Assessing Contractor Capabilities for
Streamlined Site Investigations -
Additional Information Regarding All
Appropriate Inquiries and Hiring an
"*""=i**" Environmental Professional
The Environmental Protection Agency prepared the document "Assessing Contractor Capabilities for
Streamlined Site Investigations'" (EPA 542-R-00-001, January 2000) to assist Brownfields grantees and
other decision makers as they assess the capabilities of contractors and consultants to determine their
qualifications to provide streamlined and innovative strategies for the assessment and cleanup of
brownfields. A key decision faced by brownfields grantees and site managers who are implementing
streamlined and innovative assessment and cleanup activities at brownfields sites is hiring the best
environmental consultants and professionals to undertake these activities. Many vendors can provide
these services. It is important for decision makers to understand the vendors' capabilities to offer these
services and their qualifications to apply required methods and technologies in an efficient, valid, and
streamlined manner.
The 2002 Brownfields Amendments to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA) require EPA to promulgate regulations establishing standards and practices for
conducting "all appropriate inquiries." All appropriate inquiries is the process of evaluating a property's
environmental conditions and assessing potential liability under CERCLA for any contamination. EPA
published the final All Appropriate Inquiries rule on November 1, 2005 (70 FR 66070). The final rule is
effective on November 1. 2006.
The final All Appropriate Inquiries requirements are applicable to any party who may potentially claim
protection from CERCLA liability as an innocent landowner, a bona fide prospective purchaser, or a
contiguous property owner. Parties who receive grants under the EPA's Brownfields Grant program to
assess and characterize properties also must comply with the all appropriate inquiries standards when
using grant funds to assess or characterize brownfields. To ensure the quality of all appropriate inquiries,
or Phase I environmental site assessment, the final rule includes specific educational and experience
requirements for an environmental professional. The final rule requires that the person who oversees the
conduct of the all appropriate inquiries and who signs the written report must meet the definition of an
environmental professional provided in §312.10 of the final rule.
Users of EPA's "Assessing Contractor Capabilities for Streamlined Site Investigations" document
therefore should be aware that, as a result of the All Appropriate Inquires rule, vendors performing all
appropriate inquiries for property owners who want to qualify for protection from CERCLA liability or
who are performing assessments of brownfields funded by EPA's Brownfields Grant program must
include personnel who meet the definition of an environmental professional.
WHO QUALIFIES AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALL APPROPRIATE
INQUIRIES?
The final rule defines an environmental professional as someone 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 of hazardous substances on,
at, in, or to a property, sufficient to meet the objectives and performance factors of the rule.
In addition, an environmental professional must:
> Hold a current Professional Engineer's (P.E.) or Professional Geologist's (P.G.) 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 relevant full-time experience; or
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> 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 and have the equivalent of
three (3) years of relevant full-time experience; or
> 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 relevant full-time
experience; or
> Have the equivalent often (10) years of relevant full-time experience.
Individuals who do not meet the above requirements may still participate in the conduct of all appropriate
inquiries. However, they must work under the supervision or responsible charge of an individual who
does meet the requirements for an environmental professional.
WHAT is THE DEFINITION OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE?
For the purposes of qualifying as an environmental professional under the final rule for all appropriate
inquiries, "relevant experience" is defined as:
"Participation in the performance of environmental site assessments that may include environmental
analyses, investigations, and remediation which involve the understanding of surface and subsurface
environmental conditions and the processes used to evaluate these conditions and for which professional
judgment was used to develop opinions regarding conditions indicative of releases of hazardous
substances."
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONAL TO PERFORM ALL
APPROPRIATE INQUIRIES?
As Brownfields decision makers and grantees evaluate the capabilities of environmental professionals
whom they may hire to perform all appropriate inquires, the following qualifications should be
considered:
> Does the individual who will supervise the environmental assessment, or all appropriate inquiries,
meet the minimum qualifications of an Environmental Professional, as defined above and in the
final rule at §312.10?
> Does the vendor have experience in performing Phase I and Phase II environmental site
assessment activities, including: interviewing owners, operators and occupants; reviewing
historical sources of information and federal, state, tribal and local government records;
performing visual inspections; conducting multi-media sampling and analysis; interpreting
geologic, hydrologic, and chemical data; and preparing site assessment reports?
> Can the vendor demonstrate experience within the industry associated with the property being
assessed (e.g., aerospace and defense, chemicals, electronics, energy, manufacturing,
metals/mining, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, real estate, telecommunications, transportation, etc.)?
> Is the vendor knowledgeable of federal, state, tribal, and local environmental laws and policies,
particularly those related to the industry with which the property being assessed is associated?
CONTACT INFORMATION
Patricia Overmeyer, U.S. EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment
(202) 566-2774; QYermeyeLP_atricia@epaagQY
Also see U.S. EPA's website at www.cpa.gov/brownficlds for additional information.
Brownfields Fact Sheet Solid Waste EPA-560-F-06-243
Hiring an Environmental Professional and Emergency November 2006
Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields
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