AUTHORITY: Implementing and authorized by the Illinois Explosives Act [225 ILCS 210] and 49 CFR 173.50, 27 CFR 555.219, 26 CFR 181.109 and 49 CFR 170 through 189.
SOURCE: Amended September 15, 1973; codified at 7 Ill. Reg. 12867; Part repealed, new Part adopted at 14 Ill. Reg. 3503, effective February 23, 1990; amended at 16 Ill. Reg. 11449, effective July 6, 1992; recodified from the Department of Mines and Minerals to the Department of Natural Resources at 21 Ill. Reg. 16192; amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 14090, effective August 26, 2013; amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 4490, effective March 26, 2021; amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 9600, effective June 24, 2024.
SUBPART A: SCOPE, AUTHORITY AND DEFINITIONS
Section 200.10 Scope and Authority
This Part implements the Illinois Explosives Act (the Act) [225 ILCS 210] and applies to all possession, acquisition, storage, use, transfer and disposal of explosive materials that can be or are classified as Division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.5 explosives by 49 CFR 173.5 except as otherwise provided in the Act. This Part is intended to supplement the requirements of any federal or State law and regulations governing the storage, use, acquisition, possession, disposal and transfer of explosive materials, but shall be construed, wherever possible to avoid conflicting or duplicative requirements. Obtaining an explosives license, a temporary explosives license or storage certificate under this Part does not waive the requirements of any other federal, State or local law or ordinance regulating blasting and explosives.
(Source: Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 4490, effective March 26, 2021)
Section 200.11 Definitions
The following definitions have the meanings specified, except when another meaning is provided in this Part:
"Acceptor" means a charge of explosives or blasting agent receiving an impulse from an exploding donor charge.
"Act" means the Illinois Explosives Act [225 ILCS 210].
"Airblast" (also known as "air overpressure") means airborne waves resulting from the detonation of explosives. Airblast may be caused by burden movement or the release of expanding gas into the air. Airblast may or may not be audible.
"Ammonium Nitrate" means the ammonium salt of nitric acid represented by the formula NH4NO3.
"ANFO" means an explosive material consisting of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.
"Artificial Barricade" means an artificial mound or revetted wall of earth of a minimum thickness of 3 feet at the top of the mound or wall, or a mound or revetted wall of other material offering equivalent protection. Artificial barricades that are vegetated shall be of sufficient slope to enable mowing.
"ATF" means the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice.
"Attended at all Times" means that the Type 3 magazine and any explosives must always be within the line of sight of, and visible to, a member of the work or blasting crew authorized to enter the magazine.
"Authorized Person" means a person holding a current Illinois Surface Aggregate Blasting License, Illinois Surface Coal Certification [225 ILCS 210], Individual Explosives License or qualifying for an exemption pursuant to Section 200.90(d)(5).
"Barricaded" means the effective screening of a building containing explosives from a magazine or other building, railway, or highway by a natural or an artificial barrier. A straight line from the top of any sidewall of the building containing explosives to the eave line of any magazine or other building or to a point 12 feet above the center of a railway or highway shall pass through the barrier.
"Black Powder" means a deflagrating or low explosive compound of an intimate mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and an alkali nitrate, usually potassium or sodium nitrate.
"Blast" or "Blasting" means:
the firing of explosive materials for such purposes as breaking rock or other material, moving material, generating seismic waves, or initiation of display fireworks; and
the assembly of explosive materials for those purposes.
"Blast Zone" means the area of a blast within the influence of flying rock, missiles, debris, gases, airblast and any areas where Department regulated display fireworks are initiated.
"Blasting Agent" means any material or mixture consisting of a fuel and oxidizer intended for blasting, not otherwise defined as an explosive, provided that the finished product, as mixed and packaged for use or shipment, cannot be detonated by means of a No. 8 blasting cap, as defined by ATF, when unconfined and is classified as a Division 1.5 material under 49 CFR 173.50.
"Blasting Cap" means a detonator that is initiated by a safety fuse.
"Bulk Mix" means a mass of explosive material prepared for use in bulk form without packaging.
"Bulk Mix Truck or Delivery Equipment" means equipment (usually a motor vehicle with or without a mechanical delivery device) that transports explosive materials in bulk form for mixing or loading directly into blastholes, or both.
"Bullet-Resistant" means magazine walls or doors of construction resistant to penetration of a bullet of 150-grain M2 ball ammunition having a nominal muzzle velocity of 2700 feet per second fired from a .30 caliber rifle from a distance of 100 feet perpendicular to the wall or door. When a magazine ceiling or roof is required to be bullet-resistant, the ceiling or roof shall be constructed of materials comparable to the side walls or of other materials that will withstand penetration of the bullet described in this definition when fired at an angle of 45 degrees from the perpendicular. Tests to determine bullet resistance shall be conducted on test panels or empty magazines that shall resist penetration of 5 out of 5 shots place independently of each other in an area at least 3 feet by 3 feet.
"Certificate" means a storage certificate issued by the Department allowing for the proper storage of explosives in accordance with the Act.
"Deflagration" means an explosive reaction such as a rapid combustion that moves through an explosive material at a velocity less than the speed of sound in the material.
"Department" means Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
"Detonating Cord" means a flexible cord containing a center core of high explosive.
"Detonation" means an explosive reaction that moves through an explosive material at a velocity greater than the speed of sound in the material.
"Detonator" means any device that contains any initiating or primary explosive that is used for initiating detonation and is classified as a Division 1.1 or 1.4 material under 49 CFR 173.50 (March 30, 2017). A detonator may not contain more than 10 grams of total explosives by weight, excluding ignition or delay charges.
"Director" means Director of the Department of Natural Resources or the Director's designee.
"Disposal", with respect to explosive materials, means to render inert pursuant to manufacturer's recommendations or commonly accepted industry standards.
"Donor" means an exploding charge producing an impulse that impinges upon an explosive "acceptor" charge.
"Explosive" means any chemical compound, mixture or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion, that can be classified as a Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 material under 49 CFR 173.50. The term includes high and low explosives and any explosive devices containing over one quarter ounce of explosive material. This term does not include consumer fireworks that have a bulk total gross weight of under 1,001 pounds, but does include display fireworks. Consumer fireworks with a total gross weight of 1,001 pounds or more are only subject to the storage requirements in this Section as defined in the definition of "Consumer Fireworks".
"Explosive Devices" means devices intended to produce audible and visual effects in conjunction with a detonation or deflagration, commonly referred to as M-devices, quarter sticks, cherry bombs and pipe bombs that exceed the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's explosive weight limits for consumer fireworks that contain explosive material and are therefore classified as illegal under federal and State laws. This term does not include binary exploding targets for their intended personal use (see 27 CFR 555).
"Explosive Materials" means explosives, blasting agents, water gels, detonators, and all items included within the "List of Explosive Materials" provided in 27 CFR 555.23.
"Fire-Resistant" means construction designed to offer reasonable protection against fire.
"Fireworks" means any composition or device designed for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible effect by combustion, deflagration or detonation, and that meets the definition of "consumer fireworks" or "display fireworks" as follows:
"Consumer Fireworks" means any small fireworks device designed to produce visible effects by combustion and that must comply with the construction, chemical composition and labeling regulations of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 CFR 1500 and 1507). Some small devices designed to produce audible effects are included, such as whistling devices, ground devices containing 50 mg (0.77 grain) or less of explosive materials, and aerial devices containing 130 mg (2 grains) or less of explosive materials. Consumer fireworks are classified as Explosives, Class 1, Division 1.4, UN0336 or UN0337, by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) (see 49 CFR 172.101). No consumer firework cake, designed for non-professional (consumer) use, shall exceed 500 grams in total explosive chemical composition. Any bulk storage or holding of consumer fireworks in quantities of 1,001 pounds or greater, not in compliance with the Pyrotechnic Use Act (425 ILCS 35) and/or Pyrotechnic Distributor and Operator Licensing Act (225 ILCS 227), shall be stored in a Department certified Type 1, Type 2 or Type 4 magazines and must meet the distancing requirements, contained within Section 200.Appendix B, as it pertains to the safe storage of low explosives.
"Display Fireworks" means large fireworks designed to produce visible or audible effects by combustion, deflagration or detonation. This term includes, but is not limited to, salutes containing more than 130 mg (2 grains) of explosive materials, aerial shells containing more than 40 grams (616 grains) of total pyrotechnic and explosive composition, and other display pieces that exceed the limits for classification as consumer fireworks. Display fireworks are classified as Explosives, Class 1, Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3, UN0333, UN0334 or UN0335, by USDOT (see 49 CFR 172.101). This term also includes fused set pieces containing components that together exceed 50mg of salute powder. This term also includes pyrotechnic devices for professional use that are classified as UNO431 or UNO432. Consumer fireworks designed for professional use and labeled as such by the regulations of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 CFR 1500 and 1507), such as articles pyrotechnic, that are similar to consumer fireworks in chemical composition and construction, but are not intended for consumer usage, shall fall under the requirements of licensing and storage requirements by the Department for display fireworks (see also APA Standard 87-1A (2.4 General Requirements for Consumer Fireworks and Novelties)). Any bulk storage or holding of consumer fireworks in quantities of 1,001 pounds or greater, not in compliance with the Pyrotechnic Use Act [425 ILCS 35] and/or Pyrotechnic Distributor and Operator Licensing Act [225 ILCS 227], shall be stored in a Department certified Type 1, Type 2 or Type 4 magazines and must meet the distancing requirements in Section 200.Appendix B as it pertains to the safe storage of low explosives.
"Grains" means a system of weight measurement in which 7000 grains are equivalent to one standard 16-ounce pound (0.45 kg).
"Gross Weight" means the total weight of the explosive which includes all aspects of the product including the actual product, its packaging, and any other packing required to enable the shipping of the product.
"Hardwood" means red oak, white oak, hard maple, ash or hickory, or material of equivalent structural integrity, free from loose knots, wind shakes or similar defects.
"High Explosive" means explosives that are characterized by a very high rate of reaction, high pressure development, and the presence of a detonation wave in the explosive.
"Highway" means any public street, public road or public alley and includes privately financed, constructed or maintained roads that are regularly and openly traveled by the general public.
"Inhabited Building" means a building regularly occupied in whole or part as a habitation for human beings, or any church, schoolhouse, railroad station, store or other structure where people are accustomed to assembly, except any building or structure occupied in connection with the manufacture, transportation, storage or use of explosive materials.
"Inventory" means a listing of all explosive materials and devices being possessed or stored in a magazine.
"License" means a license issued by the Department under Article 2 of the Act authorizing the holder to possess, use, purchase, transfer or dispose of, but not to store, explosive materials.
"Low Explosive" means explosives characterized by deflagration.
"Magazine" means any building or other structure or container, other than a factory building, used to store explosive materials. Where mobile or portable type 5 magazines are permissible and used, "magazine", for the purpose of obtaining certificates and calculating fees, means the site on which the magazines are located.
"Magazine Keeper" means a qualified supervisory person licensed by the Department or otherwise exempted under Article 2 of the Act who is responsible for:
acquisition, storage, use, possession, transfer and disposal of explosive materials, including inventory and transaction records; and
proper maintenance of explosive materials, storage magazines and surrounding areas.
"Natural Barricade" means natural features of the ground, such as hills, or timber of sufficient density that the surrounding exposures that require protection cannot be seen from the magazine when the trees are bare of leaves.
"Non-sparking Metal" means a metal that will not produce a spark when struck with other tools, rock or hard surfaces.
"Office of Mines and Minerals" or "Office" means the office of the Department of Natural Resources charged with regulating the storage, use, acquisition, possession, disposal and transfer of explosive materials pursuant to the Act.
"Person" means any individual, corporation, company, association, partnership or other legal entity, except that, with reference to individual licenses or when the context otherwise requires, person means a natural person.
"Plywood" means exterior construction-grade plywood.
"Propagation" means the detonation of explosive charges by an impulse received from adjacent or nearby explosive charges.
"Propellant Powder" means an explosive of fine granulation that, through burning, produces gases at a controlled rate to provide the energy for propelling a projectile.
"Railway" means any public steam, electric or other railroad or rail system that carries passengers for hire, but shall not include auxiliary tracks, spurs and sidings installed and primarily used in serving any mine, quarry or plant.
"Salute" means an aerial shell, classified as a display firework, that contains a charge of flash powder and is designed to produce a flash of light and a loud report as the pyrotechnic effect.
"Small Arms Primer" means a device for lighting the powder charge in a modern cartridge of ammunition.
"Softwood" means Douglas fir or other wood of equal bullet resistance and free from loose knots, wind shakes or similar defects.
"Steel" means general purpose (hot or cold rolled) low-carbon steel or equivalent.
"Theft-Resistant" means construction designed to deter illegal entry into facilities used for the storage of explosive materials.
"Transfer" of explosive materials means to sell, give, distribute or otherwise dispose of explosive materials.
"Unbarricaded" means the absence of a natural or artificial barricade around explosive storage areas of facilities.
"Use" of explosive materials means the detonation, ignition, deflagration, manufacturing, handling or any other means of initiating explosive materials.
"Water Gels" means explosives or blasting agents that contain a substantial proportion of water.
"Weather Resistant" means construction designed to offer reasonable protection against weather.
(Source: Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 9600, effective June 24, 2024)