"Innocent" Purchasers Beware: U.S. EPA Withdraws New Environmental Site Assessment Standard

As discussed in our Aug. 15, 2013 Alert, U.S. EPA promulgated a direct final rule with a new standard of "All Appropriate Inquiry" (AAI) for would-be "innocent" or "bona fide" prospective purchasers and tenants published that same date, in which EPA proposed to allow the use of either the current 2005 ASTM standard for "Phase I" Environmental Site Assessments or the new ASTM standard E1527-13 to satisfy AAI.

There have been several adverse comments that criticize the uncertainty created by the concurrent applicability of both alternative standards – which have important differences-- because EPA's direct final rule failed to provide one standard practice applicable to all transactions after its effective date.