1005 Testing Clinic                

Test Your Own NH3 Nurse Tanks

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Indiana Plant Food and Agricultural Chemical Association and the Ohio Agribusiness Association, offer clinics to provide you with the training and tools you need to stay in compliance with Special Permit (DOT-SP 13554).

Special Permit 13554 allows the operation of nurse tanks without ASME nameplates, providing the tanks are tested and marked as follows; external visual inspection (V), thickness test (T), and hydrostatic pressure test (P). In addition, each tank must be marked with a unique number to identify the tank, along with marking DOT-SP 13554 on the tank. For continued use, a tank must be tested and marked every five years, the owner must renew the special permit, and a current copy of the special permit must be maintained by the owner and every location the tank is filled.  These tests must be performed by facilities registered with US DOT FMCSA as cargo tank testers.  DOT guidance can be found here.

At the 1005 Testing Clinic, attendees will learn how to comply with DOT nurse tank testing requirements, how to become eligible to test, and how to test nurse tanks. The class also serves as an educational/training requirement to be eligible to test.  To become eligible to test a facility's nurse tanks, attendees should meet one of the following qualifications:

o    Has an engineering degree and one year of work experience relating to the testing and inspection of cargo tanks;

o    Has an associate degree in engineering and two years of work experience relating to the testing and inspection of cargo tanks; or

o    Has a high school diploma (or GED) and three years of work experience relating to the testing and inspection of cargo tanks.

Each clinic begins with one full day of training and a second half-day that ends in a hands-on practice session with a nurse tank taught by a DOT official.  Registration cost is $200 per attendee.  Educational materials will be provided as well as lunch on the first day of class.

Click here for a registration form.  Please make checks payable to "ARA".

West Lafayette, IN                   July 22                                      8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

July 23                                      8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Waldo, OH                               August 26                                 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

August 27                                 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.