DOT RUSHES RULE TO KEEP CROSS-BORDER EXPLOSIVES SHIPMENTS MOVING

DOT RUSHES RULE TO KEEP CROSS-BORDER EXPLOSIVES SHIPMENTS MOVING    The Department of Transportation late Monday issued temporary rules requiring security checks for Canadian truck drivers and train crews hauling explosives into the United States.
   The rules go into affect Feb. 6 and are designed to supplant rules recently issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that prohibit non-legal U.S. residents from possessing explosives. ATF's attempt to regulate the transportation of explosives with little public notice led to loud complaints from explosives manufacturers, an interagency turf battle with DOT and intervention by the Canadian government. ATF officials postponed enforcing their rule two times as negotiations with the Transportation Department on a compromise solution took place during the past two weeks (see Jan. 27-28 Shippers NewsWires).
   Uncertainty about the rules has temporarily reduced the pool of available drivers and delayed some shipments, according to industry officials.
   Under the Feb. 6 interim rule, the DOT's Transportation Security Agency will accept background checks on carriers, drivers and train crews conducted by the Canadian government and forward a list of acceptable persons to the U.S. Customs Service to crosscheck incoming transportation workers. The rule doesn't apply to flight and vessel crews because TSA determined that existing background check requirements for those categories of workers are sufficient. The public will have 30 days to comment on the interim final rule.
   DOT is developing a system for conducting background checks on those who haul hazardous materials, a universal identification card for transportation workers and other security-related rules. The interim rule gives temporary clearances to Canadian drivers and railroad crews until DOT's rules go into effect. The department said it is also working with the government of Mexico to develop similar rules for explosives transports from that country, according to a copy of the rule posted with the Federal Register.
   DOT will issue its long-awaited proposals for implementing hazardous materials background checks, as required by the USA Patriot Act, by the end of February, Jeffrey Shane, associate deputy secretary of transportation, told American Shipper.
   It is not immediately clear if ATF has backed off enforcing its rules now that TSA has regulations in place to cover the Canadian transportation workers. An ATF spokesman said he believed the jurisdictional issues had been resolved, but was waiting confirmation on the matter.