After EPA Rule Changes, Which ASTM Phase I Standard Should You Use?

JDSupra.com

On November 1, 2021, ASTM International released its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) published a Direct Final Rule that confirmed the new ASTM standard, ASTM E1527-21, could be used to satisfy the EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiry (“AAI”) regulations. However, on May 2, 2022, EPA withdrew the Final Rule it had published on March 14, 2022, and indicated it would address the comments it received concerning the previously Final Rule in a subsequent final action. Why the change and, more importantly, which ASTM standard should a potential purchaser of contaminated property use when having a Phase I Site Assessment prepared? For the full text, click here.

EPA Adopts New Astm Standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments

JD Supra Washington, DC

Environmental Protection Agency, on March 14, 2022, issued both a final rule incorporating revised ASTM International standard practices, ASTM International’s E1527–21 ‘‘Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process,’’ and a proposed rule soliciting comment on this action. The final rule incorporates the new ASTM standard as one of three different standards upon which prospective purchasers of real property may rely to satisfy CERCLA’s All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule. Despite EPA’s request for comment on the rule, the agency indicated that it does not anticipate adverse pushback. The rule is expected to go into effect on May 13, 2022, unless EPA receives significant negative comments. 

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Revised ESA Standards Released by ASTM

National Law Review Washington, DC

ASTM International released its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments on November 1, 2021, and went into effect on January 1, 2022. The new standard (ASTM E1527-21) updates the 2013 version of the standard (ASTM E1527-13), which is widely used by the commercial real estate industry. This Client Advisory highlights some of the more significant changes in the 2021 version of the standard. 

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The Phase 1-2 Punch: Seventh Circuit Affirms Strict Enforcement of All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) and ASTM Issues Revised Standard for AAI Compliant Due Diligence

JD Supra by Joseph Brendel

At the same time that Federal courts are strictly enforcing the requirements for All Appropriate Inquiries, ASTM International (“ASTM”) has issued additional, potentially challenging revisions to the E1527 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process (“Phase I Standard”). The revisions to the Phase I Standard were approved by ASTM on Nov. 1 and publication is anticipated shortly thereafter. 

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Revision to ASTM Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process

JD Supra

Washington, DC – The current (E1527-13) version of the ASTM Phase I standard, used by EPA and the states to determine whether sufficient environmental due diligence has been conducted for a purchaser to utilize CERCLA defenses, is scheduled to be updated this year. While the revised standard has not been finalized, several possible changes of potential significance have been proposed. 
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A Transaction Screen May Be Preferable To A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

October 2001

In the coming days Congress is expected to enact, for the first time, statutory authority clarifying what deems a person to have undertaken all appropriate inquiry to satisfy a defense to Superfund (CERCLA) liability. A “Transaction Screen” may well satisfy the appropriate inquiry standard.

Transaction Screen is a term of art for a procedure intended for use on a voluntary basis by individuals who wish to assess the environmental condition of commercial real estate with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of Superfund liability and petroleum products.

Read More:  A Transaction Screen May Be Preferable To A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

Superfund Sites

A historic settlement announced today with the Kerr-McGee Corporation and certain of its affiliates and their parent Anadarko Petroleum Corporation will greatly benefit environmental cleanups at superfund sites and reimburse the federal government for substantial cleanup costs. The defendants agree to pay $5.15 billion to settle the case, of which approximately $4.4 billion will be paid to fund environmental clean-up and for environmental claims. This is the largest environmental enforcement recovery ever by the Department of Justice.

Amended All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule

National – On December 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amended its All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule, codified in 40 CFR Part 312, to include a specific reference to the updated ASTM International Standard E1527-13 for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA). The amendment establishes that compliance by qualified “environmental professionals” with the requirements of E1527-13 will constitute compliance with specific requirements of the AAI Rule and help to establish certain defenses to liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA).

ASTM E1527 Standard Steps Closer to Revised Version

A month and a half after the close of voting on a revised version, the ASTM E1527 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard is getting closer to being issued with changes for 2013. In October, the task group met at ASTM Committee Week meetings in Atlanta, GA. to discuss negative votes and comments on a ballot issued in September. During the meeting, the group of about 50 environmental professionals, users of Phase I ESAs and industry observers reviewed 17 negative ballots and about 30 affirmative ballots with comments. By the close of the meeting, most points outlined in the negative votes submitted had been resolved through editorial changes and consensus-making. The group’s leadership was then tasked with working with those who submitted the remaining negative votes in an attempt to resolve their issues or convince them to withdraw their negative votes.

As of mid-November, the task group had made great progress towards reaching a final version of the standard, but several negative votes remained. The group is now preparing to pursue the “non-persuasive” process. This allows the standard writing committee to keep the consensus-based ASTM process moving when outliers disagree with the majority of members. In order to find a negative non-persuasive, two-thirds of the committee members must vote in favor of the non-persuasive motion.

Task group leadership does expect the non-persuasive votes to affirm the current redline of the standard, and if all goes according to plan, the new ASTM E1527-13 standard should stay on track for spring 2013 publication.

Likely Changes to ASTM E1527

  • REC & HREC definitions revised and new term, “CREC” or Controlled REC, added
  • Vapor Migration clarified as included in Phase I ESA investigations and ASTM E2600-10 referenced
  • Regulatory File Review specifically detailed in a new subsection
  • Revisions to User Responsibilities section, particularly surrounding environmental lien search requirements
  • Changes to appendices, especially the Table of Contents/Report Format Appendix and Legal Appendix

ASTM E50 Committee Convenes on E1527 Revisions

On Wednesday, April 18, an ASTM E50 task group consisting of environmental consultants, lenders, attorneys, EPA and other interested parties met in Phoenix, AZ to discuss revisions to the ASTM E1527-05 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard. The last time the standard was updated was in 2005, when EPA released the details of its All Appropriate Inquires Rule, which cites the current standard as “at least as stringent” as EPA’s rule. According to ASTM bylaws, standards must be updated and reissued every eight years to avoid sun-setting and becoming invalid. A task group formed in 2010 and has since issued two revised versions to sub-committee voting.

In the most recent draft of the standard, the task group has proposed several changes to the standard, most intended to be clarifications rather than changes to industry practices. These proposed revisions include:

  • Clarification about when an Agency File Reviews should be conducted as part of a Phase I ESA. The task group’s goal is to create greater consistency without adding undue burden on professionals.
  • Introduction of a new term, Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition, which would cover past contamination to soil and groundwater that has previously been remediated. A CREC would be distinct from a Historical Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) and a REC.
  • Reference to the ASTM E2600-10 Vapor Encroachment Screening Standard and explanation that vapor plumes should be treated as any other source of contamination would be treated within the Phase I ESA.