Cedar Rapids one of few communities to charge chemical fee

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids is one of the only communities in Iowa that charges a fee to facilities that store large amounts of potentially-dangerous chemicals.

Other cities and counties want a similar fee to help cover the cost of fighting fires and cleaning up spills of hazardous materials.

'We've had a lot of people ask us to put together a state fee, but the Legislature won't buy off on any state fees,” said Adam Broughton, senior environmental specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Federal law requires public and private facilities that keep large caches of hazardous substances to report those to the state and local emergency responders so they can prepare for leaks, spills or fires. More than 4,000 facilities filed a Tier II report for 2013. (In Sunday's edition, The Gazette reported on how more than 4,000 Iowa facilities reported storing large caches of hazardous chemicals.)

Cedar Rapids started charging a Tier II fee in 2008 to pay for haz-mat training and specialized equipment, such as foam used to fight chemical fires. The city collected $248,300 this year from more than 100 facilities with large caches of chemicals.

Fees are assessed based on the volume and potential risk of the chemical stored on site. So-called extremely hazardous substances - some 300 chemicals - carry twice the fee of standard Tier II chemicals.

Some companies, including Archer Daniels Midland, Danisco and PMX Industries, have enough chemicals to rack up tens of thousands of dollars of fees according to the schedule. But the maximum annual fee per address is $7,000.

'One of the things we're trying to accomplish is to encourage companies to store fewer chemicals on the premises,” Cedar Rapids Assistant Fire Chief Greg Smith said.

Companies that use a lot of chemicals are experimenting with more frequent deliveries so they can store smaller volumes, Broughton said. The downside is more shipments of dangerous chemicals by truck and train - sometimes in outdated rail cars more likely to puncture.

Johnson County was interested in charging a Tier II fee but was told the decision had to be made city by city, Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson said.

Other Iowa fire department have higher permitting fees for facilities with large chemical stores, but don't levy a Tier II fee.

Some states have implemented statewide Tier II fees. Pennsylvania, for example, requires facilities to pay $10 for every chemical reported. Pennsylvania counties may charge an additional $35 to $75 per chemical. Delaware charges $40 to $80 per reported chemical, depending on the hazard level.