14. Any person authorized by the Minister may, in the performance of his duties, enter upon land in the private domain. He shall, if so required, identify himself and show the certificate of his capacity signed by the Minister.
The person who, as owner or lessee or in any other capacity has the custody of the land shall give free access to the land at any reasonable time to the person referred to in the first paragraph, in particular for the purpose of carrying out the research, inventories, studies or analyses required to assess the location, quantity, quality or vulnerability of groundwater present in the land, subject, however, to that person restoring the premises to their former state and compensating the owner or custodian of the land, as the case may be, for any damage. In addition, access to the land is subject to the requirement that the owner or custodian be given prior notice of at least 48 hours of the person’s intention to enter upon the land for the above-mentioned purposes.
Whoever contravenes the provisions of the second paragraph or hinders an authorized person in the exercise of the person’s duties, is liable to a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000. The fine is doubled in the case of a second or subsequent offence.
1994, c. 17, s. 14; 2002, c. 53, s. 19.