Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 19.000 - Solid Waste Management › Part I - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS, PROCEDURES AND PERMITS › Section 19.007 - Access Rights of the Department

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
310 CMR 19.007 relates to the rights of the Department to
				  enter properties and to obtain and review information to verify compliance with
				  M.G.L. c. 21A, §§ 2 and 8, St. 1987, c. 584, M.G.L. c. 21H, M.G.L. c.
				  111, §§ 150A and 150A½, and/or 310 CMR 19.000, in the
				  handling, management, transfer, processing, storage, treatment, disposal, use
				  or reuse of solid waste.
(1)
Access to Facilities and Properties
. At all reasonable
				times and without prior notice, personnel or authorized representatives of the
				Department may enter any facility or other property where solid waste has been,
				is being, or may be, placed, disposed, stored, transferred, handled, managed,
				processed, treated, used or reused, for the purposes of: protecting the public
				health, safety or the environment; preventing or abating nuisances; assessing,
				preventing or remediating damage to the environment; or determining or
				enforcing compliance; provided that personnel or authorized representatives of
				the Department present Department-issued identification and receive the consent
				of the owner, operator or person in control of said facility or property.
				Notwithstanding the foregoing, personnel or authorized representatives of the
				Department may enter a facility or property without such consent as authorized
				by the conditions of any authorization, determination, modification, permit, or
				other approval, by the conditions of any consent order or other consented to
				enforcement document, if emergency conditions require immediate entry, or as
				otherwise authorized by law.
(2)
During Inspection
. After entry, personnel or
				authorized representatives of the Department may investigate, sample,
				photograph, or inspect any records, condition, equipment, practice, operation
				or property and make examinations and evaluations of a facility or other
				property specified in 310 CMR 19.007(1) to determine and enforce compliance
				with M.G.L. c. 21A, §§ 2 and 8, St. 1987, c. 584, M.G.L. c. 21H,
				M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 150A and 150A½ and/or 310 CMR 19.000 or take
				or arrange for actions authorized by M.G.L. c. 21H, § 4.
(3)
Access to
				Information
. Where necessary to ascertain facts relevant to
				compliance or to actual or potential harm to public health or safety, actual or
				potential nuisances, or actual or potential damage to the environment that may
				be caused by the handling, management, transfer, processing, storage,
				treatment, disposal, use or reuse of solid waste or relevant to the truth,
				accuracy and completeness of any submittals to the Department, including but
				not limited to, the authority of any responsible official, the Department may
				request and any person shall, within a reasonable time, furnish the requested
				information and shall permit said Department personnel or authorized
				representatives to have access to and to copy or to take images of, all records
				relating thereto.
(4)
Duty to Cooperate
. The owner and operator of a
				facility or other property and the person possessing information as specified
				in 310 CMR 19.007(3) shall in no way restrict, impede, or delay an inspection
				or requests for information by personnel or authorized representatives of the
				Department where such inspection and requests are made pursuant to a reasonable
				request in accordance with 310 CMR 19.007 or with the conditions of any
				authorization, consent determination, modification, permit, or other approval,
				or pursuant to the conditions of any order or other consented to enforcement
				document, or as otherwise authorized by law.
(5)
Warrants
. Upon
				denial of access or if the Department cannot locate with reasonable efforts the
				owner, operator or person in control of a facility or property, or upon refusal
				of a person to provide information requested, the Department may seek, from a
				court, judge, justice or magistrate, a warrant authorizing personnel or
				authorized representatives of the Department to conduct a reasonable search of
				the facility or property, or to obtain the information requested. 310 CMR
				19.007(5) shall not preclude the Department from gaining access through other
				legal means, including, but not limited to, a court order or injunctive
				relief.