§312.21. Results of inquiry by an environmental professional. — Inbound Citations

(1) Persons seeking to establish one of the liability protections under paragraph (b)(1) of this section must conduct investigations as required in this part, including an inquiry by an environmental professional, as required under § 312.21, and the additional inquiries defined in § 312.22, to identify conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases, as defined in CERCLA section 101(22), of hazardous substances, as defined in CERCLA section 101(14).

(ii) 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 as defined in § 312.21 and have the equivalent of three (3) years of full-time relevant experience; or

(1) An inquiry by an environmental professional (as defined in § 312.10), as provided in § 312.21;

(a) Persons identified under § 312.1(b) must conduct the inquiries listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) below and may provide the information associated with such inquiries to the environmental professional responsible for conducting the activities listed in § 312.21:

(1) As required by § 312.25 and if not otherwise obtained by the environmental professional, environmental cleanup liens against the subject property that are filed or recorded under federal, tribal, state, or local law;

(2) As required by § 312.28, specialized knowledge or experience of the person identified in § 312.1(b);

(3) As required by § 312.29, the relationship of the purchase price to the fair market value of the subject property, if the property was not contaminated; and

(4) As required by § 312.30, and if not otherwise obtained by the environmental professional, commonly known or reasonably ascertainable information about the subject property.

(4) The definition of environmental professional provided above does not preempt state professional licensing or registration requirements such as those for a professional geologist, engineer, or site remediation professional. Before commencing work, a person should determine the applicability of state professional licensing or registration laws to the activities to be undertaken as part of the inquiry identified in § 312.21(b).

(d) All appropriate inquiries can include the results of report(s) specified in § 312.21(c), that have been prepared by or for other persons, provided that:

(1) The report(s) meets the objectives and performance factors of this regulation, as specified in paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section; and

(2) The person specified in § 312.1(b) and seeking to use the previously collected information reviews the information and conducts the additional inquiries pursuant to §§ 312.28, 312.29 and 312.30 and the all appropriate inquiries are updated in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, as necessary.

(5) The declaration by the environmental professional (see § 312.21(d)).