Washington-The Fertilizer Institute last week praised Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and members of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity and Science and Technology for approving the “Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007” (H.R. 1680). The bill was approved by voice vote and is scheduled for full committee markup after the April congressional district work session. The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a regulatory system to help keep ammonium nitrate out of the hands of those with criminal intent. It would also require all producers, sellers, and purchasers who take custody to register with DHS. In addition, the bill would require producers and sellers to maintain records of all ammonium nitrate sales for three years, including the name, address, phone number, and registration number of the person to whom the product was sold, as well as the date and quantity of the sale. The bill, which does not preempt state law, requires all thefts or unexplained losses to be reported to federal law enforcement within 24 hours.
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