow for the transport and transfer of AN to distributors, dealers, and end-users.
When the security regulations first took effect in 2004, Terral said it would continue to handle AN and would work with the Coast Guard to ensure compliance. “We’re trying to take a positive approach to it and work with the Coast Guard,” Randy Frost, operations manager for Terral, said at that time. “I think it’s a battle worth fighting, at least for now.”
Philley said the decision to back away from AN was also influenced by Terral’s barge business. “It is increasingly difficult to have the product delivered to our site,” he said. The company obtained AN barges through an outlet on the Mississippi River that transitions to the inland waterways of Louisiana, and operated the only tow boat and tow captain on the Red River that were certified by the Coast Guard to shuttle AN cargoes to Alexandria.
Philley also expressed frustration with how the Coast Guard regulations were interpreted and the resulting inconsistencies in how they were enforced. When the Coast Guard’s enforcement office for Alexandria switched from one office to another, he said, a different officer came into play with a different understanding of the rules, requiring Terral to make additional changes to its security regimen. “These seemed to be more stringent than the requirements placed upon facilities that were administered under other Coast Guard enforcement offices,” he said.
These hurdles ultimately become too great. “You have all these same policies and inspections required to fleeting barges, boats, boat captains, as well as the warehouse facility.” Philley said. “We did everything they asked us to do. Yet the inconsistency and the risk of having our entire operation shut down – not just ammonium nitrate, but the entire facility – have become too burdensome.”