EPA Amends All Appropriate Inquiries Standard For Phase I Environmental Site Assessments

Key Takeaways

• Effective February 13, 2023, parties may rely on ASTM E1527-21 to satisfy All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq. (CERCLA).
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is phasing out its acceptance of the prior version of the standard, ASTM E1527-13, which will no longer be acceptable for All Appropriate Inquiries purposes as of February 13, 2024.
• Purchasers of potentially contaminated forestland or rural property may rely on either E1527-21 or the existing ASTM E2247-16, as is current practice, to show All Appropriate Inquiries into those properties.