US Fertilizer Group Urges Quick Action on AN Security
HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US fertilizer industry on Thursday urged federal officials to complete as soon as possible new antiterrorism security controls for the sale and distribution of ammonium nitrate (AN), saying a single national standard is needed.
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) said that it hopes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can soon complete a final regulation to ensure chain of custody requirements for AN that were included in legislation approved by the 110th Congress in early 2008.
The legislation authorised the department to establish rules that would require AN manufacturers, distributors, retailers and end-users to register with DHS and certify each movement of AN shipments and products along the supply chain to individual users.
However, TFI vice president Kathy Mathers noted that DHS has taken nearly a year to complete its rulemaking.
A proposed rule was issued late last year for a period of public comment that ended on 29 December.
“The DHS was directed by Congress to draft a secure handling of ammonia nitrate program following passage of the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act,” Mathers said.
TFI and others in the fertilizer and farming communities are eager for the DHS to complete the rule because a number of state governments have imposed varying AN control requirements since the deadly 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
That bomb used AN as an accelerant and oxidizer for a fuel oil explosive device.
“We have a patchwork quilt of rules that vary from state to state and differ from federal requirements,” Mathers said, adding that apparently there is no date certain for completion of the DHS rulemaking.
The pending DHS rule would ease registration requirements for farmers who contract with custom applicators to apply AN fertilizer on their fields. In such cases, farmer purchasers do not actually take possession of AN products that are delivered directly to the custom applicators.
“TFI fully supports not requiring registration by farmers and ranchers who buy ammonium nitrate but never take possession,” Mathers said.
A DHS spokesperson would not say when its rulemaking review would be completed.
Mathers said the rule would have the DHS contract with state departments of agriculture to have the state fertilizer control official conduct an ammonium nitrate registration process and conduct inspections of fertilizer facilities.
Mathers added that fertilizer control officials would maintain an ammonium nitrate database that would be made available to DHS on request, avoiding the need for the department to run background checks and conduct facility inspections.
In 2008, US production of ammonium nitrate totalled about 2.55m tonnes with a value of about $930m (€735m), according to TFI.
TFI said US ammonium nitrate imports totalled 1.006m tonnes with a value of $234m.
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) said that it hopes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can soon complete a final regulation to ensure chain of custody requirements for AN that were included in legislation approved by the 110th Congress in early 2008.
The legislation authorised the department to establish rules that would require AN manufacturers, distributors, retailers and end-users to register with DHS and certify each movement of AN shipments and products along the supply chain to individual users.
However, TFI vice president Kathy Mathers noted that DHS has taken nearly a year to complete its rulemaking.
A proposed rule was issued late last year for a period of public comment that ended on 29 December.
“The DHS was directed by Congress to draft a secure handling of ammonia nitrate program following passage of the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act,” Mathers said.
TFI and others in the fertilizer and farming communities are eager for the DHS to complete the rule because a number of state governments have imposed varying AN control requirements since the deadly 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
That bomb used AN as an accelerant and oxidizer for a fuel oil explosive device.
“We have a patchwork quilt of rules that vary from state to state and differ from federal requirements,” Mathers said, adding that apparently there is no date certain for completion of the DHS rulemaking.
The pending DHS rule would ease registration requirements for farmers who contract with custom applicators to apply AN fertilizer on their fields. In such cases, farmer purchasers do not actually take possession of AN products that are delivered directly to the custom applicators.
“TFI fully supports not requiring registration by farmers and ranchers who buy ammonium nitrate but never take possession,” Mathers said.
A DHS spokesperson would not say when its rulemaking review would be completed.
Mathers said the rule would have the DHS contract with state departments of agriculture to have the state fertilizer control official conduct an ammonium nitrate registration process and conduct inspections of fertilizer facilities.
Mathers added that fertilizer control officials would maintain an ammonium nitrate database that would be made available to DHS on request, avoiding the need for the department to run background checks and conduct facility inspections.
In 2008, US production of ammonium nitrate totalled about 2.55m tonnes with a value of about $930m (€735m), according to TFI.
TFI said US ammonium nitrate imports totalled 1.006m tonnes with a value of $234m.
quoted from: www.ICIS.com
