Using standards as a guide to addressing risk is a common practice in many industries. For the real estate market, ASTM E1527, “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process,” is commonly used. It provides a framework for assessing the environmental condition of a property, which allows purchasers to determine the potential costs and liabilities associated with possible contamination. It is widely used by banks, developers, and other parties with real estate investments, as well as by those companies that specialize in preforming the actual risk assessment itself.
This industry standard has been adopted by the EPA (in support of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)) to provide the requirements for environmental due diligence when assessing the risks of a piece of property. FYI: all phase I ESAs (environmental site assessments) will need to meet the requirements of E1527 one year from now.
Areas where the new 2013 Edition differs from the previous (now obsolete) 2005 Edition are in the following areas:
- REC Recognized Environmental Condition. Your definition is now easier to understand.
- HREC Historically Recognized Environmental Condition. The new wording helps you define whether a past contamination event is concluded (no longer applicable) or on-going.
- CREC Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition. This new category is for situations where a property no longer requires remediation but must be used in some restricted way due to residual contamination.
These improved condition definitions means that when a particular piece of property has had environmental issues in the past, it is now possible to categorize it as either HREC with no further issues pending or CREC with possible issues in the future or restricted usage.
Your E1527 standard is a 47-page guide to the responsibilities and requirements for EPA risk assessment. Section 7 provides a clear outline of the assessment components. Then each is reviewed in detail to assure the Phase I ESA is done by proper professionals covering specific topic areas. And the standard has extensive information on the legal background that has guided its development in the Annex X.
All U.S. real estate risk assessors will need this new 2013 ASTM E1527 revision. You can purchase your copy from Document Center Inc., including an option to additionally get the red line edition with all changes specifically notated. It’s available in both paper format and as a pdf download. Order directly at our webstore, www.document-center.com, or contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We will continue to keep you informed of future changes. We’re your Standards Experts!
