If you work with Commercial Property Due Diligence, you know what a Phase I is, and at this point you likely know the standard under which they are produced has changed.  Here is a brief run-down of those changes:

What is the ASTM Standard?

The American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standard is a guidance document to help define “good commercial and customary practice” for conducting Phase I ESAs. It was first published in 1993 and is revised by The American Society for Testing and Material every eight years, with the latest revision published in November 2021 (ASTM E1527-21). Revisions are made to improve and refine the standards of environmental concerns in the dynamic world.

What are some of bigger changes made to the ASTM standard?

• Improvement to language clarity to benefit assessors and clients alike.
• Clarifying changes to REC, CREC, HREC, and business environmental risk (BER) definitions.
• Raising the standards in reporting requirements. By improving the consistency and thoroughness of reports, to elevate the standards of the industry.
• Improved user-friendly accessibility for assessors. With improvements to guidance language, legal appendices and the REC flow diagram, to help assessors properly identify a Recognize Environmental Condition.

What you should know and keep in mind?

• The new raised standards in reporting means that assessors are expected to meet a higher quality threshold. This means more thorough research, incorporating more photographs, increase written and verbal communication, and clarity in identifying Recognized Environmental Conditions.
• Expect McAlister GeoScience to incorporate these revisions, to continue producing high quality reports for you and your clients.