Sierra Piedmont's Latest News

November 1, 2006 parties must comply with the requirements of All Appropriate Inquires Final Rule.

On November 1, 2005 in the Federal Register, The Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule setting federal standards for the conduct of all appropriate inquiries. The final rule establishes specific regulatory requirements 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 CERCLA. The final rule will be effective on November 1, 2006, one year following the date of publication. Until November 1, 2006, parties may use either the requirements set forth in the all appropriate inquiries final rule, or the requirements of the interim standard for all appropriate inquiries established in the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (the Brownfields Amendments to CERCLA) to satisfy the statutory requirements for all appropriate inquiries. The interim standard is the ASTM E1527-00 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process. Parties also may use the newly revised ASTM standard, ASTM E1527-05 standard.

After November 1, 2006, parties must comply with the requirements of All Appropriate Inquiries Final Rule, or follow the standards set forth in the ASTM E1527-05 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process, to satisfy the statutory requirements for conducting all appropriate inquiries. All appropriate inquiries must be conducted in compliance with either of these standards to obtain protection from potential liability under CERCLA as an innocent landowner, a contiguous property owner, or a bona fide prospective purchaser.

For additional information, please access the EPA's website regarding Brownfields and AAI (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/aai/aai_final_factsheet.htm) and Sierra Piedmont's website to read The Role of the Environmental Professional in Risk Management, a White Paper about AAI (http://www.sierrapiedmont.com/about-us/white-papers/).