ASTM E 2247:2023

1.1 Purpose- The purpose of this practice is to provide an alternative method to ASTM E1527 for good commercial and customary practices in the United States of America for conducting a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment 2 of forestland or rural property with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and petroleum products . As such, this practice is intended to permit a user to satisfy one of the requirements to qualify for the innocent landowner , contiguous property owner , or bona fide prospective purchaser limitations on CERCLA liability (hereinafter, the " landowner liability protections ," or " LLPs "): that is, the practice that constitutes " all appropriate inquiries " into the previous ownership and uses of a property consistent with good commercial and customary standards and practices as defined at 42 U.S.C. §9601(35)(B). (See Appendix X1 for an outline of CERCLA's liability and defense provisions.) Controlled substances are not included within the scope of this standard. Persons conducting an environmental site assessment as part of an EPA Brownfields Assessment and Characterization Grant awarded under CERCLA 42 U.S.C. §9604(k)(2)(B) must include controlled substances as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §802) within the scope of the assessment investigations to the extent directed in the terms and conditions of the specific grant or cooperative agreement. Additionally, an evaluation of business environmental risk (BER) associated with a parcel of commercial real estate may necessitate investigation beyond that identified in this practice (see 1.4 and Section 13 ). 1.1.1 Standard Practice Selection- The methodology included in this practice is an effective and practical process for achieving the objectives of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment of forestland or rural property when some of the methodologies of ASTM E1527 are deemed to be impractical or unnecessary due to the size or nature of the property . This practice is intended to provide a more practical approach to assess rural and forestland properties that are generally uniform in use. A primary consideration in applying this practice instead of E1527 is the nature and extent of the property being assessed, as the typical environmental concerns, sources for interviews and records, and the methodology used to perform the site reconnaissance may differ significantly. The property to be assessed using this standard practice need not be contiguous and may contain isolated areas of non- forestland and non- rural property . Site reconnaissance of isolated areas of the property that include activities outside the definition of forestland or rural property should be addressed using methodologies such as those provided in E1527 , which may be conducted and reported in conjunction with this practice, as discussed in 4.5.3 . 1.1.2 Recognized Environmental Conditions- The goal of the processes established by this practice is to identify recognized environmental conditions . The term recognized environmental condition means (1) the presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property due to any release to the environment ; (2) the likely presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property due to a release or likely release to the environment ; or (3) the presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property under conditions that pose a material threat of a future release to the environment . A de minimis condition is not a recognized environmental condition . 1.1.3 Related Standard Practices- This practice is closely related to Standard Practice E1527 . Standard Practice E1527 is an environmental site assessment for commercial real estate (see 4.3 ). 1.1.4 Petroleum Products- Petroleum products are included within the scope of this practice because they are of concern with respect to many parcels of forestland or rural property and current custom and usage is to include an inquiry into the presence of petroleum products when conducting an environmental site assessment of forestland or rural property . Inclusion of petroleum products within the scope of this practice is not based upon the applicability, if any, of CERCLA to petroleum products . 1.1.5 CERCLA Requirements Other Than Appropriate Inquiries- This practice does not address whether requirements in addition to all appropriate inquiries have been met in order to qualify for the LLPs (for example, the duties specified in 42 U.S.C. §§9607(b)(3)(a) and (b) and cited in Appendix X1 including the continuing obligation not to impede the integrity and effectiveness of activity and use limitations (AULs) , or the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent releases , or the duty to comply with legally required release reporting obligations). 1.1.6 Other Federal, State, and Local Environmental Laws- This practice does not address requirements of any state or local laws or of any federal laws other than the All Appropriate Inquiries provisions of the LLPs . Users are cautioned that federal, state, and local laws may impose environmental assessment obligations that are beyond the scope of this practice. Users should also be aware that there are likely to be other legal obligations with regard to hazardous substances or petroleum products discovered in, on, or at the subject property that are not addressed in this practice and that may pose risks of civil and/or criminal sanctions for non-compliance. 3 1.1.7 Documentation- The scope of this practice includes research and reporting requirements that support the user's ability to qualify for the LLPs . As such, sufficient documentation of all sources, records, and resources utilized in conducting the inquiry required by this practice must be provided in the written report (refer to 8.1.9 and 12.2 ). 1.2 Objectives- Objectives guiding the development of this practice are ...

13.020.10