(a)  In the event of any serious disaster, such as conflagration, enemy attack, earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado, drought, or other emergency, which shall result in an unusual nonseasonal shortage in the milk supply in the state of Rhode Island, the director shall have power, upon issuance of an order by him or her specifying the nature and extent of the emergency and without notice: (1) to suspend part or all of the regulations made under authority of this chapter; (2) to promulgate other or additional emergency regulations; and (3) to suspend part or all of the requirements of this chapter pertaining to inspection and the obtaining of permits by milk plants located outside the state of Rhode Island from which milk is derived for sale in the state of Rhode Island and pertaining to inspection of their milk producers and haulers.

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(b)  In the case of any special emergency, the director may issue emergency permits for the importation of milk into the state of Rhode Island which has not been inspected at the source in accordance with this statute and the regulations pursuant to this chapter; provided, that the director shall be satisfied that any source of milk admitted by emergency permit shall not constitute a threat to the health of the people of Rhode Island, and provided that environmental conditions surrounding the production, transportation, and processing of the imported milk shall reasonably have been subject to inspection at its source under authority of law other than that of the state of Rhode Island.

(c)  The suspension and emergency regulations shall be for the duration of the emergency or forty (40) days, whichever period shall be shorter.

(d)  The director is empowered in the event of any contamination or threat of contamination of the milk supply alone to promulgate additional emergency regulations pertaining to the treatment and conditions of production, distribution, and sale of milk, the regulations to go into effect immediately without a hearing. The emergency regulations shall be in effect forty (40) days or the duration of the emergency, whichever period shall be shorter. The director shall promulgate the emergency regulations by filing a copy of the regulations in the secretary of state’s office and having copies available for public inspection. As soon as practicable, the director shall give notice of the promulgation of the emergency regulations.