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Counter Point
All Appropriate Inquiry Will Bring Integrity
EPA’s proposed AAI rule, once adopted, will bring integrity to the “due diligence” process. Mr. Kaiser’s article noted many issues. Some merit clarification and comment.
When final, the AAI rule will supersede ASTM E-1527, a commonly used guide for conducting environmental site assessments (ESAs). Congress and the AAI Committee recognized that E-1527 was inadequate for AAI. ASTM E-1527 was designed without public involvement or public access by a private standards-developing organization (SDO); was intended for a narrow range of property types; fails to set any measurable criteria for environmental professionals (EPs); and is prescriptive, thus limiting even the most experienced EP’s ability to apply professional judgment.
The 2002 Brownfields Law adds several landowner liability protections and applies to many properties. To protect the public, the scope of environmental inquiry had to be broadened and EP qualifications had to be set. The AAI rule builds on the most applicable elements of the existing E-1527 process, and thus will be familiar to clients (users) who have used E-1527 before to establish an easy transition.
Best of all, we can expect far more meaningful outcomes, often at lower cost, because the “new” EPs will have the education and experience needed to apply professional judgment — they will not be forced into simply complying with the “checklist” approach used.
EPA’s proposed AAI rule, once adopted, will bring integrity to the “due diligence” process. Mr. Kaiser’s article noted many issues. Some merit clarification and comment.
When final, the AAI rule will supersede ASTM E-1527, a commonly used guide for conducting environmental site assessments (ESAs). Congress and the AAI Committee recognized that E-1527 was inadequate for AAI. ASTM E-1527 was designed without public involvement or public access by a private standards-developing organization (SDO); was intended for a narrow range of property types; fails to set any measurable criteria for environmental professionals (EPs); and is prescriptive, thus limiting even the most experienced EP’s ability to apply professional judgment.
The 2002 Brownfields Law adds several landowner liability protections and applies to many properties. To protect the public, the scope of environmental inquiry had to be broadened and EP qualifications had to be set. The AAI rule builds on the most applicable elements of the existing E-1527 process, and thus will be familiar to clients (users) who have used E-1527 before to establish an easy transition.
Best of all, we can expect far more meaningful outcomes, often at lower cost, because the “new” EPs will have the education and experience needed to apply professional judgment — they will not be forced into simply complying with the “checklist” approach used by many proponents of E-1527. (Research conducted by ASFE/The Best People on Earth shows that, of some 25,000 Phase I ESA reports represented by a statistically valid sample, not one complied fully with ASTM E-1527.)
The AAI rule will be successful in “raising the bar” on the quality of environmental due diligence studies because it balances protection of human health and the environment with a flexible and professional approach to implementation of “all appropriate inquiry.”
David E. Lourie, P.E., represented ASFE/The Best People on Earth on the Federal Advisory Committee that developed EPA’s proposed AAI rule. He is a licensed professional engineer and the founder of Lourie Consultants, a geotechnical engineering and geoenvironmental consulting firm in Louisiana.