(A) Law enforcement authorities, who identify and confirm a clandestine drug lab site or clandestine drug lab operation, shall notify the Board of Health and the county department responsible for child protection within one working day of identifying and confirming the lab site, as permitted by M.S. § 13.82. The obligation to promptly notify may be delayed to accomplish appropriate law enforcement objectives, but any decision to delay notification must be in compliance with state law, including but not limited to, M.S. § 626.556. The notice shall include sufficient information to inform the recipients of the following:
(1) Property or structure location by street address and other identifiable location;
(2) Property or structure owner’s and occupant’s identities—especially the identities of any children and women of child-bearing age found or known to be associated with the site;
(3) Chemicals found, indications of chemical residues, and any related odors and vapors;
(4) Equipment in a dwelling or structure that is typically associated with the manufacture of a controlled substance; and
(5) Conditions typically associated with a clandestine drug lab site or operation, including but not limited to, weapons, illicit drugs, filth, fire, or electrical shock and other harmful conditions as determined by state law.
(B) Upon identification of the clandestine drug lab site or operation, law enforcement agencies may treat, store, transport or dispose of all hazardous waste found at the site in a manner consistent with rules and regulations adopted by the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Pollution Control, the county and all other state, federal and local agencies with jurisdiction over the site or operation.
(C) When a law enforcement agency completes its work under division (B) and is prepared to leave such sites, the agency shall affix a warning sign to a conspicuous part of the site. The warning sign shall be prepared in advance for such situations by the Board of Health. The warning sign shall be of a size and contain information sufficient to alert visitors or returning occupants that the site is a chemical investigation site public health nuisance, may be dangerous to enter, and must not be entered except by authorization of the Board of Health and/or law enforcement agency identified on the sign.
(D) Any person, other than a representative of the Board of Health, who willfully removes the warning sign specified in division (C), is guilty of a misdemeanor pursuant to M.S. § 145A.04, subd. 10.
(Ord. 53-2004, passed 8-2-04; Am. Ord. 76-2013, passed 6-18-2013)