As some of you know, the net has been abuzz with ATF stuff. I have
inclosed the text of the joint announcement by Tripoli and HPRMA.
Please read.
The bottom line is that it looks like we will have one more hurdle in
order to be legal with our purchase or HPR motors. That hurdle is a
Federal explosives "user license". It seems to be faily easy to get.
Lou, do you have one of these? I have talked to the ATF and they are
sending me an application. I suspect that I can make copies.
It also appears that I/we will have to store our "class B" motors in a
magazine. I have asked the ATF to send me information on what is
needed. I talked to Mike Platt and he was said that it doesn't matter
what kind of container you store them in, you CAN'T store them in a
residence. I don't know how may of you have class B motors (or 54mm
reloads), but I have plenty! I have made some initial investigation of
local explosives "places" to see if I can rent some space in an existing
magazine. I have not had any luck, but I stil need to do some more leg
work.
I will keep you posted.
To leave on a up note, there will be an Outlaw launch June 11-12th in
Brookshire. Should be a good tune up for LDRS. How many of you are
going to LDRS? Mark and I made it last year, I hope that we can get a
few more this year.
Stu Barrett
512-250-6677
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JOINT COMMUNIQUE OF THE HIGH POWER ROCKET MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS
ASSOCIATION AND THE TRIPOLI ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION TO THE HIGH-POWER ROCKET
COMMUNITY
25 April 1994
Introduction & Brief History
Since its inception in the late 1970s, the participants in the hobby of high
power rocketry have consisted primarily of a small, tightly-knit group of
experimenters and dedicated hobbyists. For most of these years, high-power
rocketry had a very limited scope, was never really promoted to the general
public, and, in fact, the general public was almost completely unaware of its
existence. This has been true up until recently.
Since the creation of the Tripoli Rocketry Association, specifically intended
to cater to the high-power rocket enthusiast, and the embracing of high-power
rocketry by the National Association of Rocketry, the hobby of high-power
rocketry has experienced an accelerated rate of growth. The advent of the
publication and widespread commercial distribution of High Power Rocketry
magazine brought knowledge of the hobby to countless thousands of people who
had never even heard of the existence of any hobby rocket motor larger than an
Estes "D" engine. This flourishing of the hobby, and its supporting industry,
has not gone unnoticed by the Federal regulators.
1993 NFPA Meetings
In 1993, two meetings of the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA)
Committee on Pyrotechnics were held: the spring meeting in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, and the fall meeting in Long Island, New York. At both of those
meetings, while discussing the draft version of NFPA 1127, Code for High Power
Rocketry, certain non-rocketry related committee members raised questions
concerning the purchasing and storage requirements of high-power rocket motors
relative to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) regulations. The
committee agreed collectively that all unanswered questions of Federal
regulatory authority concerning high-power rocketry should be addressed before
continuing with the 1127 code.
At the Long Island NFPA meeting, it was suggested by the committee
representative from the BATF that a request be made to the Washington
headquarters of the BATF for clarification concerning the particular items in
question. It is important to note that a former BATF representative who had
been a member of the committee for many years had previously stated that the
BATF was not interested in regulating high-power rocketry, but that this
position could change in the future depending on circumstances.
The BATF Letters and the Spring 1994 NFPA Meeting
According to the NFPA/BATF request concerning clarification of this matter,
three letters were mailed: two from a specific manufacturer, and one from the
Trade Association.
On the last day of the most recent meeting of the Committee of Pyrotechnics,
held on 18-20 April 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah, BATF provided a written
response to the manufacturer's letters. This letter indicated, "...products
which have been classified by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as a
flammable solid 4.1 or as explosives 1.4c, which are within the 62.5 grams
limit contained in NFPA 1122 and conform to the requirements of model rocket
motors set forth in 16 CFR section 1500.85(a)(8)(ii)...," would meet BATF's
requirements for exemption from licensing and explosive storage requirements.
The significance of this letter was that all of those rocket motor products
which have not been classified as a flammable solid 4.1 or as an explosive
1.4c were subject to the Federal explosives law, including all applicable
licensing and storage requirements.
It quickly became evident that a literal interpretation of the letter dictated
that no existing hobby rocket motor product met all the requirements listed
for exemption from the Federal explosives laws. Members of the Rocket Caucus
became extremely concerned at this point.
Upon bringing this fact to the attention of the two BATF representatives
attending the NFPA meeting, the representatives explained that a clerical
error had apparently been made in BATF's letter to the manufacturer. They
clearly stated that BATF never intended that Federal licensing or storage
requirements be made applicable to single-use hobby rocket motors containing
no more than 62.5 grams of propellant or hobby rocket reload kits using
propellant grains containing no more than 62.5 grams of propellant each. A
request to obtain this intention in writing from the BATF is being submitted
this week.
Reasoning Behind the BATF's Decision
According to BATF regulations, hobby rocket motors are considered to be
"propellant actuated devices", a category of products exempt from the
licensing and storage provisions of the Federal explosives laws. No weight
limits are currently listed for this exemption in the regulations.
In their letter to the manufacturer, the BATF explained that "During the early
1970's when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) was assigned
the responsibility of enforcing the Federal explosives laws, it was clear that
we did not intend to regulate toy model rockets which did not constitute a
public safety hazard. The exemption for model rocket motors, common fireworks,
and propellant-actuated industrial tools was intended to cover explosive items
that because of the small quantities involved, would not likely be a source of
explosives for a bomb or be a hazard during storage situations. The explosives
exempted were toy paper caps and other similar items. The largest model
rockets that we were aware of were the Estes model "D" type engine."
Therefore, when inquired as to whether high-power rocket motors could be
considered to be "propellant actuated devices," and thus exempt from the
Federal explosives laws, the BATF explained that the original exemption
legislation was never intended to include larger rocket motor products such as
those used in high power rocketry, even though this was not readily apparent
from reading the regulations. The BATF representatives at the NFPA meeting
stated that the hobby of high-power rocketry has simply been promoted to a
degree of public exposure and adverse incident potential where the BATF is now
compelled to "draw the line", so to speak, at the 62.5 gram level where they
believe the intent of the law limits the definition of "propellant actuated
devices". The representatives also stated that this clarification will be
written into the next revision of the BATF regulations.
Implications and Analysis
Based on this informal clarification from the BATF, it is our belief that:
(a) single-use model rocket motors containing no more than 62.5 grams of
propellant are exempt from Federal licensing and storage requirements;
(b) reloadable rocket motor products are also exempt from Federal licensing
and storage requirements, provided that the mass of each propellant grain is
no more than 62.5 grams, and has received a DOT shipping designation as
Explosive 1.4, but may not be made available to children;
(c) any single-use motor containing propellant mass greater than 62.5 grams,
or any reloadable rocket motor product containing a propellant grain which
weighs more than 62.5 grams, is subject to Federal licensing and storage
requirements.
How Does This Affect the Rocket Community?
Because BATF has now ruled that many of the products currently used by the
high-power rocket community are, in fact, subject to Federal licensing and
storage requirements, manufacturers, importers, dealers (which includes
distributors), and most users are required to abide by various aspects of the
Federal explosives law.
Manufacturers of hobby rocket motors, which includes model and high-power
rocket motors and reload kits, are subject to Federal, and possibly state and
local, licensing requirements for the manufacturing of an explosive. On the
Federal level, this involves obtaining a low explosive manufacturing license
from BATF, at a cost of $50 for the first year, $25 for each subsequent
three-year period.
Dealers (and distributors), of high-power rocket motors and reload kits as
described in item (c) above, are subject to Federal, and possibly state and
local, licensing requirements for the dealing in explosives. On the Federal
level, this involves obtaining a low explosives dealer license from BATF, at a
cost of $20 for the first year, and $10 for each subsequent three-year period.
Users (e.g. consumers, flyers) of high-power rocket motors and reload kits as
described in item (c) above, are subject to Federal, and possibly state and
local, permit requirements for the purchase and storage of explosives. On the
Federal level, this involves obtaining an explosive user permit from BATF, at
a cost of $20 for the first year, and $10 for each subsequent three-year
period. An important exception to the Federal requirement for a user permit is
if the user were to purchase a motor or reload kit in his state of residence
as defined by BATF, and either (a) use the motor or reload kit at the site of
purchase (e.g. a launch), or (b) transport it to an approved storage facility
located within the boundaries of said state.
Everyone--manufacturers, dealers (distributors), users--who stores (as defined
by the BATF) a high-power rocket motor or reload kit as described in item (c)
above is subject to Federal, and possibly state and local, requirements for
the storage of explosives. All storage of a high-power rocket motor or reload
kit must be in accordance with Federal explosive storage requirements, even if
a Federal license/permit is not required for purchase. There are no exceptions
to this rule.
Thermalite
Thermalite is a brand name for igniter cord. Purchase and storage of igniter
cord is regulated by BATF. Purchase and/or storage of igniter cord, IN ANY
QUANTITY, requires an explosive license and an approved storage facility, i.e.
an explosive magazine. This includes thermalite in any length, including the
one inch lengths commonly included with motors produced by various
manufacturers. The only exception to this would be the purchase by a user for
immediate use in the state where he/she resides.
Changes Within The Consumer Organizations
In order to keep the expenses of compliance to a minimum, it is highly
recommended that clubs, such as Tripoli Prefectures, obtain an approved
explosive magazine or magazines for the storage of its members' high-power
rocket motors, reload kits, and/or igniter materials which are subject to the
BATF storage regulations.
Members
Any high-power rocket consumer may obtain a magazine for his own private
storage. However, it is not necessary, if motors were consumed at the point of
purchase (e.g. a launch), for consumers to have an explosives magazine.
Dealers
Dealers will need to obtain an approved explosive magazine or magazines if
high-power rocket motors, reload kits, and/or igniter materials which are
subject to BATF storage regulations are stored.
How Does This Affect NFPA 1127?
At the most recent NFPA Pyrotechnics Committee meeting, held in Salt Lake
City, Utah, it was decided that the draft document NFPA 1127, Code for High
Power Rocketry, be distributed for public comment. During this public comment
phase, members of the rocket caucus will be submitting comments requesting
that NFPA 1127 include wording which would incorporate appropriate references
to the BATF licensing and storage requirements for high-power motor products.
Responsibility of the Members
While no massive law enforcement action has been announced or is expected, we
need to start immediately to work towards bringing the high-power rocketry
community into full compliance with the law as it is now being interpreted. As
long as the regulators see that there are consistent and substantial efforts
being made towards compliance, enforcement actions can be avoided. Of course,
we do not have an indefinite amount of time in which to work towards
compliance. The Trade Association will be requesting a 6 to 12 month period
from BATF to effect compliance. The BATF has already indicated that this may
be an acceptable time period.
Are the above our only options? No. The consumer groups and the Trade
Association have already initiated the process to exempt high-power rocket
motors, reloads, and related items from the Federal explosives laws. It is
also our intention to investigate the possibility of obtaining an amendment to
Title XI, Regulation of Explosives (18 U.S.C. Chapter 40) of the Federal
explosives law. Unfortunately, both of these processes will take a
considerable amount of time, and the high-power rocket community has to bring
itself into full compliance with the law while these other avenues are
pursued.
While it may be tempting for an individual to voice his opinion to BATF over
the above matter, at this time it is not prudent to do so. In fact, any such
action would, at a minimum, be counterproductive, and, in all likelihood,
would encourage the BATF to take on an adversarial role. Currently, the BATF
has indicated a willingness to work with the high-power rocketry community. We
need to preserve and foster this relationship for the good of the hobby. There
will be a time in the future when the community will need to respond loudly.
We, the rocket community, need to maintain the maturity required in order to
see this through an amicable process to the desired conclusion.
/s/ /s/
Michael W. Platt Charles E. Rogers
President President
High Power Rocket Manufacturers Tripoli Rocketry Association, Inc.
and Dealers Association, Inc.
