12/15/03 Director Buckles Ends Tenure At ATF.....
Washington, DC...Bradley A. Buckles, Director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will retire from his post effective January 3, 2004, after 30 years of service....

October 2003
10/10/03 ISEE announces a valuable new benefit program for its members and member companies....Jeff Dean, Executive Director and General Counsel, explains in an open letter the benefits of enrolling in an ISEE-sponsored Pre-Paid Legal Plan...

September 2003
09/30/03 USDOT/RSPA Final Rule - Hazardous Materials: Revisions to Penalty Guidelines....

August 2003
08/29/03 ISEE Introduces a NEW Group Membership Program...- This program is being offered as a special package for industry related conferences or training.....

July 2003
07/24/03 ISEE Student Chapter Challenge Extended thru September...
This event is open to both undergraduate and graduate students or student team entries.

07/17/03 Fragblast 8 - First Circular Call for Papers Is Issued...
Chile, as one of the most important mining countries, will have the honor of hosting FRAGBLAST 8 in Santiago de Chile, in October 2005, under the auspices of the Chilean Association of Explosives Engineers (Asociacion Chilena de Ingenieros Explosivistas, ASIEX) and the Chilean Institute of Mining Engineers (Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas de Chile, IIMCh). The objective of this symposium will be to promote and discuss advances in research and development of rock fragmentation, blasting techniques, explosives technology and their applications in mining and civil engineering...

June 2003
06/24/03 ATF has reopened the comment period for NPRM 968...
The new deadline for comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking No. 968 (changes to the Orange Book) is July 7, 2003. Comments must be received on or before that date.

06/17/03 Dyno Nobel Acquires St. Lawrence/Hall Explosives...
(Oslo, Norway; Salt Lake City, Utah / Adams Center, New York, USA) Dyno Nobel, on June 11, purchased a majority ownership share in St. Lawrence Explosives, Inc. (SLE)....

06/13/03 Deadline for Filing Comments in response to NPRM 968 Extended...
It has come to the attention of the Society that the extension of the deadline for response to ATF’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking #968 was not published in the Federal Register as required. The minimum time for an extension following publication is two weeks. Therefore, the industry has at least two more weeks from June 13, 2003 (and possibly longer, depending on when the extension notice is finally published) to file responses to the Proposed Rule. The Society encourages all members of the explosives industry to review the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking included on the ISEE web site, What’s New page, and respond being sure to address the feasibility, benefit to security, and estimated cost of implementation of the proposed rules in your comments.

6/06/03 (Cleveland, OH) - ATF Response to ISEE/IME Request for Hearings on NPR 968...We must first evaluate all the comments received in response to the NPRM......... to date we have received approximately 1,200 comments...

6/06/03 (Cleveland, OH) - The International Society of Explosives Engineers announces it has extended the registration deadline for the St. Louis Regulatory Conference.....

May 2003
5/28/03 (Washington, DC) - ATF Issues Ruling 2003-5, Clarifying Distribution of Explosives to Limited Permittees... Distributors distributing explosive materials to holders of limited permits via common or contract carrier may verify receipt of the explosive materials by telephone, facsimile, e-mail, or other means within three business days of shipment in lieu of requiring the common or contract carrier to verify the identity of the person accepting delivery of the explosives.

5/02/03 (Cleveland, OH) - ISEE Posts Sample Letter for Members to Respond to ATF's Proposed Rule #968...The Society has today posted a sample letter to help members and other in the explosives industry respond to ATF's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was issued in January.

April 2003
04/29/03 (Cleveland, OH) - The International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) announces sponsorship of its first Student Challenge. This event is open to both undergraduate and graduate students or student team entries.

04/11/03 (Cleveland, OH) - ATF Responds to ISEE's Request for an Extension of Time...In response to ISEE's request, ATF has granted the industry an extension of time of 45 days to respond to The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Number 968. The new deadline is June 13, 2003.

04/10/03 (Cleveland, OH) - ISEE Posts Memo to Members with Draft Comments in Response to ATF's Proposed Rule #968...The Society has today posted a memo to members that includes draft comments in response to ATF's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was issued in January.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT CHANGE THAT WOULD DRAMATICALLY REVISE THE ORANGE BOOK AND SERIOUSLY IMPACT EVERYONE WHO MANUFACTURES, TRANSPORTS, STORES, HANDLES, USES, OR DISPOSES OF EXPLOSIVES. ALL ISEE MEMBERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO RESPOND.

04/03/03 (Cleveland, OH) - ISEE Calls for Extension of Time and Public Hearings to Respond to the Proposed Rule #968... The Society has requested a 90 day extension of time and has called on ATF to schedule a series of regional public hearings, to be hosted by ISEE and conducted by ATF, to allow time for the industry to address concerns raised by the NPRM #968. The proposed rule would dramatically revise the ATF Orange Book.

March 2003
03/25/03 (Washington, DC) - DOT, RSPA has published the Final Rule under 49 CFR Part 172 on new requirements for security of hazardous materials transported in commerce. Shippers and carriers of certain highly hazardous materials must develop and implement security plans including employee training.

03/20/03 - Safe Explosives Act Regulations - Interim Final Rule Published
(Washington, D.C) - On Thursday, March 20, 2003, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) issued an interim final rule with request for comments. This is the interim final rule to implement the provisions of the Safe Explosives Act that was passed on November 25 as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The interim rule will remain in effect until superseded by final regulations.

February 2003
02/20/03 - ATF has posted Corrections to Notice 968 - Commerce in Explosives (2/14/03).
02/14/03 - ATF Open Letter Re: 01/29/03 Rulemaking...
02/03/03 - DOT Issues Regulations for Canadian Explosives Haulers...
02/02/03 - Fragblast Group becomes newest ISEE Section...

January 2003
01/29/03 - Federal Explosives Regulations - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking....

01/21/03 -ATF Licensing Reminder...

01/03/03 -The International Society of Explosives Engineers announces its newly elected Executive Committee and Board of Directors for 2003....