PART 717—CWC CLARIFICATION PROCEDURES (CONSULTATIONS AND CHALLENGE INSPECTIONS) Authority: 22 U.S.C. 6701 et seq., Source: 71 FR 24929, Apr. 27, 2006, unless otherwise noted. § 717.1 Clarification procedures; challenge inspection requests pursuant to Article IX of the Convention. (a) Article IX of the Convention sets forth procedures for clarification, between States Parties, of issues about compliance with the Convention. States Parties may attempt to resolve such issues through consultation between themselves or through the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). A State Party may also request the OPCW to conduct an on-site challenge inspection of any facility or location in the territory or in any other place under the jurisdiction or control of any other State Party. Such an on-site challenge inspection request shall be for the sole purpose of clarifying and resolving any questions concerning possible non-compliance with the Convention. (b) In the event that BIS receives a request for clarification, pursuant to Article IX of the Convention, concerning possible non-compliance with the CWC, any person or facility subject to the CWCR (parts 710 through 729 of this subchapter) that receives an official written request from BIS for clarification must, within five working days from receipt of such request, provide BIS with any relevant information required to respond to the OPCW or the State Party(ies) who requested clarification under Article IX. BIS will contact the person or facility subject to the Article IX clarification, as early as practicable, prior to issuing an official written request for clarification to the person or facility. § 717.2 Challenge inspections. Persons or facilities, other than U.S. Government facilities as defined in § 710.2(a) of the CWCR, may be subject to a challenge inspection by the OPCW concerning possible non-compliance with the requirements of the Convention, irrespective of whether or not they are required to submit declarations or reports under the CWCR. BIS will host and escort the international Inspection Team for challenge inspections in the United States of such persons or facilities. (a) Consent to challenge inspections; warrants for challenge inspections. (2) In instances where the owner, operator, occupant or agent in charge of a facility does not consent to a challenge inspection, BIS will assist the Department of Justice in seeking a criminal warrant as provided by the Act. The existence of a facility agreement does not in any way limit the right of the operator of the facility to withhold consent to a challenge inspection request. (b) Notice of challenge inspection. (1) Timing. (2)(i) Content of notice. (A) The type of inspection; (B) The basis for the selection of the facility or locations for the type of inspection sought; (C) The time and date that the inspection will begin and the period covered by the inspection; (D) The names and titles of the Inspection Team members; and (E) All appropriate evidence or reasons provided by the requesting State Party for seeking the inspection. (ii) In addition to appropriate information provided by the OPCW in its notification to the USNA, the notice of inspection that BIS delivers to the facility will request the facility to indicate whether it will consent to an inspection and will state whether an advance team is available to assist the site in preparation for the inspection. If an advance team is available, facilities that request advance team assistance are not required to reimburse the U.S. Government for costs associated with these activities. If a facility does not agree to provide consent to an inspection within four hours of receipt of the inspection notification, BIS will assist the Department of Justice in seeking a criminal warrant. (c) Period of inspection. (d) Scope and conduct of inspections General. (2) Scope of inspections. (3) Hours of inspections. (4) Health and safety regulations and requirements. (5) Pre-inspection briefing. § 717.3 Samples. If requested by the Inspection Team, the owner, operator, occupant or agent in charge of a facility must provide a sample, as provided for in the Convention and the Act and consistent with requirements set forth by the Director of the United States National Authority in 22 CFR part 103. This may be done by providing a sample, taken in the presence of the Inspection Team, to the U.S. Host Team leader, who will then release it to the Inspection Team for analysis. Analysis of the sample may be restricted to verifying the presence or absence of Schedule 1, 2, or 3 chemicals, or appropriate degradation products, unless agreed otherwise. § 717.4 Report of inspection-related costs. Pursuant to section 309(b)(5) of the Act, any facility that has undergone any inspections pursuant to the CWCR during a given calendar year must report to BIS within 90 days of an inspection on its total costs related to that inspection. Although not required, such reports should identify categories of costs separately if possible, such as personnel costs (production-line, administrative, legal), costs of producing records, and costs associated with shutting down chemical production or processing during inspections, if applicable. This information should be reported to BIS on company letterhead at the address given in § 716.6(d) of the CWCR, with the following notation: “AATTN: Report of Inspection-related Costs.” § 717.5 Post-inspection activities. BIS will forward a copy of the final inspection report to the inspected facility for their review upon receipt from the OPCW. Facilities may submit comments on the final inspection report to BIS, and BIS will consider them, to the extent possible, when commenting on the final report. BIS will also send facilities a post-inspection letter detailing the issues that require follow-up action and the date on which the report on inspection-related costs (see § 717.4 of the CWCR) is due to BIS.