Canadian Defense Liaison Staff — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration JUL 2a 20'10 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Col. D.T. Erickson Defense Cooperation Attache Canadian Defense Liaison Staff 501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20001 Ref. No.: 10-0110 Dear Colonel Erickson: This responds to your May 3,2010 letter requesting clarification ofthe approval of explosives under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you request infonnation on the process to obtain approval to transport explosives within the United States and whether Canadian Forces may use vendor issued explosive control numbers for subsequent transportation within the U. S. In your letter, you described two processes by which Canadian Forces purchase munitions. The first method involves a foreign military sales process approved by the Department of State and the Department ofDefense (DOD). The second process entails commercial sales in which Canadian Forces procure munitions directly from a U.S. or a foreign vendor. Prior to transport, Class 1 (explosives) materials must be classed and approved by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in accordance with § 173.56. PHMSA will assign an EX number specific to that explosive and prescribe a suitable packing method. An explosive that has been examined and classed by the DOD in accordance with § 173.56(b )(2), may only be transported by the DOD. Explosives examined and classed by the DOD and subsequently sold through the foreign military sale process require approval by PHMSA prior to transport in the U.S.#

Page 2Previously approved explosives not examined and classed by the DOD with a valid EX approval issued by PHMSA may be subsequently transported in the U.S. provided you have not made any changes to the explosive and you comply with all of the requirements outlined in the approval. If there is no previous vendor approval, the Canadian Defense Ministry may provide its own classification document together with supporting technical information (e.g. drawings, chemical composition) and request an EX approval. I hope this answers your inquiry. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, tl~Bef?U Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 3Lea{~ ' National Defense 1+. " Defence na1ionaJe Canadian Defence Etat-major de liaison des Liaison Staff Forces canadiennes (Washington) (Washington) 501 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W. Washington. D.C.. U.S.A.• 20001 10'- 0 II 0 3 May 2010 Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards U.S. DOTIPHMSA (PHH-lO) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr Mazzullo, On 23 April 2010, I hosted a meeting that was attended by members ofthe Department of Defence, Ms Harpreet Singh and Mr Brian Vos ofthe Department of Transport and representatives from the international defence community at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. It was a great opportunity to discuss issues related to the implementation of Country Specific Explosives Control numbers. One issue that required additional Clarity was the policy relating to the customer's use of vendorissued'Explosives Control numbers. We were asked to submit a request for interpretation letter to PHMSA. The Canadian Forces buy munitions using two processes. The first, through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process as approved by the Department of State and the Department of Defence. We area,ware that the Director Security Cooperation Agency is in the process of working with you to develop clear instructions as to how to obtain a Cdlintry Specific Explosive Control Number when munitions are purchased through an FMS Case. ' The second method is Direct Commercial Sales where we procure directly from a vendor in the USA or from another country. Could you confirm that the protocol that the Canadian Forces should use and in particular, can we use the explosive control number as issued by the vendor for subsequent transport back into the USA? Thanks in advance for your support and if you or your staffs have questions, please contact me at 202-682-7771 '01' bye-mail atdavid.erickson@forces.gc.ca: . . /J ; r ;., 4/73.~~ 4rla~ives ( ~:: ' _.', ..~ ;"", , :.: J: ".,.,,:1,. " f} ,#

Page 4C.C. LtCol Brad Tannehill, CJCS J4 DoD Dr Jerry Ward, DDESB DoD Mr Todd Hughes, DoD Mr Ryan Paquet, DoT Ms Harpreet Singh, DoT Mr Brian Vos, DoT Mr Duane Pfund, DoT#