Who can perform a Phase I?

A Phase I must be performed by an environmental professional (E1527-21, 4.3). The work may be done by that person, or by others under the environmental professional's supervision or responsible charge (E1527-21, 7.5.1), and the AAI rule sets the same terms for the inquiry it requires (40 CFR 312.21). Who qualifies is set by the AAI rule's definition, which the standard adopts; the person can be an outside contractor or the user's own employee (E1527-21, 3.2.30; 40 CFR 312.10).

The definition in the rule

The rule defines an environmental professional first as "a person who possesses sufficient specific education, training, and experience necessary to exercise professional judgment to develop opinions and conclusions regarding conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases (see § 312.1(c)) on, at, in, or to a property, sufficient to meet the objectives and performance factors in § 312.20(e) and (f)" (40 CFR 312.10). Such a person must meet one of four tests (40 CFR 312.10):

"Hold a current Professional Engineer's or Professional Geologist's license or registration from a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and have the equivalent of three (3) years of full-time relevant experience"
"Be licensed or certified by the federal government, a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) to perform environmental inquiries as defined in § 312.21 and have the equivalent of three (3) years of full-time relevant experience"
"Have a Baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution of higher education in a discipline of engineering or science and the equivalent of five (5) years of full-time relevant experience"
"Have the equivalent of ten (10) years of full-time relevant experience"

(40 CFR 312.10)

Relevant experience means taking part in all appropriate inquiries, environmental site assessments or other site investigations, work that can involve environmental analyses, investigations and remediation "which involve the understanding of surface and subsurface environmental conditions and the processes used to evaluate these conditions" (40 CFR 312.10), and in which professional judgment was used to form opinions on conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases.

The rule adds that an environmental professional "should remain current in his or her field through participation in continuing education or other activities" (40 CFR 312.10). Its definition "does not preempt state professional licensing or registration requirements such as those for a professional geologist, engineer, or site remediation professional" (40 CFR 312.10), and before starting, a person should find out whether state licensing or registration laws apply to the inquiry. And a person who does not meet the definition "may assist in the conduct of all appropriate inquiries" (40 CFR 312.10) while an environmental professional supervises the work or is in responsible charge of it.

The standard reprints this definition in its nonmandatory Appendix X2 for the reader's convenience (E1527-21, 3.2.30, Appendix X2).

What the environmental professional must do

When others carry out the interviews and the site reconnaissance, the standard requires the environmental professional to help plan them (E1527-21, 7.5.1). The people who do them shall have enough education, training and experience to judge the subject property's nature, history and setting, and to see issues bearing on recognized environmental conditions (E1527-21, 7.5.1). The environmental professional shall interpret and review the information behind the report's findings, opinions and conclusions (E1527-21, 7.5.1).

Information for the records review may come from government agencies, outside vendors, the user, or the property's owners and occupants, past and present, provided that the environmental professional, someone under their supervision or responsible charge, or a vendor that specializes in retrieving such records obtains it; the responsible environmental professional shall review it all (E1527-21, 7.5.2). Provided information may be relied on without independent checking, unless the environmental professional actually knows, or it is obvious, that it is wrong (E1527-21, 7.5.2.1). The environmental professional then weighs the lines of evidence with professional judgment to identify RECs (E1527-21, 7.3.1); the standard says no practical standard can take the place of that judgment and experience (E1527-21, 4.3).

Under the rule, the environmental professional's inquiry must cover the interviews, the historical sources, the government records, the visual inspections, commonly known or reasonably ascertainable information and the degree of obviousness, and should take into account what the user's own inquiries supply (40 CFR 312.21).

The user's title or judicial records search for environmental liens and AULs falls to the environmental professional only if it is added to the scope of work (E1527-21, 6.2.3).

The declarations and signature

The responsible environmental professional or professionals shall sign the report (E1527-21, 12.13), and the report shall carry the statements the rule requires (E1527-21, 12.14). The rule says the environmental professional "must place the following statements in the written document identified in paragraph (c) of this section and sign the document" (40 CFR 312.21):

"[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 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 inquiries in conformance with the standards and practices set forth in 40 CFR Part 312."

(40 CFR 312.21)

The qualifications the report carries

The rule's minimum for the written report includes "The qualifications of the environmental professional(s)" (40 CFR 312.21). The standard requires an appendix holding the environmental professional's qualifications, and those of the people who did the site reconnaissance and interviews if someone else did them (E1527-21, 12.15). The report must also say who the environmental professional was, who did the site reconnaissance and the interviews, and when (E1527-21, 12.3).

This page is general reference. It does not assess any property. ASTM E1527-21 is the standard and is not reproduced here.