The City of West, Texas is suing a fertilizer company and itssuppliers for unspecified damages suffered as the result of adevastating explosion at the retailer in April.

“The city of West, literally ripped apart, suffered extensivedamage to its infrastructure, real and personal property,” says thesuit, field shortly after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied a request foradditional financial aid.

The explosion killed 15, injured 160 and damaged or destroyeddozens of buildings, according to the lawsuit. The suit says thatthe city high school, middle school, an apartment complex, anursing care facility and more than 150 homes were either severelydamaged or totally destroyed by the explosion.

The fertilizer retailer, West Fertilizer Co., storedhundreds of tons of the volatile chemical compound, ammoniumnitrate, used to feed crops surrounding the small, rural city ofabout 2,800. A fire at the facility on April 17 caused thedetonation of the chemical. Federal authorities ruled thecause of the fire “undetermined.”

West Fertilizer, a $4 million/year operation, had just $1million of liability insurance. The city of West has more than$10 million in uninsured losses to its infrastructure andschools. Federal officials have paid or agreed to pay an estimated$25 million to the state and to affected families after theexplosion. Gov. Rick Perry is appealing FEMA's latest denial offunds to the city.

The suit names Adair Grain, parent company of West Fertilizer,and its supplier, CF Industries, based in Deerfield, Ill.

CF Industries “knew of the dangers associated with themanufacture and use of ammonium nitrate and failed in their duty toexercise care commensurate with and proportionate to the combineddanger of formulating, designing, manufacturing, supplying and/ormarketing of ammonium nitrate,” alleges the lawsuit, filed indistrict court in Waco, Texas.

The supplier was allegedly in the “best position to know andunderstand the full nature of the danger of the productmanufactured by them,” but “made no effort to determine the risk tothe community into which their product was shipped.”

“Instead [CF Industries] blindly sold hundreds of tons ofhazardous ammonium nitrate to West Fertilizer Company, anddelivered it to a facility located within a community of people,houses, parks, schools and a nursing home,” the suit alleges.

The city also alleges West Fertilizer was negligent in the wayit stored and maintained the volatile chemical compound.

The suit reveals the explosion involved 30 tons of ammoniumnitrate fertilizer stored inside two wooden bins located withinthe fertilizer mixing building. An additional 100 tonsstored in railcars stored nearby.

“Did we know how much? No,” West Mayor Tommy Muska tellsPC360 in West a month after the catastrophewhen asked about the amount of ammonium nitrate at WestFertilizer. “I don't think we had any idea.”

“We just grew up with it out there,” Muska adds. “Nobodyknew.”

The fertilizer company, serving farmers in the area since1962, existed before the city expanded in its direction,Muska says.