Editorial Policy

Every article on American River Wellness Recovery is written to help drivers, mariners, pilots, rail workers, pipeline personnel, and their employers make correct decisions during the DOT return-to-duty process. DOT compliance is a Your Money or Your Life topic (YMYL); an inaccurate sentence can cost someone their career. This page explains how we research, write, review, and update our content so you can trust what you read.

Who we are

American River Wellness Recovery is a solo-practitioner DOT Substance Abuse Professional practice founded and led by Graham Sargent, CEAP, CADC-III, ICADC, IS. Graham has personally completed more than 4,000 DOT SAP evaluations since 2018 across all six DOT-regulated modes (FMCSA, USCG, FAA, FRA, FTA, PHMSA). All clinical content on this site is written or reviewed by Graham personally. Read more about Graham here.

What we cover

The DOT return-to-duty process under 49 CFR Part 40
Mode-specific SAP requirements (FMCSA / USCG / FAA / FRA / FTA / PHMSA)
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rules and workflows
Consequences of positive tests, refusals, and other prohibited conduct
Employer / DER responsibilities in the return-to-duty process
Substance-specific DOT drug testing information
Practical guidance for drivers and mariners navigating the SAP program

How we choose topics

We prioritize topics based on:

Direct questions we hear from clients during evaluations
Regulatory changes announced by DOT, FMCSA, USCG, FAA, FRA, FTA, or PHMSA
Publicly documented enforcement patterns, safety data, and industry reports

If a topic isn’t a real question a real driver or employer is asking, we don’t cover it.

Who writes and reviews our content

Primary author: Graham Sargent, CEAP, CADC-III, ICADC, IS — DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional.
External review: Select flagship articles may carry a ‘Reviewed by’ credit from an independent qualified professional (Medical Review Officer, DOT compliance attorney, or subject-matter expert). Where present, the reviewer’s name, credentials, and a link to their profile appear in the article byline.
AI use: We do not publish AI-generated articles. AI tools may be used for outlining, grammar checks, or research organization, but every sentence published on this site is written or substantively edited by a credentialed human.

How we source our content

Every claim of fact on this site is sourced from primary or authoritative material. Our sourcing hierarchy:

Primary regulatory sources — 49 CFR Part 40, FMCSA, USCG, FAA, FRA, FTA, PHMSA regulations, Federal Register notices, and official DOT / mode-agency guidance documents.

Government publications — DOT ODAPC, FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse resources, SAMHSA, CDC publications.

Peer-reviewed research — for clinical claims about substance use, treatment outcomes, or testing methodology.

Established industry organizations — SAPAA, and other credentialed professional bodies.

Graham’s direct clinical experience — clearly identified as such, used to illustrate rather than substitute for primary sources.

We do not cite general-interest health blogs, or unsourced third-party content as authoritative material.

Update cadence

All articles are reviewed for accuracy on a rolling 12-month schedule. The last-updated date is visible at the top of every article and matches the dateModified value in the article’s schema.
Regulatory changes trigger immediate updates. When DOT, FMCSA, USCG, FAA, FRA, FTA, or PHMSA publishes a rule change relevant to an existing article, we revise the affected article within 30 days of the effective date.
Substantive updates are logged at the top of the article with an “Updated [date] to reflect [change]” note.

Corrections

If you spot an error on our site, please tell us. Send an email to help@americanriverwellnessrecovery.com and we will address your feedback promptly.

Advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate relationships

American River Wellness Recovery does not accept paid product placements, does not participate in affiliate programs, and does not sell placements in our articles or listicles. When we rank or compare other SAP providers, our rankings are based on published criteria (speed, credentials, coverage, transparency), not commercial relationships. Any commercial relationship that could affect content — none exist at time of writing — would be disclosed in the article.

Editorial independence

Graham has full editorial control over every article. No client, employer, or third party reviews or approves content before publication. If we retain external reviewers, they review for clinical or regulatory accuracy only — they do not have veto or approval authority over positioning, opinion, or business commentary.

Contact us about editorial content

Editorial concerns, correction requests, source verification, or reprint permissions: help@americanriverwellnessrecovery.com.

This editorial policy was published 22 July 2026 and is reviewed annually. Last reviewed: 22 July 2026