ATF
ISSUES INTERIM FINAL RULE ON SAFE EXPLOSIVES ACT
Comments
Due By June 18, 2003
WASHINGTON
-- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued an Interim
Final Rule today that will implement provisions of the Safe Explosives Act
signed into law by President Bush on Nov. 25, 2002.
Passed
as part of the Homeland Security Act in response to the concern about possible
threats, the Safe Explosives Act requires tighter security for explosives materials
and increased security measures for purchasers and possessors of explosives. It
requires all persons who wish to obtain explosives, even for limited use, to obtain
a federal license or permit and adds three new categories of people who may not
lawfully receive or possess explosive materials.
By implementing these new requirements through its interim rule, ATF seeks to
help prevent the criminal misuse of explosive materials, while facilitating the
acquisition of explosives for use in the wide variety of lawful uses by businesses
and individuals in our economy and society.
The
interim rule sets forth procedures and establishes regulations regarding issues
covered in the Act. Among other things, it implements the law's requirement that
all people receiving explosives on and after May 24, 2003, obtain a federal license
or permit, and creates a new type of permit, the "limited permit."
Officially
known as the Interim Final Rule with Request for Comments on the Implementation
of the Safe Explosives Act Title XI, Subtitle C of Public Law 107-296, the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, it also provides a 90-day period for comments on the new
regulations. In general, the regulations go into effect March 20, 2003, with comments
due no later than June 18, 2003.
Certain
other provisions contained in the interim rule:
