The 2007 legislature amended the MN Fertilizer Law-

A permit and safeguard is not required for agricultural commodity producers who store, on their own property, for their own use, no more than 6,000 gallons of liquid commercial fertilizer.

[Note: This exemption from regulation does not allow bulk liquid fertilizer to be similarly stored at chemigation sites (irrigation system used to apply fertilizer). Minnesota's Chemigation Regulations include specific mandatory requirements for setback to wells and required containment safeguards based on size of tank and duration of storage.]

Effective July 1, 2007 farmers can store up to 6,000 gallons of bulk liquid fertilizer (liquid commercial fertilizer) on their own property without first having to obtain a MDA permit or having to provide secondary containment for such storage.

Tank size may be greater than 6,000 gallons however, at no time is total product storage allowed to exceed 6,000 gallons without the site first being permitted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and secondary containment installed.

Failure to maintain tanks and plumbing is the leading cause of bulk liquid fertilizer incidents at farm sites. Farmers are still required to maintain tanks and plumbing in a manner so as to prevent an incident. Utilizing older metal tanks that have not been inspected for integrity is high risk. Using carbon instead of stainless steel connections and valves is not advised due to the accelerated corrosion activity and weakening of the metal that occurs from contact with liquid fertilizer.

Farmers who store bulk liquid fertilizer are also required to maintain an Incident Response Plan. The plan must describe the storage, handling, disposal and incident handling practices at the storage site. Incident Response Plans must be maintained by the farmer for review upon request by the MDA. The plan doesn’t need to be complicated; sample plans are available at the MDA's website.

Farmers who store bulk liquid fertilizer are encouraged not to store bulk liquid fertilizer adjacent to wells, surface waters, tile inlets or anything that might be easily contaminated following a spill/release.

Retailers and distributors of bulk liquid fertilizer are advised that delivery to farmer managed tanks comes with at least partial liability for safe storage. Tanks and plumbing (nipples, plugs, sight gauges, valves, etc.) with obvious, insufficient integrity and which subsequently have caused a release may subject the retailer and/or distributor- as well as the farmer- to department enforcement response.

Please note that a MDA bulk liquid fertilizer storage permit application (including drawings and specifications for secondary containment) and an application fee of $100 must be submitted to the department for review and approval prior to construction commencing or storage occurring of quantities greater than 6000 gallons. Permit application turn around time is usually about 30 days; incomplete applications require more time. Persons who build secondary containment or utilize existing structures for secondary containment prior to being issued a permit are subject to MDA enforcement and penalties, and may be required to remove the bulk liquid fertilizer from a site if the department finds the secondary containment not adequate to prevent an incident.

MDA Contact

Greg Harding, Ag Chem Registration/Facilities Consultant
Greg.Harding@state.mn.us
651-201-6274
Pesticide & Fertilizer Management Division