Cooperative Elevator Co., Farver Road, MI Facility - Executive Summary

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Executive Summary for Cooperative Elevator Company's :  Farver Road, Elkton,  Michigan Anhydrous Ammonia Facility: 
 
This RMP represents an update of the information originally filed. Information has been updated to reflect the fact that this facility has been purchased by the Cooperative Elevator Company, from Land O' Lakes, who purchased it from Terra International. 
 
1.    Accidental Release Prevention and Emergency Response Policies: 
We at Cooperative Elevator Co. are strongly committed to employee, public and environmental safety.  This commitment is inherent to a comprehensive accidental release prevention program in place that covers areas such as design, installation, operating procedures, maintenance, and employee training associated with the process at our facility.  It is our policy to implement appropriate controls to prevent possible releases of regulated substances.  Unforeseeably, if such a release does occur, our  trained personnel are at hand to control and mitigate the eff 
ects of the release.  We also coordinate with the Oliver Twp. Fire Dept. which provides additional emergency response expertise. 
 
 
2.    The Stationary Source and the Regulated Substances Handled: 
Our facility's primary activities encompass Storage and transfer of agricultural anhydrous ammonia..   
The product is stored in a 18,000 gallon capacity tank, which, for safety purposes, is never filled beyond 85% full. There would be 84,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the largest  tank when 85% filled. 
 
Our facility also has about 20 nurse tanks used to transport the ammonia to the farmer for use. Each nurse tank has a capacity of 1000-1150 gallons, and they are not filled beyond 85% of their capacity.  
 
 
 
3.    The Worst Case Release Scenario(s) and the Alternative Release Scenario(s), including administrative controls and mitigation mea 
sures to limit the distances for each reported scenario. 
Methodology given in the RMP Offsite Consequence Analysis Guidance by the EPA using the Look-up Table approach and equations has been employed by our facility to perform worst and alternative case release scenarios. The tables used for our scenarios were developed by The Fertilizer Institute, a trade organization serving our industry. TFI used Degadis for modeling the releases. The following paragraphs provide details of the chosen scenarios. 
 
The worst case release scenario submitted for Program 2 and 3 toxic substances as a class involves a catastrophic release of ammonia from the storage tank, which  is 85% full.  The scenario involves the release of 84000 lb. of Ammonia in a gaseous form over 10 minutes.  Under worst case weather conditions, namely Class F atmospheric stability and 1.5 m/s wind speed, this release would have off site consequences. It would be extremely unlikely that this would ever happen, as the tank would l 
iterally have to burst open for this to occur. 
 
An alternative release scenario is also provided for the anhydrous ammonia. This scenario represents a  more likely incident. 
 
The alternative release scenario for Ammonia involves a release of ammonia due to a ruptured transfer hose.  The scenario involves the release of 11,908.00 lb. of Ammonia in a gaseous form over 2 minutes.  It is believed that the release could be stopped within two minutes by our employees. Under neutral weather conditions, this release would also have off site consequences. 
 
 
4.    The General Accidental Release Prevention Program and the Chemical-Specific Prevention Steps 
Our facility complies with the requirements of several regulations, including requirements set out under 40 CFR part 68 of the EPA. Is also complies with other Federal, and State regulations. 
Additionally, our facility is inspected regularly by government agencies. Any recommendations made are promptly followed. 
 
5.    Five-year Accident History 
Ther 
e have been no accidental releases in the past five years. 
 
 
6.    Emergency Response Plan 
Cooperative Elevator Co. has a written emergency response plan to deal with accidental releases of hazardous materials.  The plan includes all aspects of emergency response including adequate first aid and medical treatment, evacuations, notification of local emergency response agencies and the public, as well as post-incident decontamination of affected areas. 
 
Huron County is the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) with which our emergency plan has been coordinated and verified. The plan is reviewed at least annually, and promptly updated when necessary. 
 
7.    Planned Changes to Improve Safety 
More frequent self inspections are planned to identify and correct problems more promptly
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