R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-7
The water resources board, its assistants, consultants, employees, subordinates, engineers, surveyors, or other agents or servants, upon giving due notice of intent and purpose, without being liable for trespass, shall have the right, with the consent of the landowner, to enter in, over, and onto any lands or waters in the state along with the equipment and devices as may be necessary and appurtenant for the conducting of examinations, investigations, appraisals, surveys, or other studies and for the making of test pits, pumping tests, borings, and other forms of geologic investigations; provided, however, that in the event the landowner refuses to consent to the entry, the water resources board may petition the superior court for the county in which the lands and waters are located for such authorization which shall be granted upon a showing by the water resources board that the entry is necessary for the implementation of the plans and programs of the board. The petition shall be granted priority on the miscellaneous court calendar. Any landowner whose property is damaged by virtue of the authorization granted herein shall have all of the rights, and shall be subject to all of the limitations, set forth in chapter 31 of title 9.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-15-7