SCS BT Squared

Groundbreaking on-farm storage ordinance - Part II

 

As some readers might recall, BT Squared wrote about The Town of Dunkirk’s groundbreaking ordinance regarding the storage of liquid fertilizer enacted in 2009 in the WCPA Quarterly News back in December. At that time the Township was just embarking on the implementation of the ordinance, working with facilities that might be affected.  This is the first ordinance of its kind in the state regulating bulk liquid fertilizer storage on private farms.  The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) has regulations pertaining to the commercial bulk storage of fertilizer and pesticides, but these typically apply to commercial facilities that store unpackaged bulk fertilizer or pesticides, not privately run farms.   

Upon review of the farms within the Township, three farms fell under the new ordinance.  One chose to move their tanks outside of the township to avoid regulation, and BT Squared provided inspections at the other two farms under a contract with the Township.  The Township split the cost of the inspection with the farms to minimize their financial impact.  While both farms had adequate secondary storage volume, the inspections revealed some common items that were not in compliance, including:

• Lack of proper tank anchoring.  Tanks need to be anchored in such a manner that if there are multiple tanks in one containment, if one tank leaked, the other tank(s) in the containment would not be lifted from the ground due to the buoyant force from the leaking fertilizer, thereby causing an additional release.
• Transfer connection located outside of the containment.  To prevent spills from the transfer of liquid fertilizer into the bulk tanks, the transfer connection needs to be within the walls of the containment to capture any spills from transfer.
• Lack of an inspection and spill response plan.  The ordinance requires the tank owner to perform periodic tank inspections and that a written procedure is in place in case of a spill with the phone numbers that need to be called and a properly equipped spill kit.  Facilities will be inspected, at a minimum, every four years. 
• Improper tank labeling.  The ordinance requires that tanks be clearly marked with the contents of the tank.  Proper labeling is important in the event of a release so that first responders can protect themselves and respond to spills properly and effectively.

The ordinance requires farms that have fertilizer storage exceeding the threshold limits to apply for a permit for the construction, maintenance, or operation of any bulk liquid fertilizer storage.  All new construction was required to adhere to the ordinance immediately, whereas storage facilities that were in place prior to the ordinance had one year to comply with the ordinance and apply for a permit.  An affected facility submitted a permit application and was then inspected by a third party inspector.  After the inspection, the facility was notified of any out of compliance items, offered feedback on how to correct them, and given a deadline for bringing the system into compliance.

With the successful implementation of the Town of Dunkirk on-farm storage ordinance, the groundwork is in place for other municipalities in the State of Wisconsin to adopt similar ordinances to protect local groundwater supplies.  To learn more about the Town of Dunkirk ordinance and the issues surrounding on-farm storage, contact Tom Culp at BT Squared tculp@btsquared.com or 608.216.7340.