# Land O"Lakes Purina Feed, LLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 11-0116
- **title:** Land O"Lakes Purina Feed, LLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2011-08-22
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 11-0116 response to Land O"Lakes Purina Feed, LLC concerning 173.315.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0116.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0116.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0116
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110116.pdf
**body:**

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1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
U.S. Department Washington. DC 20590
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous AUG 22 2011
Materials Safety
Administration
Mr. Paul A. Luther, P.E.
EHS Manager
Land Q'Lakes Purina Feed, LLC
555 Maryville University Dr, Suite 950
St. Louis. MO 63141
Ref. No. 11-0116
Dear Mr. Luther:
This responds to your May 17,2011 request for clarification of the Hazardous Materials
Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). In your letter, you state that your company has
two locations in Texas that manufacture liquid cattle feed. An ingredient of the cattle feed is
anhydrous ammonia. On average, two to three nurse tanks containing anhydrous ammonia
(1,000 gallons each) are delivered to these locations weekly. According to your letter,
recently an inspector advised that you may not receive nurse tanks under the provisions of
§ 173.315(m). Specifically, you ask if the provisions of § 173.315(m) permit the
transportation of nurse tanks containing anhydrous ammonia, which is an implement of
husbandry, to be transported to the facilities involved in the manufacturing of liquid cattle
feed.
The answer is no. The transportation ofthe nurse tanks, as described in your letter, does not
satisfy the condition in § 173.3 15(m) that the transportation be conducted by a private carrier
exclusively for agricultural purposes. Section 173.315(m) authorizes the transportation of
anhydrous ammonia in a cargo tank that does not meet the specification requirements of part
178 (commonly known as a nurse tank and considered an implement of husbandry), and is
operated by a private carrier exclusively for agricultural purposes provided that all the
specified conditions are met. A private carrier is a carrier who transports the business's own
material and does not provide such transportation services to other businesses.
I hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office
at (202) 366-8553.
Si~S-~
Ben Supko
Chief. Standards Development
Standards and Rulemaking Division

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Land Q'Lakes Purina Feed LLC .
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May 17,2011
Charles Betts
Division Director
Standards and Rulemaking
Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Betts:
I am Paul A. Luther, P.E., Environmental Health and Safety Manager, for Land O'Lakes Purina Feed,
LLC. One ofour company's facilities in Hereford, Texas as well as their supplier of anhydrous ammonia
recently experienced a DOT Hazardous Materials inspection and I am requesting an official interpretation
from your agency on what we have been told.
Land O'Lakes Purina Feed is a diverse agricultural company with manufacturing locations in 28 states.
In Texas, we have two facilities that manufacture liquid cattle feed. They are located in Herford and
Rosenberg, Texas. A critical ingredient in our liquid cattle feed is anhydrous ammonia. Our Hereford,
Texas facility does not have permanent fixed storage so Land O'Lakes Purina Feed receives the
anhydrous ammonia by nurse tanks. On average two to three nurse tanks, with a capacity of 1,000
gallons each, are received weekly. We have operated in this manner for over two decades at each
location.
The inspector has advised that we cannot receive nurse tanks under the provisions in 49 CFR 173.315(m).
Nurse tanks do not meet the specifications in 49 CFR Part 178 and for that reason 173.315(m) was
adopted.
We are requesting an interpretation of 49 CFR 173.315(m) to allow the use of non-DOT specification
cargo tanks (commonly referred to as nurse tanks and considered an implement of husbandry) for
transportation of anhydrous ammonia to facilities involved in the manufacturing ofliquid cattle feed.
If you have any questions regarding this issue, I can be reached by telephone at (636) 742-6235 or via email
at 12luther(ti)landolakes.com.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Luther, P.E.
EHS Manager
Land O'Lakes Purina Feed, LLC
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