KINGSBURY, Ind. – A grain elevator in Indiana has plans to expand for the third time in less than a decade.

Kingsbury Elevator is seeking a zoning variance to store anhydrous ammonia in two tanks each holding up to 45,000 gallons of the crop fertilizer.

Owner Ed Lindborg said the nitrogen fertilizer would be shipped to the elevator in rail cars from production facilities in Mississippi, Iowa and Canada.

The fertilizer in liquid form when compressed would be stored in tanks he wants to place in an open field more than 2,000 feet from the grain elevator at Kingsbury Industrial Park in the northwest part of the state.

Lindborg said the anhydrous ammonia would be stored until loaded on semi-trucks for delivery mostly to retailers in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Farmers within a 20- to 30-mile radius of the elevator could also go directly to the site to purchase the fertilizer.

“We’re doing a good project. It’s good for the local farmers,” he said.

The LaPorte County Redevelopment Commission last week approved extending a water line to the facility for fire protection.

The fertilizer converts to a gas and becomes explosive when released into the air.

Lindborg said the plan includes installation of sensing technology that would detect a leak if one ever developed and start an automatic sprinkler system to neutralize the gas filtering into the air.

He said the Office of Indiana State Chemist has already issued a permit for the proposed operation.

Lindborg said he’s seeking a variance from the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals because the project involves storage of anhydrous ammonia and to be transparent about his plans with local authorities as an extra safety precaution.

“This thing is highly regulated and, basically, extremely safe the way we’re doing it,” he said.

Kingsbury Elevator already stores up to 10,000 tons of liquid and dry fertilizer offered to local farmers.

Lindborg said the expansion would give farmers within a 500-mile radius of the elevator access to fertilizer at a price less expensive than what they’re currently paying.

“It’s just an extension of what we’re doing already,” he said.

Kingsbury Elevator expanded its rail yard in 2015 with four additional service lines for the Canadian National Railroad to use for bringing in more corn and soybeans along with fertilizer. The product is stored then distributed from the elevator.

Another expansion at the elevator with both projects totaling about $8 million happened about three years later.

“Rail works,” Lindborg said.

His request for a variance is scheduled to be heard at the April 20 meeting of the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals at 6 p.m.

Lindborg said he hopes to begin work on installing the storage facility in May.

Matt Reardon, of the LaPorte County Office of Economic and Community Development, did not anticipate difficulties with obtaining a variance.

He said Kingsbury Industrial Park is already zoned for heavy industry and the fertilizer is widely used in agriculture.

He also said extra safety precautions must be taken for projects of this nature. “There’s special rules that are required by the State of Indiana to make sure that your storage and operation are safe and secure and protects the surrounding the area,” he said.