The American Society of Testing Materials to review the All Appropriate Inquiry Rule

On November 1, 2006 the Federal Environmental Protection Agency signed into law the All Appropriate Inquiry standard for environmental site assessments. The law was designed to hold potential purchasers of commercial real estate to a higher threshold of due diligence than prior standards. The All Appropriate Inquiry compliant report is critical when petitioning for state assistance under the current CERCLIS or Brownfield programs. Since its introduction, purchasers have been made aware of the nuances of the changes as well as the cost associated with the new report. Many lenders now require the All Appropriate Inquiry standard as part of the loan approval process. In addition, many of the government lending programs such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and the SBA all require the All Appropriate Inquiry compliant report. Prior to the introduction of the All Appropriate Inquiry standard, the American Society of Testing Materials had developed E-1527 which was released in 1994 and considered a voluntary standard that outlined the components to be included in a phase one environmental site assessment. The standard was revised in 1997 (E1527-97) and again in 2000 (E1527-00). This standard was referred to as the millennium standard. The AAI rule has implemented several changes from the the American Society of Testing Materials 1527-00 standard in order for the report to be considered All Appropriate Inquiry compliant. In total, there were ten (10) key areas of changes that needed to be adhered to satisfy the All Appropriate Inquiry requirement. In conjunction with the new law, the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) released their E1527-05 guidelines for preparing environmental assessments which has a direct correlation to the All Appropriate Inquiry law and has been deemed compliant by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. Now that the rule will be celebrating its fifth anniversary (standard was approved in November of 2005 with a November 1, 2006 implementation date) the American Society of Testing Materials task group is looking into whether or not changes will be required. This is based on a public listening session that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency conducted in March of this year. The task group discussed the possibility of making changes to the E1527-05 Standard. Because E1527-05 is referenced in the Federal Environmental Protection Agency's rule as being "at least as stringent" as the rule itself, the task group faces the hurdle that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency may need to go through the public comment process if revisions are made to the standard. While the task group and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency both feel that there may be reason to reopen the rule and the standard, it was determined that re-balloting the E1527-05 standard as it is today to reapprove the standard by its 2013 expiration would be prudent. Once the standard is reconfirmed, the task group would have ample time to make revision in concert with the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. Focus groups have been set up to discuss revisions to several areas of the standard including: report shelf life, recommendations, and database report. As the environmental industry moves forward and matures (this is the 20th year of the American Society of Testing Materials environmental committee), new and revised standards will emerge. New Technologies will come to market to assist consultants in the efficiency and accuracy of environmental site assessments reports. Areas such as building energy performance assessments and vapor intrusion studies will become more prevalent for purchaser and lenders alike. Both of these areas currently have draft standards in which the final versions are expected to be released this year. Chuck Merritt is a LEED AP and the president of Merritt Environmental Consulting Corp., Hauppauge, N.Y.