Section 300.210  Definitions Applicable to Subpart B

"Act" means the Surface-Mined Land Conservation and Reclamation Act [225 ILCS 715].

"Airblast" (also known as "air overpressure") means airborne waves resulting from the detonation of explosives. Airblast may be caused by burden movement or the release of expanding gas into the air. Airblast may or may not be audible.

"Attended at all Times" means that the Type 3 magazine and any explosives must always be within the line of sight of, and visible to, a member of the work or blasting crew authorized to enter the magazine.

"Authorized Person" means a person holding a current Illinois Surface Aggregate Blasting License, Illinois Surface Coal Certification, Individual Explosives License, or qualifying for an exemption pursuant to 62 Ill. Adm. Code 200.90(d)(5).

"Authorized Representative of the Department" means an employee of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals, Explosives and Aggregate Division, qualified to conduct on-site inspections of blasting operations in order to determine compliance with these regulations.

"Blast" means the detonation of explosives by an operator for a mineral extraction operation.

"Blast Site" means an area where explosive material is handled during loading.

"Blasting Agent" means any material or mixture that:

consists of a fuel and an oxidizer intended for blasting, not otherwise defined as an explosive, provided that the finished product, as mixed and packaged for use or shipment cannot be detonated by means of a No. 8 blasting cap, as defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Department of Treasury 18 U.S.C. Ch. 40, Sec. 841(e), when unconfined; and

is classified as a Division 1.5 material under 49 CFR 173.50.

"Blasting Operations" means the process of shot design, layout, drilling, loading, detonation, and recordkeeping.

"Blasting Zone" means any area within the operation that is designated in writing by the operator to the Department as being the area within which blasting operations will be conducted.  The area of a blast within the influence of flying rock, missiles, debris, gases, and airblast.

"Burden" means the distance from an explosive charge to the nearest free or open face at the time of detonation of each hole.

"Cube Root Scaled Distance" means the distance, in feet, from the blast to a specific location, divided by the cube root of the maximum weight of explosives, in pounds, to be detonated within any eight millisecond period.

"Decibel" means the unit of sound overpressure commonly used to measure airblast from the detonation of explosives.  It is also measured in pounds per square inch (p.s.i.), and is defined in terms of the overpressure by the equation:

            dB = 20 log P/P[0]

where:

dB = sound level in decibels

P = measured overpressure in p.s.i. (lbs./in.(2))

P[o] = 2.9 x 10-9 p.s.i. (lbs./in.(2))

The decibel scale is logarithmic.

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"Detonator" means any device containing an initiating or primary explosive that is used for initiating detonation in another explosive material.  A detonator may not contain more than 10 grams of total explosives by weight, excluding ignition or delay charges.  The term includes, but is not limited to, electric blasting caps of instantaneous and delay types, electronic detonators, blasting caps for use with safety fuse, detonating cord delay connectors, and nonelectric instantaneous and delay blasting caps which use detonating cord, shock tube, or any other replacement for electric leg wires.  Unless specifically classified otherwise, detonators are classified as a Division 1.1 material under 49 CFR 173.5.

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources or such officer, bureau or commission as may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of such Director.  [225 ILCS 715/3]

"Electronic Detonator" means a detonator that utilizes stored electrical energy as a means of powering an electronic timing delay element/module and that provides initiation energy for firing the base charge.

"Explosives" means any chemical compound, mixture or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion that can be classified as a Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 material under 49 CFR 173.5 and detonators.  The term includes high and low explosives and any explosive devices containing over one quarter ounce of explosive materials.

"Geomembrane" means manufactured membrane liners and barriers of low permeability used to control the migration of fluids or gases.

"Inert Waste" means any solid waste that will not decompose biologically, burn, serve as food for vectors, form a gas, cause an odor, or form a contaminated leachate, as determined in accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 811.202(b).  Such inert wastes shall include only non-biodegradable and non-putrescible solid wastes.  Inert wastes may include, but are not limited to, bricks, masonry and concrete (cured for 60 days or more).

"Landfill" means a facility permitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for the disposal of waste on land meeting the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, P.L. 94-580, and regulations thereunder, and without creating nuisances or hazards to public health or safety, by confining the refuse to the smallest practical volume and covering it with a layer of earth at the conclusion of each day's operation, or by such other methods and intervals as the Illinois Pollution Control Board may provide by regulation.

"Licensed Blaster" means an individual licensed by the Department as provided in Section 300.237.  The person authorized to oversee and approve blasting operations on a blasting site.

"Office of Mines and Minerals" means the subdivision of the Department of Natural Resources charged with regulating the use of explosives in non-coal mineral extraction operations pursuant to Section 6.5 of the Act.

"Operation" means the property limits of any non-coal mineral extraction operation.

"Operator" means any person, firm, partnership or corporation engaged in and controlling a surface mining operation, and includes political subdivisions and instrumentalities of the State of Illinois.

"Particle Velocity" is a measure of ground vibration which describes the velocity at which a particle of ground moves when excited by a seismic wave.

"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal business entity.

"Protected Structure" means any dwelling, public building, school, church or commercial or institutional building. Protected structures do not include:

Structures owned by the operator; and

Structures subject to a waiver from the Department's airblast and ground vibration requirements granted to the operator.

"Scaled Distance" means the distance, in feet, from the blast to a specified location, divided by the square root of the maximum weight of explosives, in pounds, to be detonated within any eight millisecond period.

"Stemming" is inert material, and used placed in a borehole on top of or between separate charges of explosive material for the purpose of confining explosive materials or to separate charges of explosive material in the same borehole.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 9650, effective June 24, 2024)