Tileman2

Coup is from IL, so am I. I'm not sure what a "state chemist" is, but in IL the IL Dept of Ag takes care of on-farm & commercial site fertilizer storage, including NH3.

In IL a private farmer, no sales intended, has to have his NH3 site & equipment, including his portables, inspected annually, as well as after initial install. You will not receive an operating certificate from them until all is OK. Without that OK, no one is supposed to load in to your tank. No trucker, no dealer. I would have to say the State of IL Dept of Ag folks have been more than helpful at compliance questions. If you need a new valve, they tell you which valve. They also tell you a year or more ahead of time. If a new requirement is going into effect, it seems to always have a lead time. They tell you of this. For instance, "By October of 2020 you will need a new safety valve.....". There is always plenty of time to prepare. I don't know the consequences if you fail or refuse to comply. I also don't know what happens if you fail or refuse to pay Illinois income taxes. Might be the same. Point is, there's always plenty of time to assess the situation & shop & compare the remedies of NH3 storage compliance. Part of the inspection process is an annual (at least) inspection of the required safety equipment, like masks, gloves, emergency phone #s, etc. Some of the mask filters have shelf lives that have to be observed. Though some may question any of this, there seems to be some practicality in the requirements.

Re. "competent" insurance agent.....are you suggesting that any given farmer other than yourself doesn't already have competent agents or coverage? If I ask our agent "are we OK to put an approved NH3 tank on the farm" and he/she says, "I have checked with the underwriter & you have no problem....", is that OK with your assessment? Absolutely NONE of us have any idea how good our insurance is until we've been thru the trial by fire. This includes health, auto, and property. 

We deal with both NH3 & liquid on our farm. I often wonder what would happen if someone rolled a 5000 gal tanker or 2000 gal nurse tank of UAN into the river as they cross the bridge & spill into a flowing waterway? I have heard factually how the EPA views the diesel fuel you'll put in the river. Do you have competent insurance for that on your piddly farm policy?

I encourage no one to change their N choices based on fear. I also don't like anyone calling anyone ignorant of anything or clueless. That gets personal, not having much to do with ag. But, that's just me.