Ammonium Nitrate Storage Facilities Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1145)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Ammonium Nitrate Storage Facilities Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

ammonium nitrate

ammonium nitrate means the chemical compound NH₄ NO₃ in granular, prilled, flake, crystalline or other solid form; (nitrate d’ammonium)

ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizer

ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizer means a mixture consisting of ammonium nitrate and other fertilizer or inert substances and intended for use as a fertilizer; (engrais mélangés contenant du nitrate d’ammonium)

capacity of a storage facility

capacity of a storage facility means the maximum weight of ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizer which the applicant, in accordance with the requirements of Part I, declares he will store therein; (capacité d’une installation d’emmagasinage)

Commission

Commission means the Canadian Transport Commission; (Commission)

dangerous commodity

dangerous commodity means any substance subject to the Regulations for the Transportation of Dangerous Commodities by Rail as approved by General Order O-29 and amendments thereto, or subject to any other regulations or order made by the Commission to control its hazard; (marchandise dangereuse)

main track

main track is a track extending through yards and between stations where trains are operated by timetable, train order, block signals, or some other method of control approved by the Commission; (voie ferrée principale)

National Building Code of Canada

National Building Code of Canada means the building code of that name which is published by the National Research Council; except as may otherwise be prescribed in these Regulations, building classifications, types of construction and fire separations shall be in accordance with that Code; (Code national du bâtiment au Canada)

on-site building or structure

on-site building or structure means a building or structure occupying the same site as the storage facility and is used exclusively by the company or person that operates the storage facility; (bâtiment ou ouvrage sur l’emplacement)

ordinary location

ordinary location means a location in which electrical equipment, under normal conditions of use, is not unduly exposed to damage from mechanical causes, excessive dust, moisture, extreme temperatures or corrosive, flammable or explosive atmospheres; (emplacement ordinaire)

owning or operating company

owning or operating company means the person or company owning or operating the storage facility; (compagnie propriétaire ou exploitante)

railway right-of-way

railway right-of-way means lands that are owned or leased by a railway, are contiguous to that railway’s tracks and are required for railway purposes; (emprise du chemin de fer)

railway station

railway station means any location where passenger or freight trains may stop in accordance with the current railway timetable; (gare de chemin de fer)

railway station-dwelling

railway station-dwelling means a railway station, of which a part is used as a dwelling; (gare-habitation)

serving track

serving track means the track serving the storage facility and upon which railway cars are located for loading or unloading purposes; (voie de desserte)

shall

shall is used to indicate mandatory provisions; (le futur)

should

should is used to indicate a recommendation; (le conditionnel)

storage facility

storage facility means a warehouse or other enclosure used for the storage of ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizer. (installation d’emmagasinage)

Application

3 Subject to any licence law or other law or by-law of any province or municipality lawfully enacted with regard to storage facilities for ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizers, the Commission, for the protection of property and the protection, safety, accommodation and comfort of the public and of the employees of the railway company and users of the railway and railway property, makes these Regulations applying to  storage facilities for ammonium nitrate and ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizers located on the right-of-way owned or leased by any railway company subject to the jurisdiction of the Canadian Transport Commission.

4 These Regulations do not apply to

• (a) storage facilities which at no time will contain more than 3,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizers;

• (b) nitro carbo nitrates or other ammonium nitrate blasting agents; the preparation, storage or use of such blasting agents or similar mixtures in or contiguous to an ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizer storage facility is prohibited; and

• (c) ammonium nitrate mixed fertilizers containing less than 60 per cent ammonium nitrate by weight if they do not contain iron oxide, chromic oxide, inorganic salts of chromium, copper or manganese, powdered metals, sulphur, potassium chloride or any other ingredient in quantities which will appreciably sensitize or otherwise increase the hazard of ammonium nitrate.

PART IApplications for Approval

• 5 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), no storage facility with a capacity exceeding 200 tons, including any addition thereto, shall be constructed without an order of the Commission issued upon an application prepared and submitted in accordance with the requirements of sections 7 to 11.

• (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), such a storage facility may be constructed without an order of the Commission if the prior written consent of the Director of Operation is obtained; however, such a storage facility shall not be used until it is approved by an order of the Commission issued upon an application prepared and submitted in accordance with sections 7 to 11.

• (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), such a facility completed prior to October 30, 1965 may be used until October 30, 1966 without an order of the Commission, if it is operated and maintained in accordance with the requirements of Part IV; but it shall not be used after October 30, 1966 without an order of the Commission made upon an application prepared and submitted in accordance with sections 7 to 11.

• 6 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), a storage facility with a capacity not exceeding 200 tons, including any addition thereto, shall not be constructed without the written consent of the Director of Operation, granted upon an application prepared in accordance with sections 8 to 11 and submitted in duplicate to him.

• (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) and notwithstanding subsection (1), such a storage facility completed prior to October 30, 1965 may be used until October 30, 1966 without the consent of the Director of Operation, if it is operated and maintained in accordance with the requirements of Part IV; but it shall not be used after October 30, 1966 until consent to do so is obtained in the manner prescribed in subsection (1).

• (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), decisions of the Director of Operation with respect to those requirements may be appealed to the Commission.

• 7 (1) Applications for the approval of the Commission to construct a storage facility, as prescribed in section 5, shall be submitted through the railway company concerned to the Secretary of the Commission.

• (2) Such applications shall be accompanied by four copies of all drawings, prepared in accordance with sections 8 to 11.

• 8 (1) A plot plan showing the location of the storage facility in relation to the other structures and boundary lines referred to in section 10, shall be drawn to a minimum scale of one inch to 100 feet.

• (2) If the plot plan prescribed in subsection (1) does not provide a clear representation of the storage facility in relation to other structures on the same site, a plan of the on-site structures drawn to a minimum scale of one inch to 50 feet shall be provided.

9 All drawings and data sheets shall be dated, bear an identification number and the name of the applicant. The drawings and data sheets shall be signed, preferably by the Chief Engineer or other official of the company responsible for either their preparation or submission.

10 The plan shall show by dimension lines the location of the storage facility in relation to the buildings, structures and property lines referred to in the following paragraphs and if there are no buildings within the distances specified herein, a statement to this effect shall appear in the drawing notes:

• (a) the gauge side of the nearest rail of the track serving the facility;

• (b) the gauge side of the nearest rail of any main track or any track other than a track serving the facility and located within 20 feet of the storage facility;

• (c) any building or other structure mentioned in paragraphs 12(a) to (d);

• (d) boundary lines of the leased property upon which the storage facility is located;

• (e) railway right-of-way boundaries;

• (f) all structures located on the same site as the storage facility; and

• (g) nearest fire hydrant or other source of water available for fire fighting purposes; indicate pressure and gallons per minute of water available at the hydrant nozzle and the approximate distance to the nearest fire department.

11 Applications will only be considered if the following information is provided in the drawing notes or legend or in data sheets or letters attached thereto:

• (a) evidence that the Provincial Fire Marshal, Fire Commissioner or other local fire authority having jurisdiction in the area has no objection to the proposed storage facility; such evidence may be provided by the appropriate authority either by signing the plan or in a letter addressed to the owning or operating company;

• (b) contents of the storage facility and ancillary buildings and the approximate quantity of each material in storage;

• (c) size, general design features and materials of construction of the storage facility and ancillary buildings;

• (d) type and size of fork lift truck, front end loader, or other motive power to be used in the storage facility;

• (e) type and size of heating unit, if any, in the storage facility or an attached building;

• (f) location of the storage facility by reference to the railway company serving the site, the railway subdivision, the railway mileage and the name of the hamlet, village, town or city in which the storage facility is located; and

• (g) a statement shall appear in the drawing notes to the effect that the proposed facility complies in all respects with these Regulations, unless there are exceptions, in which case the exceptions shall be listed.

11.1 Where the Commission has issued an order pursuant to subsection 5(1) relating to the construction of a storage facility, a copy of each drawing referred to in subsection 7(2) shall be kept by the railway company for the life of the storage facility and retained for at least two years thereafter.

PART IIDistances

12 Except as provided in sections 13 and 14, the horizontal distance between a storage facility and the nearest point of another building, structure or property line, should not be less than

• (a) 300 feet from any school, hospital, hotel, motel, church, theatre, auditorium, sports arena, multi-store shopping centre, apartment or other similar multi-unit residential building, office building or department store or merchandise building of more than one storey in height or any other similar structure used for assembly, institutional, residential, business, personal service, or mercantile purposes, or any building considered by the Commission to belong to this category;

• (b) 150 feet from a single family dwelling, railway passenger station, railway station-dwelling, office building or department store or merchandise building or restaurant of one storey in height, or any other similar structure used for housing, business, personal service, or mercantile purposes, or any other building considered by the Commission to belong to this category;

• (c) 100 feet from any factory, railway shop or other building used primarily for manufacturing, processing or for maintenance or repair work, or from an adjoining office building associated with these buildings, except that this distance should not be less than 50 feet if the capacity of the storage facility does not exceed 200 tons;

• (d) 100 feet from any railway freight station, warehouse, storage tank or any other storage or transfer facility used for a combustible or dangerous commodity or from an adjoining office building associated with these buildings, except that this distance should not be less than 50 feet if the capacity of the storage facility does not exceed 200 tons;

• (e) the following distances from the nearest point of the line of an adjoining property which has been or may be built upon and which is owned or leased by any person or company other than the owner of the storage facility:

  • (i) not less than 25 feet if the capacity of the storage facility does not exceed 200 tons,

  • (ii) not less than 50 feet if the capacity of the storage facility exceeds 200 tons, unless it is constructed of non-combustible materials as provided for by subparagraph (iii) or the adjoining property is occupied by another ammonium nitrate storage facility as provided for by subparagraph (iv),

  • (iii) not less than 25 feet if the storage facility referred to in subparagraph (ii) is of non-combustible construction and has a fire separation of not less than 1 1/2 hours on the exposed side,

  • (iv) not less than 25 feet if the property adjoining the property referred to in subparagraph (ii) is occupied by another ammonium nitrate storage facility approved in accordance with these Regulations and if there are no other buildings between the two storage facilities;

• (f) 20 feet from the gauge side of the nearest rail of a main track or any track other than a track serving the storage facility; and

• (g) the distances prescribed in Schedule I from the gauge side of the nearest rail of the track serving the storage facility.