EPA Announces proposed rule on All Appropriate Inquiry

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Communities Could Gain from EPA Proposal Encouraging Property Purchase,
EPA Says

August 23, 2004
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To: National Desk, Environment Reporter 

Contact: Dave Ryan of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ryan.dave@epa.gov

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- To encourage the purchase,
cleanup, reuse and economic revitalization of property that may be
environmentally contaminated, EPA today announced a proposed rule
requiring potential owners to conduct certain inquiries into the
previous ownership, uses, and environmental conditions of the land prior
to purchase. If the inquiries are performed properly and other
reasonable steps undertaken, the purchasers can buy the land with
assurance from EPA that they will not be subject to lawsuits under the
Superfund hazardous waste cleanup law.

Although the current Superfund law provides some protection to
"innocent" land purchasers who unknowingly buy contaminated property,the
statutory language is ambiguous. Today's proposal provides certainty for
purchasers of potentially contaminated property and reduces yet another
barrier to cleanup and redevelopment in local communities across the nation.

The Agency's proposal will also apply to any person conducting a waste
site characterization or assessment with funding from the federal
Brownfields grant program, regardless of whether a purchase takes place.

Prospective property owners who do not conduct the inquiries properly
may lose their ability to claim protection from Superfund liability.
Superfund authorizes EPA to negotiate with parties that helped create
hazardous waste sites to get them cleaned up. If these parties refuse to
cooperate, EPA can sue them to conduct the cleanup. Regardless of how
the cleanup is conducted, Superfund also gives EPA the authority to
recover from parties any costs it incurs as part of the cleanup effort.
Currently, land purchasers who unknowingly buy contaminated property can
find themselves subject to Superfund liability.

EPA was directed by Congress to propose this regulation to support the
liability defense under the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act of January 2002. The Act specified that
potential buyers be protected from Superfund liability as long as they
perform all appropriate inquiries into former uses of the land. The Act
directed EPA to develop a standard for such reviews.

EPA used a negotiated rulemaking process to develop today's proposed
standards. This is a collaborative process in which a proposal is
developed by a committee representing interests significantly affected
by the rule. The committee, representing state, tribal and local
governments, environmental justice groups, lenders and real estate
developers collaborated on the proposal last November.

EPA emphasizes that the failure to detect contamination prior to
purchase does not exempt a landowner from the obligation to clean up
newly-discovered hazardous waste after the purchase.

Today's proposal is part of an important overall EPA initiative to
revitalize land by restoring cleaned up waste sites for productive
economic and greenspace use. EPA believes that environmental cleanup
across all EPA programs must be achieved with a consideration of the
future needs of the neighboring community. Cleaning up previously
contaminated properties for reuse can help reinvigorate communities and
contribute to preventing sprawl.

For more information on the proposed rule, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/regneg.htm .

...

for the original release, see
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=35044

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org