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ASTM Updates
ASTM Update
Have you heard? There is an update to ASTM E1527 coming this year! Here are the top 7 things you need to know
Our members are eager to hear from the experts working on the ASTM E1527 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) update. Julie Kilgore, President, Wasatch Environmental, Inc. presented to the Environmental Bankers Association (EBA) Risk and Technical Management (RTM) Committee on March 30, 2021. Julie is the Chair of the ASTM E1527 Task Group and was a Member of the EPA Federal Advisory Committee established to develop the proposed “All Appropriate Inquiry” (AAI) regulation.
Julie began with an overview of the E1527 revision process. The primary objective of the process is for Producers and Users to agree on a consistent process that is expected to result in a consistent Phase I ESA deliverable. The secondary objective is to improve the ASTM standard to reflect good commercial and customary industry standard practice. Examples are proposed to be included in the final standard to give guidance and direction to the Environmental Professional (EP) preparing the report, as well as for the User who is reviewing the information provided by the report.
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The Task Group formally convened in February 2018 with two objectives:
• Clarify existing language • Strengthen the deliverable
In the intervening three years, two Subcommittee Ballots have been completed, and a third is currently out as the concurrent main committee/subcommittee ballot. Based upon expected feedback to the current ballot and additional balloting, the Task Group anticipates an updated E1527 late fall 2021.
The primary drivers for the revision process are based on the following:
Ø Federal law requires that All Appropriate Inquiries be conducted “consistent with good commercial and customary practice”
Ø Review of recent litigation and claims also provide insight for areas where the standard can be improved.
Ø ASTM is a process of consensus among Users and Producers to agree on a consistent process that is expected to result in a consistent deliverable.
Ø Inconsistencies in process and quality are signals of areas where the standard can be improved.
Anticipating a variety of comments, Julie reported that the focus during Committee Week (April 14, 2021) was to address any negative comments, and then re-issue one final ballot. The final E1527 would then be submitted to the USEPA for review with the ultimate goal of EPA publishing in The Federal Register that the updated E1527 is compliant with the EPA All Appropriate Inquiries regulation.
#1 Can “Likely” Be Defined?
The Task Group took on the difficult task of providing guidance on applying “likely” in the context of evaluating the presence or “likely” presence of a release. This guidance is intended to help consultants more consistently apply professional judgement to set facts that may indicate that a release has occurred. The proposed guidance may read something like the following:
