Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 20 - Legal Services › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 3 - Administrative Inspection Guidelines (250-RICR-20-00-3) › Section 250-RICR-20-00-3.8 - Protocol for Consensual Inspections

Current through June 14, 2024
A. When seeking
				  consent to perform an administrative inspection the inspector must locate an
				  owner, operator or other person having apparent authority or control of the
				  property in order to identify himself/herself, explain the purpose, scope and
				  legal authority for the inspection and request consent for the inspection. An
				  inspector may enter onto private property and use reasonable efforts to locate
				  a person from whom to obtain consent for the inspections. Consent need not be
				  sought where other lawful means for access to the property in question exist
				  under these Guidelines (See §§
										3.9 and
				  3.10 of this Part
				  herein).
B. Consent for inspections
				  relating to an activity requiring a permit, license or other approval from the
				  Department may be required and obtained by the Department in writing as part of
				  the application process. Consent that is given as part of an application
				  process may not be revoked on-site at the time of the inspection and may only
				  be revoked by the applicant in writing by withdrawing the underlying
				  application. The presence or absence of consent relating to an application
				  shall not impair the Department's ability to perform inspections in accordance
				  with any other section of these Guidelines (e.g. §
										3.9 of this Part,
				  administrative inspection warrants or §
										3.10(A)(1) 
				  of this Part, closely regulated industries).
C. On occasion, person(s) may agree to
				  consent to an administrative inspection if the inspector will agree to
				  conditions or limitations on the nature and extent of the proposed inspection.
				  In the past, inspectors have been asked to sign liability waivers and other
				  legal documents as a precondition to consent to perform an inspection. An
				  inspector should never agree to any conditions or sign any documents without
				  first obtaining prior authorization from a supervisor. The Department may, on a
				  case-by-case basis, accommodate reasonable requests for conditions or
				  limitations in order to secure consent for an inspection provided that the
				  requests will in no way jeopardize the quality or effectiveness of the
				  inspection.
D. The scope of a
				  consensual inspection may not exceed the scope of the consent that was given.
				  Consent may be revoked at any time during the inspection without justification,
				  unless the consent was given as part of an application process (See §
										3.8(B) of
				  this Part, above). Absent discovery of evidence or conditions during the
				  consented to inspection that give rise to a lawful warrant-less inspection
				  pursuant to §
										3.10 of this Part, an
				  inspector may not exceed the scope of the consent given or continue with any
				  inspection after consent has been revoked.
E. If consent to perform an administrative
				  inspection is denied, the inspector may make observations from adjacent public
				  areas, open fields (See §
										3.10 of this Part) or from
				  abutting private property, provided the inspector has permission from the
				  owner, operator or other person having apparent authority or control over such
				  property.
F. Unless the inspector
				  requires additional time for research or consultation, prior to leaving the
				  premises the inspector should advise the person that gave consent for the
				  inspection of the inspector's preliminary findings and of potential follow-up
				  actions by DEM. If violation are discovered, then the inspector should explain
				  the applicable legal requirements and inform the consenting party that the
				  violations must be corrected. Upon request, the inspector may provide general
				  guidance regarding the correction of violations; however, inspectors should not
				  require or recommend specific methods, procedures or corrective actions. In the
				  event that additional assistance, advice or information is requested, the
				  inspector should direct that person to the appropriate compliance assistance or
				  permitting office. Any preliminary findings, recommendations or other
				  assistance offered by the inspector should be recorded in his/her inspection
				  report.
G. If no owner, operator or
				  other person having apparent authority or control over the property is present,
				  the inspector should leave a calling card identifying the inspector and, when
				  possible, should provide other information explaining the purpose and scope of
				  the investigation.