3.31Administrative Inspection Warrants
The Public Health Code (PHC), MCL 333.1101 et seq., specifically authorizes the issuance of administrative inspection warrants, MCL 333.7504, which can be presented to inspect controlled premises, MCL 333.7507.
Specifically, MCL 333.7504 provides:
“(1) Administrative inspection warrants shall be issued and executed as prescribed in [Part 75 of the PHC].
(2) A magistrate within the magistrate’s jurisdiction, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, may issue a warrant for the purpose of conducting an administrative inspection authorized by [Article 7 of the PHC] or the rules promulgated under [Article 7 of the PHC] and seizures of property appropriate to the inspection. Probable cause exists upon showing a valid public interest in the effective enforcement of [Article 7 of the PHC] or the rules promulgated under [Article 7 of the PHC] sufficient to justify administrative inspection of the area, premises, building, or conveyance in the circumstances specified in the application for the warrant.
(3) A warrant shall issue only upon an affidavit of a designated officer or employee having knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to before the magistrate and establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant. The magistrate, if satisfied that the grounds for the application exist or that there is probable cause to believe they exist, shall issue a warrant identifying the area, premises, building, or conveyance to be inspected, the purpose of the inspection, and, if appropriate, the type of property to be inspected.”
MCL 333.7507 specifically addresses administrative inspections of controlled premises. “When authorized by an administrative inspection warrant, an officer or employee designated by the department of commerce, upon presenting the warrant and appropriate credentials to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, may enter controlled premises for the purpose of conducting an administrative inspection.” MCL 333.7507(2). For detailed discussion of an inspection under an administrative inspection warrant, see MCL 333.7507.
Further, administrative inspection warrants may be sought by agencies even where a particular act does not expressly provide for an administrative inspection warrant. Richter v Dep’t of Natural Resources, 172 Mich App 658, 662-663 (1988) (holding that the district court magistrate’s issuance of an administrative inspection warrant to the DNR was proper where the DNR compiled information and evidence that led them to believe that water pollution existed at or near the petitioner’s oil well sites despite the fact that the relevant acts provided for a hearing and not an administrative inspection warrant).