(a) Any officer or employee of the department, representative of the director, or person designated by the director may, in accordance with Section 78455, enter, at reasonable times, any of the following properties:
(1) Any nonresidential establishment or other place or property where any hazardous substances may be, or have been, produced, stored, treated, disposed of, or transported from.
(2) Any nonresidential establishment or other place or property from which, or to which, a hazardous substance has been, or may have been, released.
(3) Any nonresidential establishment or other place or property where a hazardous substance release is, or may be, threatened.
(4) Any nonresidential establishment or other place or property where entry is needed to determine the need for a response action, or the appropriate remedial action, to effectuate a response action under this part.
(5) Any residential place or property that, if it were a nonresidential establishment or other place or property, would otherwise meet the criteria described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, if the department, representative, or person designated by the director is able to establish, based upon reasonably available evidence, that hazardous substances have been released onto or under the residential place or real property and if entry is made only at reasonable times and after reasonable notification to the owners and occupants.
(b) Any officer or employee of the department, representative of the director, or person designated by the director may, in accordance with Section 78455, carry out any of the following activities:
(1) Inspect and obtain samples from any establishment or other place or property specified in subdivision (a) or from any location of any suspected hazardous substance.
(2) Inspect and obtain samples of any substances from any establishment or place or property specified in subdivision (a).
(3) Inspect and obtain samples of any containers or labeling for the suspected hazardous substances, and samples of the soil, vegetation, air, water, and biota on the premises.
(4) Set up and maintain monitoring equipment for the purpose of assessing or measuring the actual or potential migration of hazardous substances.
(5) Survey and determine the topographic, geologic, and hydrogeologic features of the land.
(6) Photograph any equipment, sample, activity, or environmental condition described in paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive.
(c) (1) If photographs are to be taken pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (b), the department shall do all of the following:
(A) Comply with all procedures established pursuant to Section 78490.
(B) Notify the person whose facility is photographed prior to public disclosure of the photographs.
(C) Upon the request of the person owning the facility, submit a copy of any photograph to the person for the purpose of determining whether trade secret information, as defined in Section 78480, or facility security, would be revealed by the photograph.
(2) “Disclosure,” as used in Section 78485, for purposes of this paragraph, does not include the review of the photograph by a court of competent jurisdiction or by an administrative law judge. A court or judge may review the photograph in camera.
(d) An officer, employee, representative, or designee who enters a place, establishment, or property pursuant to this article shall make a reasonable effort to inform the owner or the owner’s authorized representative of the inspection and shall provide split samples to the owner or the representative upon request.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 257, Sec. 2. (AB 2293) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, pursuant to Sec. 4 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 257.)