In the Smurfti-Stone Mill Site Case Study the purchasing company, The Green Investment Group, took ownership of the site, absolved the previous owners of liability, and took out their own insurance policy to protect themselves. What is not mentioned in this case study is weather or not that insurance policy was aligned with any other site liability category like BFPP (Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser) status. Since the buyers didn’t take any steps to protect their liability status, they wouldn’t qualify under CERCLA’s “innocent landowner” status which means that they would be responsible/ liable for all site contamination even if they didn’t contribute to the contamination. To have Landowner Liability Protection (LLP) status (like innocent landowner), the purchasing company should have conducted environmental site assessments (ESAs). The Phase 1 ESA would suffice as meeting both due diligence and all appropriate inquires (AAIs) provided it was conducted in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E1527 (Links to an external site.)(CEA. 2018). Phase 1 ESAs include: Historical records review, environmental database records review, interviews, user-reported information, and an onsite property inspection; all of which is compiled into a report (Borgias, A.P., Bradfield, M.S. 2015). Considering the post purchase inspection’s hazardous findings, it can be assumed that the Phase 1 ESA would have required the purchasers to conduct Phase 2 and/or Phase 3 ESA.
