ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS (ASSESSMENTS) DIVISION
Changes to the Phase I Environmental Assessments Standards (January 2006)
As of November 1, 2006, U.S. EPA's All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) rule is in effect. 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. To satisfy the statutory requirements for conducting all appropriate inquiries, parties must comply with the requirements of the AAI Final Rule or follow the standards set forth in the ASTM E1527-05 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process. According to the EPA, “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.”
JCM Environmental has recently updated our Phase I ESA reports to reflect these changes and to satisfy the requirements of U.S. EPA's AAI Final Rule.
Specific reporting requirements, as summarized by the U.S. EPA, include the following:
• An opinion as to whether the inquiry has identified conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances (as defined by CERCLA) on, at in, or to the subject property.
• An identification of data gaps in the information collected for the inquiry that affect the ability of the environmental professional to identify conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at in, or to the subject property, as well as comments regarding the significance of these data gaps.
• Qualifications and signature of the environmental professional(s). The environmental professional must place the following statements in the document and sign the document:
“[I, We] declare that, to the best of [my, our] professional knowledge and belief, [I, we] meet the definition of Environmental Professional as defined in 312.10 of 40 CFR 312 of this part”
“[I, we] have the specific qualifications based on education, training, and experience to assess a property of the nature, history, and setting of the subject property. [I, we] have developed and performed the all appropriate inquires in conformance with the standards and practices set forth in 40 CFR Part 312.”
• In compliance with 32.31 (b), the environmental professional must include in the final report an opinion regarding additional appropriate investigation, if the environmental professional has such an opinion.
In addition, the new AAI rule requires:
• ESA must be completed within one year of purchase date and updated within 180 days of purchase.
• ESA must be performed by an environmental professional.
• Data must be researched to a date “from the time the property was first used for residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial or governmental purposes.”
• Report must contain “reasonable ascertainable information within the local community about the subject property”.
JCM Environmental currently has three environmental professionals (as defined by AAI) on staff that have vast experience with Phase I and II ESAs throughout Delaware , Maryland , Pennsylvania , Virginia and New Jersey .
The Audits Division specializes in Environmental Site Assessments (ESA). Our diverse experience allows us to asses all types of sites ranging from undeveloped land to heavy industrial operations. We work closely with land owners, lending institutions and government agencies throughout the Phase I ESA process, ensuring a detailed and complete report. Also, we perform all Phase I ESAs in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) final ruling, which came into effect November 1, 2006.
The Audits Division performs the following services with an emphasis on customer satisfaction:
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
Preliminary Environmental Assessments (PEA)
Historical Research
Soil and Water Testing
Well Monitoring
Catherine Reddish-Byrd, Manager
Catherine joined our team in 2005. She graduated from Washington College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Prior to joining the JCM Environmental team, she traveled nationwide performing Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments and Property Condition Assessments. She also has experience in conducting wetland delineations, forest and vegetation studies.
Morgan McGee-Solomon, Environmental Scientist
Morgan has a degree in Geology from the University of Delaware. She has extensive experience in conducting Environmental Assessments throughout Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Morgan
Notable Division Projects:
Over 100 Phase I Audits per year, including:
Previous AstroPower World Headquarters, Phase I Audit Update
Chichester Business Park, Phase I Audit Update
Hudson Property, Phase I Audit, Phase II Audit
Jekyll Island Club, Phase I Audit
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