Dive Brief:

• Companies that want to undertake projects on land that might have existing chemical contamination must first conduct an assessment using an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) protocol in order to avoid getting stuck with liability for a cleanup under the federal Superfund law.
• That has been the case for some time, but a 2013 revision to the EPA rules added the most recent ASTM methods without removing a 2005 version, which had the potential to put companies in a bind.
• ASTM no longer uses the 2005 standard, and EPA has opened a public comment period for a change that would let project backers follow just one set of rules by eliminating any references to the old way.

Dive Insight:

The so-called Phase 1 assessment uses a standard called All Appropriate Inquiries, and that applies under both ASTM standards. The newer version, however, added a mandate to checking all government agency files. EPA started hearing from project proponents and landowners that having two different standards in effect was a prescription for lawsuits.