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OSHA ammonia rule described as ‘onerous’ for small retailers

 

By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — An executive order sent down by President Barack Obama following the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion in 2013 pertaining to improving chemical facility safety and security is being applied at the farm fertilizer retail level by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Because of a recent change in regulatory interpretation by OSHA, ag retailers that handle anhydrous ammonia or other highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs) will soon have to comply with Risk Management Plan (RMP) Level 3 regulations. These are the same regulations being applied to large HHC storage facilities like the one that exploded in West, killing 14 and injuring more than 200.

OSHA refers to the changes as its Process Safety Management (PSM) standard program. The program states any retail business storing more than one classified HHC at any given time shall be subject to Level 3 regulations.

The requirement, which was handed down in July, demanded that ag HHC retailers become compliant by Jan. 22, 2016. OSHA later announced it would extend the compliance date for PSM for ag retail ammonia facilities to July 22.

A letter signed by 39 members of Congress, with backing from the retail ag fertilizer industry, stands in opposition of the new regulations. At the least, those in opposition are asking for more time to adhere to the updated PSM rules, which Illinois Rep. John Shimkus (R-15th) describes as onerous.

"I recently met with constituents at Effingham Equity who voiced their concern about the burden the application of these regulations would put on their fertilizer and chemical business," he said in late October. "Everyone supports safety, but these local facilities are already regulated not only by OSHA, but the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

"Holding these facilities to the same requirements as major chemical plants within six months is unrealistic. I’ve asked OSHA to roll back their decision and work with the industry to find a way to ensure safety without threatening our local agricultural businesses."

PSM poses the biggest regulatory challenge U.S. ag retailers have faced, according to Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Chemical and Fertilizer Assoc. (IFCA). "At a minimum, our Congressional members are asking for more time to help our members get into compliance. This is such a complicated regulation that there is just no way, even with the extension," she said.

"There are still efforts underway in Washington to try and get additional input into this whole process, and evaluate whether this regulation should be turned back or certain elements (rescinded)."

Payne said the PSM standard was written with large chemical manufacturers like BP, Shell, DuPont and ADM in mind, and not intended for small retailers such as Northern Partners in Ottawa, Ill., which recently spent $100,000 in facility upgrades in anticipation of the new rules, or for businesses such as Effingham Equity.

"At retail we use our anhydrous ammonia storage systems maybe four months of the year – two months in the fall and two months in the spring. To take this incredibly complicated regulation and apply it to a system that doesn’t operate 24/7 is difficult. It’s not what we in ag retail are culturally or, from a training standpoint, ready for," Payne explained.

If PSM is applied at the retail level, she fears the result will be far fewer retailers supplying farmers with fall and spring fertilizers spread across greater distances.

"Retailers will be asking if their margins for ammonia are really enough that it justifies staying in the business," she said. "This will result in anhydrous nurse tanks on the road for longer distances, with much more exposure to the public. It can be argued that the rule jeopardizes more than it improves."

IFCA will offer PSM training classes to its members on Jan. 21, during the final day of its annual convention in Peoria. In addition, PSM and RMP compliance tools issued by the Asmark Institute can be previewed at www.asmark.org (click on yellow-and-red PSM icon on homepage).

11/18/2015