TCA § 68-105-116 — Authority of department — Promulgation of rules and regulations — Inspections — Warrants — Disposal of unclaimed explosives
AI-assisted research summary: The department may make explosives rules. The commissioner or authorized representative may inspect places involving explosives, seek court help if entry is refused, get a warrant to seize unlawfully stored explosives that pose imminent danger, and later dispose of them if no one responds. Owners or lawful possessors can recover seized explosives if they show they can store them safely.
The department may promulgate rules and regulations concerning the manufacture, transportation, sale, storage, or use of explosives and the maintenance of such explosives, and any other rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this chapter. In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter, the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative may enter, without delay and without advance notice, any place where explosives are in use or stored or where blasting records are kept, during regular working hours and at other reasonable times, in order to inspect such places and to question any explosives user or seller for the purpose of ascertaining compliance or noncompliance with this chapter. If an explosives user or seller refuses entry, the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative may apply to the circuit court within the county in which the premises to be entered are located for an order to enforce the right of entry. If, during the course of a lawful inspection, the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative discovers explosives stored or kept in an unlawful manner and such unlawfully stored or kept explosives constitute an imminent and substantial danger to life or property, the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative may, upon proper affidavit before a magistrate with authority and jurisdiction to issue search warrants, obtain a warrant authorizing seizure of such unlawfully stored or kept explosives and thereby seize and store such explosives in a lawful and safe manner. No warrant pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be issued upon an affidavit that does not aver that an arrangement has been made between the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative and public or private sources for the lawful and safe storage of the explosives to be seized. No warrant pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be issued upon an affidavit that does not specifically describe the place in which the explosives are to be stored and identify the city, county, street address and name of the person, company, or agency accepting the explosives for storage. Any owner or person entitled to lawful possession of explosives seized pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be entitled to recovery of the seized explosives upon written or verbal notification to the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative stating the person's capability to lawfully and safely store the seized explosives, and upon an inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative of the person's storage facilities and methods that reveals the person's capability to lawfully and safely store the explosives. The commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative shall make the inspection within five (5) days of receipt of the notification. If the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative receives no communication from the owner or person entitled to lawful possession of the seized explosives within thirty (30) days after the seizure of such explosives, then the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative may dispose of the seized explosives in a safe and lawful manner.