Prior to 2002, farmers who stored liquid fertilizer were not subject to commercial facility regulations. With more producers installing their own bulk storage facilities, there is an increased need for environmentally responsible and economically reasonable containment requirements. All on-farm fertilizer storage tanks with 5000 gallon capacity or more in place before January 2002 must have secondary containment dikes by January 1, 2007. Farmers who build new fertilizer storage facilities over 5,000 gallons, or make additions to their current storage tanks that increase total capacity greater than 5,000 gallons, and store bulk fertilizers for more than 30 days, must adhere to the Ohio Department of Agricultures storage regulations immediately.
The ODA regulations for the above facilities require the dikes and surface area to be constructed of materials compatible with the liquids they are to contain. The dike must be capable of withstanding a liquid discharge; and restrict vertical and horizontal liquid movement to no more than thirty-five hundredths of an inch per day. Most secondary containment facilities in place have been built with either concrete or of treated wood or steel walls with an non permeable liner. The containment dike must hold 10% more volume than the largest tank located within the containment area. Any storage tank over 15 feet tall should be placed at least 4 feet from the inside base of the dike, to prevent leakage outside the area. Special attention must be given to the strength of the containment areas floor, due to the extensive weight of large vertical tanks filled with liquid fertilize.
Owners of bulk fertilizer storage facilities must perform regular inspections, maintenance, and keep records. These records should be kept on-site for a period of five years, and be available for inspection by the Department of Agriculture, upon their request. The three types of records required include a record of all repairs and maintenance work performed on each tank or the containment area, weekly inventory records of liquid levels for each permanent tank in the facility, and a record of any accidental discharge outside of the dike. The latter includes the date and time of the discharge, type of bulk fertilizer, the amount of discharge, the action taken to recover the discharge, and the method of disposal of any recovered discharge. All spills outside of the containment area should be reported to both the National Response Center (1-800-424-8802) and the Ohio Environmental Protection agency of emergency management (1-800-282-9378).
Every owner of a bulk fertilizer tank should have a written response plan to cover accidental discharges. This plan should be kept near the storage facility and be available for inspection by the Department of Agriculture. The plan should include the identity and telephone number of the persons or agencies who should be contacted in the event of an emergency, and a map of the physical layout of the storage facility, including the identification of each type fertilizer stored at the facility.
For more information see OSU Extension fact sheet, AEX-594-04, New Requirements for On-Farm, Storage of Bulk Fertilizers . It is available at the OSU Extension office or online or at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/aexfact/0594_2.html .