Federal Homeland Security officials have agreed to exempt small rural farms from a propane storage reporting rule.
Earlier in 2007, measures were proposed by the agency requiring registration and reporting by anyone using 7.500 pounds or more of propane fuel. This would have a major impact on thousands of poultry operations as propane is used at many facilities for heating.
The agency raised the trigger amount for reporting to 60,000 pounds after objections were raised nationwide. Additionally, officials agreed to exclude any tanks smaller than 10.000 pounds from calculations used to determining the need for reporting.
Senator Tom Carper , D-Del, publicly questioned the homeland security measure: “The chemical security proposal should focus on dangerous chemical facilities, not chicken houses in small, rural communities, like those across the Delmarva Peninsula.â €?