Nebraskans cheer court rolling back OSHA fertilizer regulations

Nebraska farm leaders hailed a ruling from D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected efforts by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to apply stricter handling rules to retailers of anhydrous ammonia without first going through a formal rule-making process.Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson called it a “mark on the win column for Nebraska farmers and fertilizer suppliers.” “Nebraska Farm Bureau and others have challenged the flawed logic OSHA used to justify additional regulations on fertilizer suppliers which ultimately would drive up fertilizer costs for Nebraska farmers and could possibly limit access to anhydrous ammonia fertilizer product,” Nelson said in a news release. OSHA began to tighten anhydrous ammonia handling requirements for retail facilities that were exempt following an April 2013 explosion of 40 to 60 tons of fertilizer at a plant in West Texas. Caused by a fire, the explosion killed 15 people, injured 160 and damaged or destroyed 160 buildings.  When OSHA dropped the retail sales exemption, it didn’t first request public comment, which the Agricultural Retailers Association and the Fertilizer Institute used as a lever for their lawsuit seeking to roll back the regulations.  The ruling orders OSHA to reinstate the exemption for retailers because the federal agency failed to provide notice and offer comment periods as required by law. Experts say going through the rule making process could take years.