ASTM_E_2247_-_08.pdf

Designation:E224708Standard Practice forEnvironmental Site Assessments:Phase I EnvironmentalSite Assessment Process for Forestland or Rural Property1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2247;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 PurposeThe purpose of this practice is to define goodcommercial and customary practice in the United States ofAmerica for conducting a Phase I environmental site assess-ment2of a property 120 acres or greater of forestland or ruralproperty or with a developed use of only managed forestlandand/or agriculture with respect to the range of contaminantswithin the scope of the Comprehensive EnvironmentalResponse,Compensation,and Liability Act(CERCLA)andpetroleum products.The property need not be contiguous;however,the non-contiguous areas should have substantiallythe same general land use and be part of the same transaction.The property may contain isolated areas of non-forestland andnon-rural property.As such,this practice is intended to permita user to satisfy one of the requirements to qualify for theinnocent landowner,contiguous property owner,or bona fideprospective purchaser limitations on CERCLA liability(hereinafter,the“landowner liability protections,”or“LLPs”):that is,the practice that constitutes“all appropriate inquiry intothe previous ownership and uses of the property consistentwith good commercial or customary practice”as defined at 42U.S.C.9601(35)(B).(See Appendix X1 for an outline ofCERCLAs liability and defense provisions.)Controlled sub-stances are not included within the scope of this standard.Persons conducting an environmental site assessment as part ofan EPA Brownfields Assessment and Characterization Grantawarded under CERCLA 42 U.S.C.9604(k)(2)(B)mustinclude controlled substances as defined in the ControlledSubstances Act(21 U.S.C.802)within the scope of theassessment investigations to the extent directed in the termsand conditions of the specific grant or cooperative agreement.1.1.1 Recognized Environmental ConditionsIn defining astandard of good commercial and customary practice forconducting an environmental site assessment of a parcel ofproperty,the goal of the processes established by this practiceis to identify recognized environmental conditions.The termrecognized environmental conditions means the presence orlikely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleumproducts on a property under conditions that indicate anexisting release,a past release,or a material threat of a releaseof any hazardous substances or petroleum products intostructures on the property or into the ground,groundwater,orsurface water of the property.The term includes hazardoussubstances or petroleum products even under conditions incompliance with laws.The term is not intended to include deminimis conditions that generally do not present a threat tohuman health or the environment or that generally would notbe the subject of an enforcement action if brought to theattention of appropriate governmental agencies.Conditionsdetermined to be de minimis are not recognized environmentalconditions.1.1.2 Two Related PracticesThis practice is closely re-lated to Practice E1527.Practice E1527 is an environmentalsite assessment for commercial real estate(see 4.3).1.1.3 Petroleum ProductsPetroleum products are includedwithin the scope of this practice because they are of concernwith respect to many parcels of forestland or rural propertyand current custom and usage is to include an inquiry into thepresence of petroleum products when doing an environmentalsite assessment of forestland or rural property.Inclusion ofpetroleum products within the scope of this practice is notbased upon the applicability,if any,of CERCLA to petroleumproducts.(See Appendix X1 for discussion of petroleumexclusion to CERCLA liability.)1.1.4 CERCLA Requirements Other Than AppropriateInquiryThis practice does not address whether requirementsin addition to all appropriate inquiry have been met in order toqualify for the LLPs(for example,the duties specified in 42U.S.C.9607(b)(3)(a)and(b)and cited in Appendix X1including the continuing obligation not to impede the integrityand effectiveness of activity and use limitations(AULs),or the1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E50 on Environ-mental Assessment,Risk Management and Corrective Action and is the directresponsibility of Subcommittee E50.02 on Real Estate Assessment and Manage-ment.Current edition approved June 1,2008.Published June 2008.Originallyapproved in 2002.Last previous edition approved in 2002 as E2247 02.DOI:10.1520/E2247-08.2All definitions,descriptions of terms,and acronyms are defined in Section 3.Whenever terms defined in 3.2 are used in this practice,they are