1.1 目的- 本惯例的目的是定义在美国进行 现场环境评估 2. 一个包裹的 商业房地产 关于《综合环境反应、赔偿和责任法案》（CERCLA）（42美国法典§）范围内的污染物范围 9601）和 石油产品 . 因此，本实践旨在允许 使用者 满足符合以下条件之一: 无辜的地主 , 连续财产所有人 或 善意潜在购买者 CERCLA责任限制（以下简称 土地所有者责任保护 、“或” 有限责任合伙 “）:即构成 所有适当的查询 进入之前的所有权和使用 所有物 符合《美国法典》第42章§ 9601（35）（B）。（参见 附录X1 CERCLA的责任和辩护条款概述。）受控物质不包括在本规程范围内。进行 现场环境评估 作为根据《综合环境反应、赔偿和责任法案》第42号《美国法典》授予的环境保护局棕地评估和特征授权的一部分§ 9604（k）（2）（B）必须包括《受控物质法》（美国法典第21章§）中定义的受控物质 802）在特定授予或合作协议的条款和条件指示的评估调查范围内。 此外，评估 企业环境风险 （BER） 与一个包裹相关 商业房地产 可能需要进行本实践中确定以外的调查（参见 1.4 和截面 13 ). 1.1.1 公认的环境条件- 本实践建立的过程的目标是识别 公认的环境条件 . 术语 公认的环境条件 方法 (1) 存在 有害物质 或 石油产品 在、在或在 标的财产 由于 释放 到 环境 ; (2) 可能存在 有害物质 或 石油产品 在、在或在 标的财产 由于 释放 或者很可能 释放 到 环境 ; 或 (3) 存在 有害物质 或 石油产品 在、在或在 标的财产 在构成 物质威胁 关于未来 释放 到 环境 . A. 最小条件 不是一个 公认的环境条件 . 1.1.2 石油产品- 石油产品 包括在本实践范围内，因为它们涉及以下方面: 商业房地产 当前的习惯和用法包括调查 石油产品 在进行 现场环境评估 属于 商业房地产 . 包括 石油产品 在本实践范围内，不基于CERCLA的适用性（如有） 石油产品 . 1.1.3 CERCLA要求，但适当查询除外- 本实践不涉及除 所有适当的查询 为了有资格参加 有限责任合伙 （例如，《美国法典》第42卷第§§§§ 9607（b）（3）（a）和（b），并引用于 附录X1 ，包括不妨碍 活动和使用限制 或采取合理措施防止 发布 或遵守法律要求的义务 释放 报告义务）。 1.1.4 其他联邦、州和地方环境法律- 本惯例不涉及任何州或地方法律或任何联邦法律的要求 所有适当的查询 合同条款 有限责任合伙 . 用户 需要注意的是，联邦、州和地方法律可能会规定超出本惯例范围的环境评估义务。 用户 还应意识到，在以下方面可能存在其他法律义务: 有害物质 或 石油产品 发现于 标的财产 本实践中未解决的问题，以及可能对不遵守行为造成民事和/或刑事制裁的风险。 3. 1.1.5 文件- 这种做法的范围包括支持 用户的 有资格参加 有限责任合伙 . 因此，必须以书面形式提供实施本惯例要求的调查所使用的所有来源、记录和资源的充分文件 汇报 （参见 8.1.9 和 12.2 ). 1.2 目标- 指导该实践发展的目标是 (1) 综合并书面提出良好的商业和习惯做法 现场环境评估 对于 商业房地产 ; (2) 促进高质量、标准化 现场环境评估 ; (3) 提供实用合理的 标准实践 用于传导 所有适当的查询 ; 和 (4) 澄清行业标准 所有适当的查询 旨在指导对《公约》的法律解释 有限责任合伙 . 1.3 单位- 以英寸-磅为单位的数值应视为标准值。括号中给出的值是到国际单位制的数学转换，仅供参考，不被视为标准值。 1.4 超出范围的考虑- 本惯例的使用严格限制在本节规定的范围内。部分 13 为了便于参考，本实施规程的第1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 标的财产 这超出了本惯例的范围，但可能需要协议各方考虑 商业房地产交易 . 需要将对任何此类情况的调查纳入 环境专业人士 除其他因素外，应根据服务的性质对服务范围进行评估 标的财产 以及进行评估的原因（例如，对 企业环境风险 )并应在双方之间达成一致 使用者 和 环境专业人士 作为本惯例范围之外的附加服务，在启动 现场环境评估 过程 1.5 本实践提供了一组用于执行一个或多个特定操作的说明。本文件不能取代教育或经验，应与专业判断一起使用。并非本惯例的所有方面都适用于所有情况。本ASTM标准不代表或取代必须根据其判断给定专业服务的充分性的谨慎标准，也不应在不考虑项目的许多独特方面的情况下应用本文件。 标题中的“标准”一词仅表示该文件已通过ASTM共识程序获得批准。 1.6 本标准并非旨在解决与其使用相关的所有安全问题（如有）。本标准的用户有责任在使用前制定适当的安全、健康和环境实践，并确定监管限制的适用性。 1.7 本国际标准是根据世界贸易组织技术性贸易壁垒（TBT）委员会发布的《关于制定国际标准、指南和建议的原则的决定》中确立的国际公认标准化原则制定的。 ====意义和用途====== 4.1 使用- 本惯例旨在由希望评估环境条件的缔约方自愿使用 商业房地产 考虑到众所周知的和 可合理确定 信息而使用本惯例旨在构成 所有适当的查询 出于以下目的: 有限责任合伙 ，其用途并不限于此。这种做法主要是为了进行调查，以确定 公认的环境条件 关于 标的财产 . 并不意味着任何人使用这种做法是为了被视为在任何特定交易中以商业上谨慎或合理的方式进行了调查。 然而，本惯例旨在反映良好的商业和惯例（见 1.6 ). 4.2 使用说明: 4.2.1 使用不限于CERCLA- 本实践旨在帮助 使用者 在开发有关环境条件的信息时 标的财产 因此，对各种各样的人都有用，包括那些可能没有实际或潜在的CERCLA责任和/或可能不寻求 有限责任合伙 . 4.2.2 住宅租户/购买者和其他人- 并不意味着这是目前多户住宅楼的住户、独户住宅或其他住宅房地产的住户或 住宅 为自己的住宅使用，进行 现场环境评估 与这些交易相关。因此，这些交易不包括在期限内 商业房地产 交易，并不意味着这些人有义务进行 现场环境评估 与这些交易相关 所有适当的查询 或出于任何其他目的。此外，并不意味着这是目前的惯例 现场环境评估 在其他非增值情况下进行（包括但不限于许多商业租赁交易、许多地役权收购以及贷款人有多种补救措施的许多贷款交易）。 另一方面，任何选择做 现场环境评估 的 标的财产 根据此人的判断，可以使用这种做法。 注1: 2018年《建筑法》修订了《综合环境反应和赔偿法案》对以下各项的定义: 善意潜在购买者 在§ 101（40）包括某些商业租户或承租人，他们在 所有物 . 因此，在某些情况下，获得商业地产租赁权益的人可能需要进行 现场环境评估 ，目的是 所有适当的查询 ，转入之前租赁商业地产的所有权和使用权，以符合 善意潜在购买者土地所有者责任保护 . 4. 2.3 特定于站点- 该实践是针对特定现场的，因为它涉及特定环境条件的评估 商业房地产 . 因此，这种做法没有解决交易中提出的许多其他问题，例如购买商业实体或其中的权益或其资产，这些问题很可能涉及与以下方面有关的环境责任: 属性 以前拥有或经营的或其他场外环境责任。 4.3 谁可以进行- A. 第一阶段环境现场评估 必须由 环境专业人士 如中所述 7.5.1 . 无法设计任何实用标准来消除判断的作用以及进行调查的当事人对经验的价值和需要。 职业判断 环境专业人士 因此，对性能至关重要 所有适当的查询 . 4.4 其他服务- 如中所述 12.10 ，双方可签订额外服务合同 使用者 和 环境专业人士 . 此类额外服务可能包括 企业环境风险 （BER） 不包括在本实践范围内的问题，其示例在第节中确定 13 在非范围考虑下。 4.5 原则- 以下原则是本惯例不可分割的一部分，旨在解决任何歧义或行使授予的自由裁量权时参考 使用者 或 环境专业人士 在进行 现场环境评估 或者在判断 使用者 或 环境专业人士 进行了适当的调查或以其他方式进行了充分的调查 现场环境评估 . 4.5.1 未消除的不确定性- 不 现场环境评估 可以完全消除关于潜在 公认的环境条件 关于 标的财产 . 实施本实践旨在减少但不是消除有关潜在风险的不确定性 公认的环境条件 关于 标的财产 这种做法承认了时间和成本的合理限制。 4.5.2 并非详尽无遗- 所有适当的查询 并不意味着对 所有物 . 在某种程度上，获取信息的成本或收集信息所需的时间超过了信息的有用性，事实上，可能对有序完成交易造成重大不利影响。这种做法的目的之一是确定在限制成本的竞争目标和执行过程中固有的时间需求之间的平衡 现场环境评估 以及减少由附加信息引起的未知条件的不确定性。 4.5.3 调查级别是可变的- 不是每个 所有物 将保证相同水平的评估。符合42 U。 S、 C.§ 9601（35）（B），适当的 现场环境评估 将由以下类型引导: 所有物 根据评估 使用者 ，未来的预期用途 标的财产 披露给 环境专业人士 ，以及在调查过程中开发的信息。 4.5.4 与后续查询的比较- 不应得出结论或假设调查不是 所有适当的查询 只是因为调查没有确定 公认的环境条件 关于 标的财产 . 现场环境评估 必须根据作出判断的时间和环境的合理性进行评估。 后来的 现场环境评估 不应被视为有效的标准，以根据后见之明、新信息、开发技术或分析技术的使用或其他因素来判断任何先前评估的适当性。 4.5.5 时间点- 这个 现场环境评估 基于个人完成时的条件 现场环境评估 元素（参见 7.2 ). 4.6 环境现场评估的持续可行性: 4.6.1 推定生存能力- 从属于 4.8 和 用户的 第节规定的责任 6. 一 现场环境评估 如果在收购日期前180天内进行，则认为符合或超过本惯例是可行的 9 的 标的财产 （或者，对于不涉及收购的交易，如租赁或再融资，则为预期交易的日期）。中所示组件的日期 4.6.2 （i） ，（iii）、（iv）和（v） 采访 ，审查政府记录，目视检查和申报 环境专业人士 ，应在 汇报 . 完成对记录的环境清理留置权的搜索( 4.6.2 （ii））是 使用者 责任但是，如果 使用者 已与 环境专业人士 为了进行这些搜索，还应在 汇报 . 4.6.2 某些组件的更新- 从属于 4.8 和 用户的 第节规定的责任 6. 一 现场环境评估 符合或超过本惯例，且在获取信息之日前一年内收集或更新了相关信息 标的财产 （或者，对于不涉及收购（如租赁或再融资）的交易，可以使用预期交易的日期），前提是在购买日期或预期交易日期之前的180天内更新了查询的以下部分。以下所有组成部分必须在收购日前180天内或交易日前进行或更新: （一） 采访 具有 业主 , 操作员 和 居住者 ; （ii）搜索记录的环境清理留置权（a） 使用者 责任，见第节 6. ); （iii）审查联邦、部落、州和地方政府记录； （iv）目视检查 标的财产 和 相邻物业 ; 和 （v） 声明 环境专业人士 负责评估或更新。 4.6.3 遵守所有适当的查询- 符合满足以下条件的阈值标准之一: 有限责任合伙 对于CERCLA责任 所有适当的查询 中列出的组件 4.6.2 必须在收购之日起180天内或之前进行或更新 标的财产 ，以及 所有适当的查询 必须在收购之日前一年内进行 标的财产 . 日期 汇报 通常不代表单个组件的日期 所有适当的查询 已完成，在评估180天或1年的依从性时不应使用 所有适当的查询 要求。 4.6.4 用户的责任- 如果在此期间内 现场环境评估 将由 使用者 不同于 使用者 为谁 现场环境评估 最初准备，随后 使用者 还必须满足 用户的 第节中的责任 6. . 4.7 先前评估使用- 这种做法承认 现场环境评估 根据本惯例执行的操作将包括以下信息: 用户 可能希望使用以避免重复评估程序。因此，本实施规程描述了为提供帮助而应遵循的程序 用户 在确定使用信息的适当性时 现场环境评估 在收购日期前一年以上执行 标的财产 （或对于不涉及收购的交易，如租赁或再融资，则为预期交易的日期）。事先评估使用制度基于以下原则，除本惯例其他地方规定的具体程序外，还应遵守这些原则: 4.7.1 先验信息的使用- 根据中规定的要求 4.6 , 用户 和 环境专业人员 可以使用之前的信息 现场环境评估 前提是此类信息是根据满足或超过本惯例要求的程序生成的。但是，在当前未对可能影响的情况进行调查的情况下，不得使用此类信息 公认的环境条件 关于 标的财产 . 可能需要额外的任务来记录自上次事件以来可能发生重大变化的情况 现场环境评估 已进行。本惯例中的任何内容均无意传达使用或依赖先前评估中提供的资源、信息、调查结果或意见的权利。 4.7.2 关于先前评估使用的合同问题- 先前和后续之间的合同和法律义务 用户 属于 现场环境评估 或介于 环境专业人员 谁在之前 现场环境评估 以及那些想使用这种先验知识的人 现场环境评估 超出了本惯例的范围。 4.8 实际知识异常- 如果 使用者 或 环境专业人士 执行 现场环境评估 有 实际知情 从先前的 现场环境评估 不准确或是否准确 明显的 ，基于通过以下方式获得的其他信息: 现场环境评估 或进行调查的人员所知 现场环境评估 所使用的信息不准确，此类信息来自之前的 现场环境评估 不得使用。 4.9 交战规则- 双方之间的合同和法律义务 环境专业人士 和a 使用者 （和其他方，如有）不在本惯例范围内。双方之间没有具体的法律关系 环境专业人士 和 使用者 对于 使用者 以满足本规程的要求。 4.10 本实践的组织- 本惯例有十三节和六个附录。部分 1. 是范围。部分 2. 是参考文件。部分 3. ，术语，具有非本惯例特有的术语定义、本惯例特有的术语描述和首字母缩略词。 部分 4. 是这一做法的意义和使用。部分 5. 提供关于以下内容的讨论 活动和使用限制 . 部分 6. 描写 用户的 责任。小节 7. – 12 都是 第一阶段环境现场评估 ，包括评估和 汇报 准备部分 13 提供了有关非范围注意事项的其他信息（请参阅 1.4 ). 附录仅供参考，不属于本规程规定的程序的一部分。 附录X1 解释CERCLA的责任和辩护条款，以帮助 使用者 在理解 用户的 CERCLA下的责任；它还包含有关CERCLA的其他重要信息 棕地修正案 ，以及这种做法。 附录X2 提供了 环境专业人士 负责 第一阶段环境现场评估 ，根据“ 所有适当的查询 “最终规则（40 C.F.R.第312部分）。 附录X3 提供可选的 使用者 问卷调查帮助 使用者 和 环境专业人士 在从 使用者 这可能对识别 公认的环境条件 . 附录X4 提供对 公认的环境条件 释义 附录X5 提供建议的目录和 汇报 a的格式 第一阶段环境现场评估 . 附录X6 总结非- 人员可能希望评估的范围注意事项。

1.1 Purpose— The purpose of this practice is to define good commercial and customary practice in the United States of America for conducting an environmental site assessment 2 of a parcel of commercial real estate with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. § 9601) and petroleum products . As such, this practice is intended to permit a user to satisfy one of the requirements to qualify for the innocent landowner , contiguous property owner , or bona fide prospective purchaser limitations on CERCLA liability (hereinafter, the “ landowner liability protections ,” or “ LLPs ”): that is, the practice that constitutes all appropriate inquiries into the previous ownership and uses of the property consistent with good commercial and customary standards and practices as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 9601(35)(B). (See Appendix X1 for an outline of CERCLA’s liability and defense provisions.) Controlled substances are not included within the scope of this practice. Persons conducting an environmental site assessment as part of an EPA Brownfields Assessment and Characterization Grant awarded under CERCLA 42 U.S.C. § 9604(k)(2)(B) must include controlled substances as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802) within the scope of the assessment investigations to the extent directed in the terms and conditions of the specific grant or cooperative agreement. Additionally, an evaluation of business environmental risk (BER) associated with a parcel of commercial real estate may necessitate investigation beyond that identified in this practice (see 1.4 and Section 13 ). 1.1.1 Recognized Environmental Conditions— The goal of the processes established by this practice is to identify recognized environmental conditions . The term recognized environmental condition means (1) the presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property due to a release to the environment ; (2) the likely presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property due to a release or likely release to the environment ; or (3) the presence of hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at the subject property under conditions that pose a material threat of a future release to the environment . A de minimis condition is not a recognized environmental condition . 1.1.2 Petroleum Products— Petroleum products are included within the scope of this practice because they are of concern with respect to commercial real estate and current custom and usage is to include an inquiry into the presence of petroleum products when doing an environmental site assessment of commercial real estate . Inclusion of petroleum products within the scope of this practice is not based upon the applicability, if any, of CERCLA to petroleum products . 1.1.3 CERCLA Requirements Other Than Appropriate Inquiries— This practice does not address whether requirements in addition to all appropriate inquiries have been met in order to qualify for the LLPs (for example, the duties specified in 42 U.S.C. §§ 9607(b)(3)(a) and (b) and cited in Appendix X1 , including the continuing obligation not to impede the integrity and effectiveness of activity and use limitations [AULs] , or the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent releases , or the duty to comply with legally required release reporting obligations). 1.1.4 Other Federal, State, and Local Environmental Laws— This practice does not address requirements of any state or local laws or of any federal laws other than the all appropriate inquiries provisions of the LLPs . Users are cautioned that federal, state, and local laws may impose environmental assessment obligations that are beyond the scope of this practice. Users should also be aware that there are likely to be other legal obligations with regard to hazardous substances or petroleum products discovered in, on, or at the subject property that are not addressed in this practice and that may pose risks of civil and/or criminal sanctions for noncompliance. 3 1.1.5 Documentation— The scope of this practice includes research and reporting requirements that support the user’s ability to qualify for the LLPs . As such, sufficient documentation of all sources, records, and resources utilized in conducting the inquiry required by this practice must be provided in the written report (refer to 8.1.9 and 12.2 ). 1.2 Objectives— Objectives guiding the development of this practice are (1) to synthesize and put in writing good commercial and customary practice for environmental site assessments for commercial real estate ; (2) to facilitate high quality, standardized environmental site assessments ; (3) to provide a practical and reasonable standard practice for conducting all appropriate inquiries ; and (4) to clarify an industry standard for all appropriate inquiries in an effort to guide legal interpretation of the LLPs . 1.3 Units— The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard. 1.4 Considerations beyond Scope— The use of this practice is strictly limited to the scope set forth in this section. Section 13 of this practice identifies, for informational purposes, certain environmental conditions (not an all-inclusive list) that may exist at a subject property that are beyond the scope of this practice, but may warrant consideration by parties to a commercial real estate transaction . The need to include an investigation of any such conditions in the environmental professional’s scope of services should be evaluated based upon, among other factors, the nature of the subject property and the reasons for performing the assessment (for example, a more comprehensive evaluation of business environmental risk ) and should be agreed upon between the user and environmental professional as additional services beyond the scope of this practice before initiation of the environmental site assessment process. 1.5 This practice offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project’s many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process. 1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.7 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. ====== Significance And Use ====== 4.1 Uses— This practice is intended for use on a voluntary basis by parties who wish to assess the environmental condition of commercial real estate taking into account commonly known and reasonably ascertainable information. While use of this practice is intended to constitute all appropriate inquiries for purposes of the LLPs , it is not intended that its use be limited to that purpose. This practice is intended primarily as an approach to conducting an inquiry designed to identify recognized environmental conditions in connection with a subject property . No implication is intended that a person shall use this practice in order to be deemed to have conducted inquiry in a commercially prudent or reasonable manner in any particular transaction. Nevertheless, this practice is intended to reflect good commercial and customary practice (see 1.6 ). 4.2 Clarifications on Use: 4.2.1 Use Not Limited to CERCLA— This practice is designed to assist the user in developing information about the environmental condition of a subject property and as such has utility for a wide range of persons, including those who may have no actual or potential CERCLA liability and/or may not be seeking the LLPs . 4.2.2 Residential Tenants/Purchasers and Others— No implication is intended that it is currently customary practice for residential tenants of multifamily residential buildings, tenants of single-family homes or other residential real estate, or purchasers of dwellings for one’s own residential use, to conduct an environmental site assessment in connection with these transactions. Thus, these transactions are not included in the term commercial real estate transactions, and it is not intended to imply that such persons are obligated to conduct an environmental site assessment in connection with these transactions for purposes of all appropriate inquiries or for any other purpose. In addition, no implication is intended that it is currently customary practice for environmental site assessments to be conducted in other unenumerated instances (including but not limited to many commercial leasing transactions, many acquisitions of easements, and many loan transactions in which the lender has multiple remedies). On the other hand, anyone who elects to do an environmental site assessment of a subject property may, in such person’s judgment, use this practice. Note 1: The 2018 BUILD Act amended the CERCLA definition of bona fide prospective purchaser at § 101(40) to include certain commercial tenants or lessees who acquire a leasehold interest in a property . Therefore, in certain cases, a person acquiring a leasehold interest in a commercial property may need to conduct an environmental site assessment , for the purposes of all appropriate inquiries , into the previous ownership and uses of the leased commercial property to qualify for the bona fide prospective purchaser landowner liability protection . 4.2.3 Site-Specific— This practice is site-specific in that it relates to the assessment of environmental conditions for specific commercial real estate . Consequently, this practice does not address many additional issues raised in transactions such as purchases of business entities, or interests therein, or of their assets, that may well involve environmental liabilities pertaining to properties previously owned or operated or other off-site environmental liabilities. 4.3 Who May Conduct— A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment must be performed by an environmental professional as specified in 7.5.1 . No practical standard can be designed to eliminate the role of judgment and the value and need for experience in the party performing the inquiry. The professional judgment of an environmental professional is, consequently, vital to the performance of all appropriate inquiries . 4.4 Additional Services— As set forth in 12.10 , additional services may be contracted for between the user and the environmental professional . Such additional services may include business environmental risk (BER) issues not included within the scope of this practice, examples of which are identified in Section 13 under Non-Scope Considerations. 4.5 Principles— The following principles are an integral part of this practice and are intended to be referred to in resolving any ambiguity or exercising such discretion as is accorded the user or environmental professional in conducting an environmental site assessment or in judging whether a user or environmental professional has conducted appropriate inquiry or has otherwise conducted an adequate environmental site assessment . 4.5.1 Uncertainty Not Eliminated— No environmental site assessment can wholly eliminate uncertainty regarding the potential for recognized environmental conditions in connection with a subject property . Performance of this practice is intended to reduce, but not eliminate, uncertainty regarding the potential for recognized environmental conditions in connection with a subject property , and this practice recognizes reasonable limits of time and cost. 4.5.2 Not Exhaustive— All appropriate inquiries does not mean an exhaustive assessment of a property . There is a point at which the cost of information obtained or the time required to gather it outweighs the usefulness of the information and, in fact, may be a material detriment to the orderly completion of transactions. One of the purposes of this practice is to identify a balance between the competing goals of limiting the costs and time demands inherent in performing an environmental site assessment and the reduction of uncertainty about unknown conditions resulting from additional information. 4.5.3 Level of Inquiry is Variable— Not every property will warrant the same level of assessment. Consistent with good commercial and customary standards and practices as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 9601(35)(B), the appropriate level of environmental site assessment will be guided by the type of property subject to assessment, the expertise and risk tolerance of the user , future intended uses of the subject property disclosed to the environmental professional , and the information developed in the course of the inquiry. 4.5.4 Comparison with Subsequent Inquiry— It should not be concluded or assumed that an inquiry was not all appropriate inquiries merely because the inquiry did not identify recognized environmental conditions in connection with a subject property . Environmental site assessments must be evaluated based on the reasonableness of judgments made at the time and under the circumstances in which they were made. Subsequent environmental site assessments should not be considered valid standards to judge the appropriateness of any prior assessment based on hindsight, new information, use of developing technology or analytical techniques, or other factors. 4.5.5 Point in Time— The environmental site assessment is based upon conditions at the time of completion of the individual environmental site assessment elements (see 7.2 ). 4.6 Continued Viability of Environmental Site Assessment: 4.6.1 Presumed Viability— Subject to 4.8 and the user’s responsibilities set forth in Section 6 , an environmental site assessment meeting or exceeding this practice is presumed to be viable when it is conducted within 180 days prior to the date of acquisition 9 of the subject property (or, for transactions not involving an acquisition such as a lease or refinance, the date of the intended transaction). The dates of the components presented in 4.6.2 (i), (iii), (iv), and (v) for interviews , review of government records, visual inspections, and declaration by environmental professional , shall be identified in the report . Completion of searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens ( 4.6.2 (ii)) is a user responsibility; however, if the user has engaged the environmental professional to conduct these searches, then that date shall also be identified in the report . 4.6.2 Updating of Certain Components— Subject to 4.8 and the user’s responsibilities set forth in Section 6 , an environmental site assessment meeting or exceeding this practice and for which the information was collected or updated within one year prior to the date of acquisition of the subject property (or, for transactions not involving an acquisition such as a lease or refinance, the date of the intended transaction) may be used provided that the following components of the inquiries were updated within 180 days prior to the date of purchase or the date of the intended transaction. All of the following components must be conducted or updated within 180 days prior to the date of acquisition or prior to the date of the transaction: (i) interviews with owners , operators , and occupants ; (ii) searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens (a user responsibility, see Section 6 ); (iii) reviews of federal, tribal, state, and local government records; (iv) visual inspections of the subject property and of adjoining properties ; and (v) the declaration by the environmental professional responsible for the assessment or update. 4.6.3 Compliance with All Appropriate Inquiries— To qualify for one of the threshold criteria for satisfying the LLPs to CERCLA liability, the all appropriate inquiries components listed in 4.6.2 must be conducted or updated within 180 days of and prior to the date of acquisition of the subject property , and all other components of all appropriate inquiries must be conducted within one year prior to the date of acquisition of the subject property . The date of the report generally does not represent the date the individual components of all appropriate inquiries were completed and should not be used when evaluating compliance with the 180-day or 1-year all appropriate inquiries requirements. 4.6.4 User’s Responsibilities— If, within this period, the environmental site assessment will be used by a user different than the user for whom the environmental site assessment was originally prepared, the subsequent user must also satisfy the user’s responsibilities in Section 6 . 4.7 Prior Assessment Usage— This practice recognizes that environmental site assessments performed in accordance with this practice will include information that subsequent users may want to use to avoid undertaking duplicative assessment procedures. Therefore, this practice describes procedures to be followed to assist users in determining the appropriateness of using information in environmental site assessments performed more than one year prior to the date of acquisition of the subject property (or for transactions not involving an acquisition such as a lease or refinance, the date of the intended transaction). The system of prior assessment usage is based on the following principles that should be adhered to in addition to the specific procedures set forth elsewhere in this practice: 4.7.1 Use of Prior Information— Subject to the requirements set forth in 4.6 , users and environmental professionals may use information in prior environmental site assessments provided such information was generated as a result of procedures that meet or exceed the requirements of this practice. However, such information shall not be used without current investigation of conditions likely to affect recognized environmental conditions in connection with the subject property . Additional tasks may be necessary to document conditions that may have changed materially since the prior environmental site assessment was conducted. Nothing in this practice is intended to convey a right to use or to rely upon resources, information, findings, or opinions provided in prior assessments. 4.7.2 Contractual Issues Regarding Prior Assessment Usage— The contractual and legal obligations between prior and subsequent users of environmental site assessments or between environmental professionals who conducted prior environmental site assessments and those who would like to use such prior environmental site assessments are beyond the scope of this practice. 4.8 Actual Knowledge Exception— If the user or environmental professional(s) conducting an environmental site assessment has actual knowledge that the information being used from a prior environmental site assessment is not accurate or if it is obvious , based on other information obtained by means of the environmental site assessment or known to the person conducting the environmental site assessment , that the information being used is not accurate, such information from a prior environmental site assessment may not be used. 4.9 Rules of Engagement— The contractual and legal obligations between an environmental professional and a user (and other parties, if any) are outside the scope of this practice. No specific legal relationship between the environmental professional and the user is necessary for the user to meet the requirements of this practice. 4.10 Organization of This Practice— This practice has thirteen sections and six appendixes. Section 1 is the Scope. Section 2 is Referenced Documents. Section 3 , Terminology, has definitions of terms not unique to this practice, descriptions of terms unique to this practice, and acronyms. Section 4 is Significance and Use of this practice. Section 5 provides discussion regarding activity and use limitations . Section 6 describes User’s Responsibilities. Sections 7 – 12 are the main body of the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment , including evaluation and report preparation. Section 13 provides additional information regarding non-scope considerations (see 1.4 ). The appendixes are included for information and are not part of the procedures prescribed in this practice. Appendix X1 explains the liability and defense provisions of CERCLA that will assist the user in understanding the user’s responsibilities under CERCLA; it also contains other important information regarding CERCLA, the Brownfields Amendments , and this practice. Appendix X2 provides the definition of the environmental professional responsible for the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment , as required in the “ All Appropriate Inquiries ” Final Rule (40 C.F.R. Part 312). Appendix X3 provides an optional User Questionnaire to assist the user and the environmental professional in gathering information from the user that may be material to identifying recognized environmental conditions . Appendix X4 offers an additional examination of the recognized environmental condition definition. Appendix X5 provides a suggested table of contents and report format for a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment . Appendix X6 summarizes non-scope considerations that persons may want to assess.