Environmental Law

Contact: Andrew Brought; Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP (Missouri, USA)

On June 17, 2014, EPA issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register, 79 Fed. Reg. 34480, proposing to amend the standards and practices for satisfying All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) under CERCLA. In particular, EPA is proposing to remove references to the 2005 Phase I ESA Standard ASTM E1527-05 as satisfying AAI.

According to EPA’s proposed rule preamble at 79 Fed. Reg. 34481 “Any party who wants to conduct all appropriate inquiries under CERCLA may follow the standards and procedures set forth in the All Appropriate Inquiries Rule at 40 CFR part 312 (70 FR 66070) or use the new ASTM E1527-13 standard.” EPA is soliciting comments on the proposal until July 17, 2014.

On December 30, 2013, EPA issued a final rule clarifying that the 2013 Phase I ESA standard satisfies AAI, as previously reported by Environmental Law Solutions.