U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., has introduced legislation that would repeal the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s interpretive memorandum that revoked the exemption for retail facilities from process safety management regulations for anhydrous ammonia.

 

 

Smith’s bill is H.R. 5213, the Fertilizer Access and Responsible Management (FARM) Act.

 

 

OSHA bypassed the rule-making process in July 2015 and issued a memorandum redefining regulations on anhydrous ammonia, Smith said, forcing retailers to comply with the process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals standard from which they were previously exempt.

 

 

He said the memorandum impacts approximately 4,800 fertilizer retailers and will cost the industry in excess of $100 million. Federal law requires any regulatory action with an economic impact of $100 million or more to be submitted to Congress and published for public input.

 

 

The Obama administration cited a 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas when issuing the memorandum. Last week, federal investigators announced the cause of the explosion was arson.

 

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