HCS/SS/SCS/SB 882 - This act directs that any person who uses explosives shall first obtain a license except those who are exempted within the act. The Missouri Division of Fire Safety shall be responsible for issuing the licenses and all information required on the application is laid out in the act. There will be a fee submitted with the application, the amount of which shall be established by the division through rules promulgated to that effect, however such fee shall not exceed one hundred dollars. The act lays out qualifications for any applicant.
Upon satisfying the requirements, the division shall issue a license, and any change of material fact relating to these requirements must be provided to the division by the individual holding the license.
The act states that such license shall expire three years from the date of issuance; any attempt to renew such a license shall require documentation that an additional eight hours of explosive-related training has been completed by the individual, of which half has been completed within the year prior to the renewal request. Any training above and beyond the eight hours required for renewal shall not carry over for more than one subsequent renewal of the license.
The act lays out the documentation provided when a license is issued, and directs any individual who holds such a license to provide the division with such documentation.
Circumstances under which a license can be suspended or revoked are laid out in the act. In such a case, the division shall provide written notice to the individual in question and that individual must then surrender all copies of the license to the division as well as ceasing all blasting activity. The decision to suspend or revoke a license may be appealed by the individual to the state blasting safety board, as it established in the act. Any decision by the board shall be made within thirty days of the date the appeal is received by the board.
The act directs any person whose license has been expired for a period of three years or less to complete the examination and attend eight hours of training. Those licenses that have been expired for more than three years require satisfying the qualifications for initial licensure, including completing twenty hours of training and passing the examination.
License reciprocity is available to anyone holding a valid license or certification from another source within the last three years provided all requirements meet or exceed the provisions laid out in this act. License reciprocity may also be granted to anyone employed as a blaster on or before December 31, 2000 and who has accumulated one thousand hours of training or education and experience; other requirements for such reciprocity are described in the act. The burden of proof lays with the division with regard to investigating the requirements of other licenses or certifications as they relate to this particular license.
The act details the courses of instruction offered by the division and the process for a course of instruction to approved by the division.
The division is to approve a standard examination for license qualification, and a fee not to exceed fifty dollars shall accompany the exam. Anyone failing the test can retake it, provided that an additional course of instruction may be required.
Any person guilty of loading or firing explosives without a valid license to do so or being under the direct supervision of an individual who has a valid license to do so, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense, a Class A misdemeanor for the second offense. Anyone found convicted of a Class A misdemeanor for this violation shall permanently prohibited from obtaining a blaster's license in this state.
The act lays out those individuals who are exempt from the requirements provided for in the act.
The Division of Fire Safety shall promulgate rules no later than July 1, 2007 governing the provisions of the act. Any individual loading or firing explosives after the effective date of these rules shall obtain a license within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of the of the promulgated rules.
The act lays out prescriptive requirements for blasting activity in the state, including details with regard to seismograph recordings.
The act directs each person using explosives in the state to register with the state fire marshal within sixty days of the effective date of the legislation. Any person not required to register on the effective date and who subsequently uses explosives, shall register with the state fire marshal within thirty days after using the explosives. A registration fee of one hundred dollars shall accompany the registration, and an annual report to the state fire marshal shall be forthcoming from the individual stating any change or addition to the information laid out in the original report. Information required for the report is laid out in the act. A fee per ton shall be submitted annually with the report, the minimum being set at five hundred dollars. In addition to the minimum fee, any person using explosives during any year shall pay a fee of one dollar and fifty cents on each ton of explosives used, this fee may be changed by rule provided that it never exceed one dollar and fifty cents per ton.
The act describes penalties for various violations of the provisions in the act.
The act creates a state blasting safety board. Membership, terms in office, meeting times and responsibilities of the board are all laid out in the act.
Duties for the Division of Fire Safety are laid out in the act with regard to the training, testing, and licensing discussed in the act.
The "Missouri Explosives Safety Act Administration Fund" is created in the act. The state Fire Marshal shall submit a report to the state blasting safety board annually detailing the revenue in the fund generated by fees, and how that revenue was spent.
Notice of violations and how they shall be prescribed are detailed in the act. Any person receiving such a notice has the opportunity to request a hearing before the state blasting safety board. Decisions by the board are appealable to the Administrative Hearing Commission.
The act requires any person using explosives in the state to notify the Division of Fire Safety in writing or by telephone at least two business days in advance of first using the explosives at a site where blasting has not previously occurred.
The act directs any person using explosives to notify, at least two business days in advance, the responsible municipality whose jurisdiction the blasting is taking place in as well as the appropriate fire protection official. The municipality's powers with regard to information are laid out in the act. Any person using explosives within a municipality shall notify the owner or occupant of any residence or business located within a scaled distance of fifty five from the blasting site; the names of those residences or businesses shall be provided by the municipality.
The act allows municipalities or counties to enact ordinances that build upon the regulations laid out in the act
The act preempts any existing regulation except those authorized by this act and any local ordinances in St. Charles county in effect as of April 5, 2006 that deal exclusively with quarries.
MEGAN WORD