New standards will be released this year that will dramatically expand the scope of environmental due diligence that must be performed at some sites in order to ensure prospective purchasers of property are protected from CERCLA liability for past releases. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is preparing to release its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), which will be known as ASTM E 1527-13, some time this spring or summer. The most significant change will be the incorporation of vapor mitigation screening requirements, which will require the identification of sites up to 1/3 mile away that pose potential vapor intrusion risks for the subject site. This will vastly expand the scope of Phase I ESAs and will likely increase the costs and timing for completion of the Phase I process.
The majority of the revisions to the standard simply clarify existing definitions and add additional terms to help streamline and simplify the process, including 1) redefining Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs); 2) redefining Historical Recognized Environmental Conditions (HRECs); 3) adding a definition of Controlled Recognized Environmental Conditions (CRECs); and 4) clarifying the requirements and expectations of a regulatory file review.
The current Phase I standard, ASTM E 1527-05, was released in 2005, and since that time one of the major questions that has been debated among environmental professionals is whether vapor mitigation must be considered during a Phase I assessment. The 2005 standard is not clear on this point, but most professionals had determined that vapor mitigation did not need to be considered because it is an Indoor Air Quality issue, which are generally outside the scope of Phase I assessments. The new revision will make clear that vapor intrusion risks should be considered in a Phase I ESA. ASTM has a separate standard for determining the likelihood of vapor migration risks at a site, which defines the "Area of Concern" in which suspected or known contaminated sites must be identified. The area is 1/3 mile for sites with non-petroleum contaminants (COCs) and 1/10 mile for sites with petroleum COCs only. The environmental professional performing the Phase I can use his or her discretion to exclude certain sites based on site-specific factors (i.e. hydraulic or physical barriers, soil characteristics, etc.) but there is always some risk involved in excluding properties within the defined area of concern.
The revised standard was recently submitted to the EPA, which will review the proposed changes to ensure that the standard is still consistent with the AAI rule. If EPA determines that the revisions are acceptable for AAI compliance and approves the standard, it will then be published by ASTM.
For additional information, contact Dan Cory.
