On November 20 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the final part of a rule that requires a facility that possesses significant quantities of “chemicals of interest” to register with the government by January 22, 2008. The rule includes a list of regulated chemicals and the “threshold quantity” above which an entity is required to register. The rule also requires any operation that obtains more than the threshold quantity of any chemical of interest to register with the government within 60 days of possession. The intent of the rule is to manage terrorism risk associated with chemical facilities. DHS has authority to impose fines of up to $25,000 per day for non-compliance.

The chemical of interest most likely to affect crop farmers is ammonium nitrate. The rule requires anyone possessing more than one ton of any material that contains 23% or more as nitrogen in the form of ammonium nitrate must register in the program. The rules do not differentiate based on the time of possession so a person handling more than one ton of ammonium nitrate containing material for a couple of hours or for a couple of months is equally affected.

Other chemicals common on crop farms are on the list including propane and anhydrous ammonia. These chemicals have threshold amounts that will make it unlikely that farmers are affected. Still, farmers should be aware of the limits: propane, 60,000 lbs (material in containers less than 10,000 pounds do not count towards the total); anhydrous ammonia, 10,000 pounds. These quantities may be an issue at distribution centers but most farms will not possess this much of these materials at any one time. Potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate are both chemicals of interest and have the low threshold of 400 pounds. These are infrequently used on conventional row crop farms but may be found on some farms.

Farmers who expect to exceed the possession limit for any one of these chemicals are required to register at a government website and undergo a preliminary screening process using the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) called “Top Screen” for short. Based on the Top Screen review the government will determine if the operation “presents a high level security risk” that requires a more detailed assessment and other actions to meet the requirements of the rule.

To learn more about Top Screen and register to gain access to the Top Screen assessment process visit the Homeland Security Web site (http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1169503302924.shtm). The registration process and review process are a multi-step process that cannot be completed in one sitting. Do not wait until the last minute to start this process if you are affected. See the full list of chemicals in the report in the Federal Register at http:// a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-5585.pdf. The chemical list starts on page 65421.

Another resource for information may be your fertilizer dealer who should have some experience dealing with these regulations.