Proposed Changes To ASTM Standard For Phase I Environmental Site Assessments To Include PFAS As A Non-Scope Consideration

For close to two years, a task force of due diligence consultants, lenders, attorneys, and other professionals have been working to revise the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I) Standard E1527-13 to account for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The ASTM Standard is used by purchasers of real property to meet the "all appropriate inquiries" requirement of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to establish the innocent landowner, contiguous property owner, or bona fide prospective purchaser defenses to CERCLA liability. These defenses are used to limit the buyer's liability for historic contamination that pre-dates their ownership. Phase Is are also often used in corporate transactions as a part of environmental due diligence, including in transactions where these CERCLA defenses would not apply.