51 Rustling Ridge Rd., Glasgow, KY 42141, US
In order to understand what is required by the EPA, it helps to understand why All Appropriate Inquiry and Due Diligence were created. Turning point environmental disasters such as the Love Canal, which caused public outrage in the 1970s, was the genesis of federal environmental regulation holding responsible parties accountable for cleanup costs and public liability. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the “Superfund” law was enacted in 1980. This law gave the federal government the power to regulate the response and cleanup activities of the release of hazardous substances. In addition, it gave the federal government the power to pursue Responsible Parties or Potentially Responsible Parties for the reimbursement of cleanup cost.
Written into the CERCLA law was an exemption from liability for cleanup costs. If a perspective owner conducts an All Appropriate Inquiry (as defined in ASTM 1527-13 Standard) to satisfy the Landowners Liability Protections provision, then the owner can obtain exemption from liability for contamination that existed on the property prior to the property transaction. The ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) E1527-13 Standard was designed specifically to meet the requirements to obtain exemption from pre-existing environmental conditions. The ASTM 1527-13 outlines the Scope of Work that has become accepted as the industry standard for protection to meet the requirements of CERCLA liability as an innocent landowner, a contiguous property owner, or a bona fide prospective purchaser.
A simplified scope of work includes:
1. Discovery of Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) through research of reasonably obtainable historical documents.
2. A site reconnaissance to obtain information indicating the likelihood of identifying RECs. This must include findings from interviewing a designated Key Site Manager.
3. At least one interview from a State or Local Government Official, such as the local or state fire marshal, Health Department, local environmental agency, or the local building permitting agency.
4. Preparation of a report that adheres to a very specific format consisting of a Summary, Introduction, User Provided Information, Records Review, Site Reconnaissance, Interviews, Evaluation, Non-Scope Services, and Appendices of supporting data.
Bankers Environmental Evaluations ASTM 1527-13 compliant Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Scope of Work can be found here:
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