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ASTM E2173-01

(Guide)

Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities

Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities

SCOPE
1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this guide is to provide a series of options or instructions consistent with good commercial and customary practice in the United States for environmental liability disclosures accompanying audited and unaudited financial statements. This guide is intended to supplement and be consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
1.2 Objectives—The objectives of this guide are to determine the conditions warranting disclosure and the content of appropriate disclosure.

General Information

Status
Historical
Publication Date
09-Dec-2001
ICS
13.020.10 - Environmental management
Technical Committee
E50 - Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action
Drafting Committee
E50.05 - Environmental Risk Management
Current Stage
Ref Project

Relations

Replaced By
ASTM E2173-07 - Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities
Effective Date
15-Mar-2007
Referred By
ASTM E3228-19 - Standard Guide for Environmental Knowledge Management
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001
Referred By
ASTM E3123-18 - Standard Guide for Recognition and Derecognition of Environmental Liabilities
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001
Referred By
ASTM E2718-21 - Standard Guide for Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001
Referred By
ASTM E2137-22 - Standard Guide for Estimating Monetary Costs and Liabilities for Environmental Matters
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001
Referred By
ASTM E1903-19 - Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Process
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001
Referred By
ASTM E3358-23a - Standard Guide for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Site Screening and Initial Characterization
Effective Date
10-Dec-2001

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ASTM E2173-01 - Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities
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NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information
Designation:E2173–01
Standard Guide for
Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 2173; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 3.1.2 CERCLIS—Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Information System, the list of
1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this guide is to provide a
sites compiled by the EPA that the EPA has investigated or is
series of options or instructions consistent with good commer-
currently investigating for potential hazardous substance con-
cial and customary practice in the United States for environ-
tamination for possible inclusion on the National Priorities
mental liability disclosures accompanying audited and unau-
List.
ditedfinancialstatements.Thisguideisintendedtosupplement
3.1.3 CFR—Code of Federal Regulations.
and be consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Prin-
2 3.1.4 claim—a demand for payment.
ciples (GAAP).
3.1.5 environmental liabilities—accrued liabilities and loss
1.2 Objectives—The objectives of this guide are to deter-
contingencies associated with conditions that present an unac-
mine the conditions warranting disclosure and the content of
ceptable risk of harm to public health or the environment and
appropriate disclosure.
that would be the subject of an enforcement action or other
2. Referenced Documents
legal action.
3.1.6 EPA—United States Environmental Protection
2.1 ASTM Standards:
Agency.
D 5746 Classification of Environmental Condition of Prop-
3.1.7 Federal Register, (FR)—publication of the United
erty Area Types for Defense Base Closure and Realign-
States government published daily (except for federal holidays
ment Facilities
and weekends) containing all proposed and final regulations
E 1527 Practice for Environmental SiteAssessments: Phase
and some other activities of the federal government. When
I Environmental Site Assessment Process
regulations become final, they are included in the Code of
E 1739 Guide for Risk Based Corrective Action Applied at
Federal Regulations (CFR), as well as published in the Federal
Petroleum Release Sites
Register.
E 2137 Guide for Estimating Monetary Costs and Liabili-
3.1.8 financial statements—include, but are not limited to,
ties for Environmental Matters
statements associated with shareholder reporting, loans, merg-
2.2 EPA Directives:
ers, acquisitions, or divestitures.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, OSWER
3.1.9 materiality—the significance of an item to users of a
Directive 9610.17: Use of Risk-Based Decision-Making
financial statement that considers all relevant and surrounding
in UST Corrective Action Programs
circumstances. A material item is one that its omission or
3. Terminology
misstatement is of such a magnitude in the surrounding
circumstances that either the judgment of a reasonable person
3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
relying on the financial statement would have been changed or
3.1.1 CERCLA—Comprehensive Environmental Response,
influenced by its inclusion or correction, or there is a substan-
Compensation and LiabilityAct of 1980 (as amended, 42 USC
tial likelihood that the item, after assessing the inferences, and
Section 9601 et seq. ).
their significance, drawn from the given set of facts associated
with the financial statement, would be viewed as significantly
ThisguideisunderthejurisdictionofASTMCommitteeE50onEnvironmental
altering the information made available to the investor or
Assessment and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E50.05 on Wetland
shareholder. Relevant sources of information and references
Ecosystems.
are included in Appendix X2.
Current edition approved Dec. 10, 2001. Published February 2002.
This guide alone does not satisfy or include all disclosure requirements under 3.1.10 National Priorities List (NPL)—a list compiled by
GAAP, SEC, or any other agency or regulatory body. Appendix X1 provides some
the EPA pursuant to CERCLA 42 USC § 9605(a)(8)(B) of
examples of where such requirements are contained.
properties with the highest priority for cleanup pursuant to the
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 11.04.
EPA’s Hazard Ranking System. See 40 CFR Part 300.
AvailablefromtheUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(U.S.EPA),
Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20460.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
E2173
3.1.11 Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)—any indi- techniques, or other factors. However, information on trends
vidual, legal entity, or government—including owners, opera- may be of value to a user of financial statements.
tors, transporters, or generators—potentially responsible for, or 4.2.1.4 Not Exhaustive—Appropriate disclosure does not
contributing to, conditions that present an unacceptable risk of necessarily mean an exhaustive disclosure of the reporting
harmtohumanhealthortheenvironmentandthatwouldbethe entity’s environmental liabilities. There is a point at which the
subject of an enforcement action or other legal action. cost of obtaining information or the time required to gather it
3.1.12 RCRA—Resource Conservation and Recovery Act outweighs the usefulness of the information and, in fact, may
(as amended, 42 USC § 6901 et seq.). be a material detriment to the orderly preparation of financial
3.1.13 reasonably possible—the likelihood, or probability, statements and the ability of readers to understand the infor-
associated with a given event occurring that lies in the range mationcontainedtherein.However,allrelevantandreasonably
between remote and probable. The probability values assigned ascertainable information should be used to determine the
to remote and probable will depend on the industry, the content of appropriate disclosure for environmental liabilities.
aggregate number of sites, observations, and possible out- 4.2.1.5 Assessment of Risk—As the reporting entity be-
comes, and the uncertainty associated with estimating prob- comes aware of an environmental liability or an environmental
abilities. compliance issue, the condition or issue should be evaluated to
3.1.14 release—any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, assess the actual or potential risk to human health and
emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, environment. This process may be dependent on the regulatory
dumping, or disposing into the environment. environment, an understanding of the specifics of the condition
3.1.15 remedial or corrective action—all environmental or issue, and potential future uses. For example, guidance on
response activities to an environmental liability. petroleum release sites is provided in Guide E 1739 and
3.1.16 reporting entity—any business or public agency additional guidance is provided in EPA OSWER Directive
preparing a financial statement. 9610.17. The degree of risk suggests the appropriate response
3.1.17 site—real property affected by an environmental actions and should be a factor in the level of effort devoted to
liability. developing the cost and liability estimates associated with the
environmental condition or the compliance issue.
4. Significance and Use
5. Determining Whether a Disclosure is Warranted
4.1 Uses—This guide is intended for use on a voluntary
basis by a reporting entity that provides disclosure in their 5.1 Circumstances Associated with Environmental Liabili-
financial statements regarding environmental liabilities. The ties:
degree and type of disclosure depends on the scope and 5.1.1 Following are the major circumstances that might give
objective of the financial statements. rise to environmental liabilities:
4.2 Principles: 5.1.1.1 Enforcement of environmental laws or regulations
4.2.1 The following principles are an integral part of this regarding investigation, clean-up, maintenance, and other
guide and are intended to be referred to in resolving any costs. Such circumstance arises if the EPA, a state agency, or a
ambiguity or dispute regarding the interpretation of disclosures local government has named the reporting entity a PRP on a
regarding environmental liabilities. site, or a reporting entity is required to perform corrective
4.2.1.1 Uncertainty Not Eliminated—Although a reporting action under RCRA, or is required to remediate a contaminated
entity,asofthetimewhenitsfinancialstatementsareprepared, property under any other environmental law.
may hold a certain position with regard to the existence and 5.1.1.2 Contractual assumptions of risk or risk transfer
extentofitsenvironmentalliabilities,thereremainsuncertainty agreements. The most familiar forms of risk transfer agree-
with regard to the final resolution of factual, technological, ments are insurance contracts, hold harmless agreements,
regulatory, legislative, and judicial matters, which could affect indemnity agreements, and similar terms within contracts for
its environmental liabilities. the transfer of property.
4.2.1.2 Disclosure Dependent on Circumstances—Not ev- 5.1.1.3 Commencement of litigation or assertion of a claim
ery environmental liability warrants the same level of detail in or assessment by a party alleging legal liability on the part of
its disclosure. Disclosure will be guided by the scope and the reporting entity.
objective of the financial statement, and accordingly, b
...

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Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process for Forestland or Rural Property

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 forestland or rural property 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 1.5.)  
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 Occupants/Lessees/Purchasers and Others—No implication is intended that it is currently customary practice for residential occupants/lessees of multifamily residential buildings, occupants/lessees 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 forestland or rural property 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.  
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1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this practice is to provide an alternative method to ASTM E1527 for good commercial and customary practices in the United States of America for conducting a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment2 of forestland or rural property with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 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 a 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 standard. 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).  
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ASTM E2173-22(Guide)
Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Significance—This guide provides additional guidance to preparers of environmental disclosures; these materials are needed to address changing audience needs, the increased regulatory and accounting complexity around environmental matters, and the emergence of a variety of long-term trends and factors, including but not limited to:  
4.1.1 Number and scope of domestic, and foreign environmental laws and their implementing regulations;  
4.1.2 Number and scope of treaties, as well as the implementing laws and regulations; parties in these treaties include multilateral organizations and indigenous peoples;  
4.1.3 Judicial decisions clarifying the impact of laws, regulations, and treaties;  
4.1.4 Costs of compliance with environmental regulations;  
4.1.5 Number of known chemical compounds (see Chemical Abstracts Service REGISTRYSM, which contains over 193 million unique organic and inorganic substances);  
4.1.6 Cost and accuracy of soil, sediment, air, soil vapor, surface water and groundwater testing equipment and procedures;  
4.1.7 Knowledge about benefits and effects of chemical compounds on human health, ecological receptors, and the environment;  
4.1.8 Number and efficacy of remedial technologies;  
4.1.9 Experience with assessing and remediating environmental conditions;  
4.1.10 Assumptions regarding impacts of environmental conditions, through modeling and other forecasting tools;  
4.1.11 Number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics and their pace of adoption;  
4.1.12 Frequency and financial impact of counterparty failure; and  
4.1.13 Development of comparable accounting standards by other authorities; and  
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1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this guide is to provide a series of options or instructions consistent with good commercial and customary practice in the United States for environmental liability disclosures accompanying audited and unaudited financial statements. This guide is consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)2 issued by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), as well as related statements, rules, regulations, and/or procedures issued by Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). This guide is intended to be consistent with national and multinational issuers of accounting standards and practices, including International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).  
1.2 Objectives—The objectives of this guide are to:  
1.2.1 Identify the common terminology used in environmental disclosures,  
1.2.2 Explain the need for environmental disclosures,  
1.2.3 Define the conditions warranting disclosure, and  
1.2.4 Illustrate the report formats and content typically used in environmental disclosures.  
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Standard Guide for Environmental Compliance Performance Assessment

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This guide may be used for environmental compliance performance assessment in the United States in a wide variety of applications and is not particularly limited to one type of user. The following groups of users may find the guide particularly helpful:  
4.1.1 Small businesses or enterprises;  
4.1.2 Service industries;  
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4.1.4 Financial and insurance institutions;  
4.1.5 Waste managers, including liquid and solid waste haulers, treatment, recycling, disposal and transfer;  
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4.1.7 Educational facilities;  
4.1.8 Property, buildings and grounds management, including landscaping;  
4.1.9 Non-regulatory government agencies, such as the military; and  
4.1.10 Specific industrial sectors such as dry cleaners, printers, photo processors, laboratories, health care, and vehicle fueling, maintenance and delivery.  
4.2 This guide is intended as a first step in crafting simplified management goals for assessing compliance with a wide variety of multimedia environmental performance standards. The framework describes a process by which the user may categorize current waste management, air quality, water, and release prevention practices in order to manage the risks associated with noncompliance. The technique classifies common environmental performance standards into tiers based on relative risks to human health, the environment and business operations. The tier classifications found in this guide reflect the general requirements of State, Federal and local compliance and enforcement programs. These authorities generally classify groups of similar environmental performance standards according to the significance of any noncompliance within each group of standards.
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SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Intended Use—This practice is intended for use by parties who wish to perform or direct an audit, or rely upon audit findings or an audit report. Such use includes audits by internal and external auditors.  
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4.4 Related ISO Guidelines—The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed guidelines addressing environmental auditing. These are ISO 14001-2015 and 19011-2018. A number of terms and procedures from these guidelines may be similar to terms and procedures associated with this practice but they may not be the same. ISO 14001-2015 added several compliance evaluation criteria, including Section 9.1.2 (Evaluation of Compliance) and Section 9.2 (Internal Audits).  
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SCOPE
1.1 Purpose—This practice2 identifies minimum requirements for environmental regulatory compliance audits (audits). It also provides information on the terms and procedures associated with audits as practiced in the United States of America (USA) and other jurisdictions subject to the laws thereof. It provides a reference to which interested parties may refer for definition and description of accepted audit terms and procedures.  
1.2 Background:  
1.2.1 Awareness of Benefits Associated with Audits—Various benefits have been attributed to audits. These benefits may include a better understanding of the compliance status of a facility or organization, identification of opportunities for environmental management systems improvements, reduction or elimination of potential legal and financial liabilities when implemented as part of a comprehensive compliance management program, better communications and improved relationships with governmental agencies, communities, and other stakeholders, providing information for development of both short-term and long-term environmental expenditures, and education of employees.  
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SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Use—This guide is intended for use on a voluntary basis for evaluating data for long term storage as they relate to environmental matters. The user may elect to apply this guide for any or all of these purposes:  
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4.1.6 Supporting the determination of liability values per Guide E2137;  
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4.1.10 Designing and implementing project and program controls;  
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4.1.16 Completing financial and investment analysis.  
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1.1 This guide describes good commercial and customary practice in documenting environmental risks, project, and program knowledge.  
1.2 Considering that management of environmental liabilities can span very long timeframes, users of this guide understand that preserving key findings, decisions, obligations, commitments, and guarantees for coming generations of project teams is essential to efficient management of associated assets and liabilities.  
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SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This guide describes a general approach for the use of existing wells in environmental investigations with a primary focus on the subsurface and major factors affecting the surface and subsurface environment.  
4.2 Existing wells represent a valuable source of information for subsurface environmental investigations. Specific uses of existing wells include:  
4.2.1 Well driller logs provide information on subsurface lithology and major water-bearing units in an area. Existing wells can also offer access for downhole geophysical logging for stratigraphic and aquifer interpretations. Examples include natural gamma logs in cased wells and an entire suite of methods in uncased bedrock wells (see Guide D5753). This information can assist in developing the preliminary conceptual model of the site.  
4.2.2 Well tests using existing wells may provide information on the hydrologic characteristics of an aquifer.  
4.2.3 Monitoring of water levels in existing wells, provided that they are cased in the aquifer of interest, allow development of potentiometric maps and interpretations of groundwater flow directions and gradients.  
4.2.4 Existing wells are the primary means by which regional drinking water quality is evaluated and monitored.  
4.2.5 Existing wells may assist in the mapping of contaminant plumes, and in ongoing monitoring of groundwater quality changes at the site-specific level.  
4.3 Data from existing wells should only be used when characteristics of the well have been sufficiently documented to determine that they satisfy criteria for the purpose for which the data are to be used.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide covers the use of existing wells for environmental site characterization and monitoring. It covers the following major topics: criteria for determining the suitability of existing wells for hydrogeologic characterization and groundwater quality monitoring, types of data needed to document the suitability of an existing well, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of existing large- and small-capacity wells.  
1.2 This guide should be used in conjunction with Guide D5730, that provides a general approach for environmental site investigations.  
1.3 This guide does not specifically address design and construction of new monitoring or supply wells. Refer to Practices D5092/D5092M and D5787.  
1.4 This guide does not specifically address groundwater sampling procedures. Refer to Guide D5903.  
1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
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 guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This guide cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This guide 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 guide be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.  
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Standard Guide for Selection and Documentation of Existing Wells for Use in Environmental Site Characterization and Monitoring

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This guide describes a general approach for the use of existing wells in environmental investigations with a primary focus on the subsurface and major factors affecting the surface and subsurface environment.  
4.2 Existing wells represent a valuable source of information for subsurface environmental investigations. Specific uses of existing wells include:  
4.2.1 Well driller logs provide information on subsurface lithology and major water-bearing units in an area. Existing wells can also offer access for downhole geophysical logging for stratigraphic and aquifer interpretations. Examples include natural gamma logs in cased wells and an entire suite of methods in uncased bedrock wells (see Guide D5753). This information can assist in developing the preliminary conceptual model of the site.  
4.2.2 Well tests using existing wells may provide information on the hydrologic characteristics of an aquifer.  
4.2.3 Monitoring of water levels in existing wells, provided that they are cased in the aquifer of interest, allow development of potentiometric maps and interpretations of groundwater flow directions and gradients.  
4.2.4 Existing wells are the primary means by which regional drinking water quality is evaluated and monitored.  
4.2.5 Existing wells may assist in the mapping of contaminant plumes, and in ongoing monitoring of groundwater quality changes at the site-specific level.  
4.3 Data from existing wells should only be used when characteristics of the well have been sufficiently documented to determine that they satisfy criteria for the purpose for which the data are to be used.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide covers the use of existing wells for environmental site characterization and monitoring. It covers the following major topics: criteria for determining the suitability of existing wells for hydrogeologic characterization and groundwater quality monitoring, types of data needed to document the suitability of an existing well, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of existing large- and small-capacity wells.  
1.2 This guide should be used in conjunction with Guide D5730, that provides a general approach for environmental site investigations.  
1.3 This guide does not specifically address design and construction of new monitoring or supply wells. Refer to Practices D5092/D5092M and D5787.  
1.4 This guide does not specifically address groundwater sampling procedures. Refer to Guide D5903.  
1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.  
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 guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This guide cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This guide 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 guide be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.  
1.8 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.

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ASTM
ASTM E2247-23(Practice)
Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process for Forestland or Rural Property

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 forestland or rural property 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 1.5.)  
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 Occupants/Lessees/Purchasers and Others—No implication is intended that it is currently customary practice for residential occupants/lessees of multifamily residential buildings, occupants/lessees 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 forestland or rural property 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.  
4.2.3 Site-specific—This practice is site-specific in tha...
SCOPE
1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this practice is to provide an alternative method to ASTM E1527 for good commercial and customary practices in the United States of America for conducting a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment2 of forestland or rural property with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 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 a 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 standard. 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 Standard Practice Selection—The methodology included in this practice is an effective and practical process for achieving the objectives of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment of forestland or rural property when some of the metho...

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ASTM
ASTM E2173-22(Guide)
Standard Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Significance—This guide provides additional guidance to preparers of environmental disclosures; these materials are needed to address changing audience needs, the increased regulatory and accounting complexity around environmental matters, and the emergence of a variety of long-term trends and factors, including but not limited to:  
4.1.1 Number and scope of domestic, and foreign environmental laws and their implementing regulations;  
4.1.2 Number and scope of treaties, as well as the implementing laws and regulations; parties in these treaties include multilateral organizations and indigenous peoples;  
4.1.3 Judicial decisions clarifying the impact of laws, regulations, and treaties;  
4.1.4 Costs of compliance with environmental regulations;  
4.1.5 Number of known chemical compounds (see Chemical Abstracts Service REGISTRYSM, which contains over 193 million unique organic and inorganic substances);  
4.1.6 Cost and accuracy of soil, sediment, air, soil vapor, surface water and groundwater testing equipment and procedures;  
4.1.7 Knowledge about benefits and effects of chemical compounds on human health, ecological receptors, and the environment;  
4.1.8 Number and efficacy of remedial technologies;  
4.1.9 Experience with assessing and remediating environmental conditions;  
4.1.10 Assumptions regarding impacts of environmental conditions, through modeling and other forecasting tools;  
4.1.11 Number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics and their pace of adoption;  
4.1.12 Frequency and financial impact of counterparty failure; and  
4.1.13 Development of comparable accounting standards by other authorities; and  
4.1.14 Investor interest in the impact of these trends and factors on their investments.  
4.2 Uses—This guide is intended for use on a voluntary basis by a reporting entity that provides financial and qualitative disclosure regarding environmental liabilities. Disclosure is integrated with preceding elements of f...
SCOPE
1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this guide is to provide a series of options or instructions consistent with good commercial and customary practice in the United States for environmental liability disclosures accompanying audited and unaudited financial statements. This guide is consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)2 issued by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), as well as related statements, rules, regulations, and/or procedures issued by Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). This guide is intended to be consistent with national and multinational issuers of accounting standards and practices, including International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).  
1.2 Objectives—The objectives of this guide are to:  
1.2.1 Identify the common terminology used in environmental disclosures,  
1.2.2 Explain the need for environmental disclosures,  
1.2.3 Define the conditions warranting disclosure, and  
1.2.4 Illustrate the report formats and content typically used in environmental disclosures.  
1.3 History of development of this guide—In 1993-1994, a group of insurance companies approached ASTM to request a best practice environmental cost estimation and disclosure standard, as they were experiencing high environmental remediation and asbestos claims from policyholders that were reporting no material liabilities in their annual reports. At the same time, asbestos and environmental liabilities were triggering bankruptcy more frequently, again with little prior disclosure by companies other than boilerplate legal language that costs were too uncertain or not estimable, or that such costs would not be material. Research by the ASTM standard working committee at the time found such shortcomings as (a) rarely attempting to identify a full portfo...

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ASTM
ASTM D6044-21(Guide)
Standard Guide for Representative Sampling for Management of Waste and Contaminated Media

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This guide defines the meaning of a representative sample, as well as the attributes the sample(s) needs to have in order to provide a valid inference from the sample data to the population.  
4.2 This guide also provides a process to identify the sources of error (both systematic and random) so that an effort can be made to control or minimize these errors. These sources include sampling error, measurement error, and statistical bias.  
4.3 When the objective is limited to the taking of a representative (physical) sample or a representative set of (physical) samples, only potential sampling errors need to be considered. When the objective is to make an inference from the sample data to the population, additional measurement error and statistical bias need to be considered.  
4.4 This guide does not apply to the cases where the taking of a nonrepresentative sample(s) is prescribed by the study objective. In that case, sampling approaches such as judgment sampling or biased sampling can be taken. These approaches are not within the scope of this guide.  
4.5 Following this guide does not guarantee that representative samples will be obtained. But failure to follow this guide will likely result in obtaining sample data that are either biased or imprecise, or both. Following this guide should increase the level of confidence in making the inference from the sample data to the population.  
4.6 This guide can be used in conjunction with the DQO process (see Practice D5792).  
4.7 This guide is intended for those who manage, design, and implement sampling and analytical plans for waste management and contaminated media.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide covers the definition of representativeness in environmental sampling, identifies sources that can affect representativeness (especially bias), and describes the attributes that a representative sample or a representative set of samples should possess. For convenience, the term “representative sample” is used in this guide to denote both a representative sample and a representative set of samples, unless otherwise qualified in the text.  
1.2 This guide outlines a process by which a representative sample may be obtained from a population. The purpose of the representative sample is to provide information about a statistical parameter(s) (such as mean) of the population regarding some characteristic(s) (such as concentration) of its constituent(s) (such as lead). This process includes the following stages: (1) minimization of sampling bias and optimization of precision while taking the physical samples, (2) minimization of measurement bias and optimization of precision when analyzing the physical samples to obtain data, and (3) minimization of statistical bias when making inferences from the sample data to the population. While both bias and precision are covered in this guide, major emphasis is given to bias reduction.  
1.3 This guide describes the attributes of a representative sample and presents a general methodology for obtaining representative samples. It does not, however, provide specific or comprehensive sampling procedures. It is the user's responsibility to ensure that proper and adequate procedures are used.  
1.4 The assessment of the representativeness of a sample is not covered in this guide since it is not possible to ever know the true value of the population.  
1.5 Since the purpose of each sampling event is unique, this guide does not attempt to give a step-by-step account of how to develop a sampling design that results in the collection of representative samples.  
1.6 Appendix X1 contains two case studies which discuss the factors for obtaining representative samples.  
1.7 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 applicabi...

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