Diagnose the leg, the loader, or the collector
You are about to pay for a diagnostic on a marine leg, a bulk ship loader, or a dust collector at a Louisiana export elevator or a floating transfer. This page says which machine is in spec, which published charges already exist, and which jobs this desk refuses.
Who this diagnostic is for
You manage an export elevator or a midstream transfer and a ship is waiting on a marine leg, a loading spout, or a dust collector. 1910.272(i) already makes the employer tell a contractor about known fire and explosion hazards in the work area, and explain the emergency action plan.1 The callback is how that contractor call starts when the machine is one of the three on this page. It is not a standing offer to every building that stores grain.
Appendix A states that the standard does not apply to on-farm storage or feed lots.2 A residence in Destrehan, Reserve, Paulina, Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville, or New Orleans is not the elevator at the river mile printed in the tariff. The Donaldsonville notice is an ammonia marine terminal. The Alabo Street note is a transfer with no leg in the published plan.
What is published, and what you still have to verify
No statute and no port tariff on file here prints a statewide price for an emergency diagnostic. The figures below are published charges for delay, handling, or a documented repair estimate. They are not a quote for this desk, and they are not a menu.
| Item | Published figure | Document | What it is not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic callout | No published statewide fee | Not in 1910.272 or the tariffs read for this page | A quote |
| One-spout or reduced-rate loading | $4,500 per hour or fraction | Cargill Tariff No. 24, item 22, effective 1 September 2026 | A repair invoice |
| Terre Haute ballast or hold-drying delay | $9,000 per hour | Same tariff, item 23 | A leg overhaul |
| ADM line handling | $1,207.50 per handling | ADM Tariff No. 11, effective 1 April 2026 | A bearing replacement |
| Destrehan buoy line handling | $2,415 per handling | Same tariff, Destrehan buoy sentence only | The Reserve rate |
| ADM minimum dockage | $32,000 per berthing | Same tariff | A diagnostic |
| Convent gallery damage, 11 November 2020 | $481,006 estimated | NTSB MAB-21-20 | A price list for galleries |
Cargill’s receiving rate in that tariff is 7 cents USD per inbound bushel from covered hopper cars or barges, plus $1,200 per barge with roll-top covers. Outbound grain into vessels is 5 cents per bushel. ADM’s receiving rate for grain by hopper rail or barge is 6 cents per bushel, and roll-top barges are $1,000. Those pennies matter because they show the houses do not share one rate card. They do not price the diagnostic.
Three decisions that follow from the documents
- Match the machine to the paragraph: leg under 1910.272(q), fabric collector under (l), malfunction and bearings under (m).
- Match the parish to the tariff sentence that is unique there. The Destrehan buoy rate and the Terre Haute one-spout rate fail if you swap the town.
- Leave the job if the Corps notice or the operator’s own FAQ says the machine is not a grain leg. Guessing a tripper onto an ammonia dock is how a crew is sent to the wrong plant.
Filter collectors installed after 30 March 1988 have to sit outside, or in an area with explosion suppression, or in a room with at least a one-hour fire-resistance rating, against an exterior wall, vented outside, with vent and ductwork built to resist rupture from a deflagration. That is 1910.272(l)(2). Belts and lagging bought after the same date have to be conductive, with surface resistance not over 300 megohms. 1910.272(q)(2). If your file does not show the purchase date, say the file is silent. Do not invent the date to force a violation.
The NTSB report on the GH Storm Cat is the worked case for a loader gallery, not for a leg. On 11 November 2020 the ship’s crane boom hit the Zen-Noh conveyor gallery at mile 163.8. Damage was estimated at $481,006. The probable cause was the absence of a dedicated signalman.5 Read that before you treat every stopped spout as an electrical fault. The Convent dust note stays with the gallery. The Port Allen conveyor note stays with the two belts. Spout money is on the spout list.
Straight time at Terre Haute is 08:00 to 16:00, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and the holidays named in Tariff No. 24.3 ADM overtime in Tariff No. 11 is $1,300 per hour on weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.4 A diagnostic that runs into those hours inherits the elevator’s overtime only if the tariff says the vessel or the shipper pays it. It does not create a new overtime line for the diagnostic.
Questions before you hire the diagnostic
Is there a published fee for this diagnostic?
Not in 1910.272, not in ADM Tariff No. 11, and not in Cargill Tariff No. 24. Those documents price dockage, line handling, spout restrictions, and handling per bushel. Use them to see what the ship is already burning. Verify the diagnostic price with the contractor. This page will not invent one.
Does the same tariff cover every Louisiana elevator?
No. ADM Tariff No. 11 names Ama, Destrehan, Reserve, and St. Elmo. Cargill Tariff No. 24 names Terre Haute at Reserve and the Westwego elevator. Zen-Noh, the Port Allen house, and the Myrtle Grove rig publish their own sheets. Westwego is on the Cargill tariff and is not a St. John Parish path on this site.
Who has to be on site for hot work if there is no permit?
The employer, or the representative who would otherwise have signed the permit, for the whole job. Otherwise 1910.272(f) requires the permit, kept until the hot work is done, certifying that 1910.252(a) was in place first. An authorized welding shop, or an authorized area outside the grain-handling structure, is the other exception written in the paragraph.
What should I hand the contractor before the leg is opened?
The known fire and explosion hazards for that work area, the facility safety rules that apply, and the emergency action plan. That is the employer’s duty under 1910.272(i). The certification record for the last preventive-maintenance inspection under (m)(3) belongs in the same packet if the argument is that the bearing or the collector was already on a schedule.
References
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. “29 CFR 1910.272 — Grain handling facilities.” Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “1910.272 Appendix A.” Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- Cargill. “Tariff No. 24,” Terre Haute Elevator, Reserve, and Westwego, effective 1 September 2026. Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- ADM Grain Company. “Elevator Tariff No. 11,” effective 1 April 2026. Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- National Transportation Safety Board. “Contact of Bulk Carrier GH Storm Cat’s Crane with Zen-Noh Grain Facility,” MAB-21-20. Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. “Public Notice MVN-2023-00269-CF.” Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
How to cite this page
APA: Diagnose the leg, the loader, or the collector. (2026, October 8). Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics. https://louisianagrainelevator.com/service
MLA: “Diagnose the leg, the loader, or the collector.” Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics, 8 Oct. 2026, https://louisianagrainelevator.com/service.
Chicago: Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics. “Diagnose the leg, the loader, or the collector.” Accessed October 8, 2026. https://louisianagrainelevator.com/service.