All appropriate
inquiry is a
process of researching the public records to reasonably ascertain if the
property you are purchasing is contaminated.
The EPA final rule establishes specific regulatory requirements (for
the first time) for conducting all appropriate inquiries into the
previous ownership, uses, and environmental conditions of a property for
the purposes of qualifying for certain landowner liability protections
under Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability
Act (CERCLA).
"Under CERCLA, persons may be held strictly liable for
cleaning up hazardous substances at properties that they either
currently own or operate or owned or operated at the time of disposal.
Strict liability in the context of CERCLA means that a potentially
responsible party may be liable for environmental contamination based
solely on property ownership and without regard to fault or
negligence." (EPA FINAL RULE)
Basically, if you buy property without doing a Phase I ESA and
discover buried drums, tanks, or any other contamination YOU ARE LIABLE
TO CLEAN IT UP! The Phase I ESA act like an insurance policy
especially when no environmental concerns are noted.
At times, contaminated property cannot be seen at the surface.
It is important to do the proper research to determine the previous use
of a property. It is common for old dump sites to be indiscernible
from normal property; or that retail store or bank may be an old
gasoline station. SO WHAT'S UNDER YOUR FLOWERS?
The EPA establishes that the revised ASTM E1527-05 standard is
consistent with the requirements of the final rule for all appropriate
inquiries and may be used to comply with the provisions of the rule.
Furthermore, ASTM indicates that the
transaction screen process does NOT meet all appropriate inquiry.
Villa Environmental Consultants, Inc., recently worked on a restaurant
in which a lending institute was foreclosing. We conducted a Phase
I Environmental Site Assessment and discovered that not only that it was
contaminated, but that gasoline was floating on the water table.
The lending institute or current owner did not conduct any due diligence
and is reluctant to complete the foreclosure.
We have completed Phase I ESA through the Midwest and Great Plains,
from Carthage, Missouri to the Ohio Valley, to up north in
Michigan. Our reports are user friendly and fit your schedule to
meet the transaction. Typically a Phase I ESA will take 2-3 weeks
to complete.
