Auto repair shop with lifts, floor drains and a separator

The subject property is, or was, an auto repair shop with in-ground hydraulic lifts, floor drains and an oil-water separator. The standard does not classify any of these features. Whether one makes a recognized environmental condition (REC) depends on four things: what the shop used and for how long, where the drains and the separator discharge, what the below-grade equipment held and whether it leaked, and what evidence of a release exists.

What the answer turns on

Each fact bears on whether a release from the shop is known or likely (E1527-21, 3.2.73).

What the shop used, and for how long. The environmental professional considers what releases past uses could have led to (E1527-21, 8.3.1). The standard's appendixes are nonmandatory. For a likely release, the one on the REC definition points to operations involving hazardous substances or petroleum products, how long they ran and when, including periods when management practices or regulatory oversight may have been lacking (E1527-21, X4.1). Establish the oils, fuels and solvents used and the years of operation.
Where the drains and the separator discharge. Drains and sumps, wastewater discharged from the subject property, septic systems, and wells including dry wells and injection wells are site visit features (E1527-21, 9.4.21, 9.4.26, 9.4.27, 9.4.28). The definitions say dry wells are used to collect spilled liquids and to dispose of wastewater, often illegally (E1527-21, 3.2.23). Establish whether each drain and the separator lead to a public sewer, a septic system, a dry well or the ground. The body of the standard does not say what any discharge point means for the answer.
What the below-grade equipment held, and whether it leaked. Hydraulic equipment known or likely to contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is a site visit feature (E1527-21, 9.4.18). The site visit need not identify conditions under floors (E1527-21, 9.2.4.2), so this fact leans on records and interviews: when the lifts and the separator were installed, what fluid they held, whether they were removed or left in place, and whether a removal was documented. The standard does not say whether a separator or a lift reservoir is an underground storage tank as it defines one (E1527-21, 3.2.93). Ohio's tank bureau says some oil and water separators are exempt from its closure rule while a release from one is still regulated under its corrective action rule (Ohio).
Evidence of a release. Odors, stains on floors, stained soil or pavement, and sumps whose liquids are likely hazardous substances or petroleum products are site visit features (E1527-21, 9.4.13, 9.4.14, 9.4.20, 9.4.23). The practice includes no sampling (E1527-21, 7.4). A release that is found is weighed against the de minimis definition (E1527-21, 3.2.20): see staining on pavement or soil.

The records that bear on it

Historical sources. Street directories and fire insurance maps can identify a repair use and its years (E1527-21, 8.3.4.2, 8.3.4.3). Where a source shows only retail, industrial or manufacturing use, further standard historical resources are required when reasonably ascertainable and likely to identify the specific use, short of data failure (E1527-21, 8.3.6, 8.3.7).
Government records. A shop may be listed as a hazardous waste generator (RCRA generators) or hold registered storage tanks; the required minimum search for both covers the subject property and adjoining properties (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). Neither listing records a release.
Site visit. The interior is observed, including maintenance and repair areas (E1527-21, 9.2.3). Each listed feature is described in the report or reported as not found (E1527-21, 9.4). Obstructions that limit the view are noted and documented (E1527-21, 9.2.6).
Interviews and documents. Interview questions shall try to cover the same features, current and past (E1527-21, 10.2): ask where the drains lead, how the separator was serviced and what became of old lifts. Before the site visit the owner, key site manager and user are asked for wastewater and underground injection permits, generator notices and tank registrations (E1527-21, 10.8.1).

What the federal rule says

Among what the inquiry must seek to identify:

Current and past uses of hazardous substances;

40 CFR 312.20(e)(1)(ii)

For a party seeking the liability protections that item stops at hazardous substances; the standard includes petroleum products (E1527-21, 1.1.2).

How it is written up

The repair use is described with the other identified uses (E1527-21, 8.3.8). A feature is a finding when the professional judges it may indicate hazardous substances or petroleum products present or likely present at the subject property (E1527-21, 12.5).

Where the professional concludes a release is known or likely and presence at the subject property follows, the opinion names the feature and the grounds: the materials, the years, the discharge point, the evidence. Unless judged a de minimis condition or a historical REC, the REC is listed in the Conclusions, and the professional should give an opinion on additional investigation (E1527-21, 3.2.20, 3.2.39, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8).

Where the professional concludes otherwise, the opinion on a finding gives its reasoning on the same four facts (E1527-21, 12.6).

The standard's own example of a significant data gap is a building that could not be entered whose use, in the professional's experience, often leads to a REC (E1527-21, 12.5.1). Access to a locked service bay, or an interview with the key site manager, may be what cannot be had. Required information that good faith efforts could not obtain is a data gap, significant if it affects the ability to identify a REC: named in the Findings with the sources consulted, discussed in the Opinions and listed in the Conclusions (E1527-21, 3.2.19, 3.2.78, 12.5.1, 12.6.2, 12.7).

This page is general reference for environmental professionals. It does not classify any property. ASTM E1527-21 is the standard and is not reproduced here; the judgment of the environmental professional on the facts governs.