Vapor Intrusion & Vapor Encroachment

Vapor Intrusion has emerged as a significant environmental issue in recent years. On June 14, 2010, ASTM published E 2600-10, Standard Guide for Vapor Encroachment Screening on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions. This standard replaces E 2600-08, published in March of 2008. It is anticipated that the screening under ASTM E 2600-10 will eventually become a routine part of an AAI-compliant Phase I environmental site assessment. A number of institutions such as HUD already require their consultants to consider vapor encroachment onto the property in their Phase I investigations.

On January 31, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened a public comment period on a proposal to add a new screening mechanism to the Hazard Ranking System that would enable sites with vapor intrusion contamination to be evaluated for placement on the NPL or Superfund list. For more on EPA’s proposal and details on listening sessions scheduled for Spring 2011, click here

Due Diligence at Dawn 2012

State of the Property Assessment Market: Key Developments and Massachusetts Trends
Dianne P. Crocker, Principal Analyst, EDR Insight

State of the Property Assessment Market: Key Developments and Trends
Dianne P. Crocker, Principal Analyst, EDR Insight

Misconceptions with Vapor Migration Screening using ASTM E 2600-10 in a Phase I
Anthony J. Buonicore, CEO, The Buonicore Group, Chairman, ASTM Vapor Intrusion Task Group

Phase I Site Assessments and Vapor Intrusion
Patricia Overmeyer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization

Legal Viewpoint: Case Studies of VI in Massachusetts
Seth D. Jaffe, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP 

Legal Viewpoint: Case Studies of VI in Massachusetts
Tim Kemper, PE, LSP, Client Program Manager, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure Group 


Update on the Rulemaking Progress of CCDD
Heather Nifong, Programs Advisor, Division of Remediation Management, Illinois EPA

Vapor Intrusion Blogs

Read Tony's Vapor Encroachment Blog for the latest updates on the revisions to the E 2600 standard by Anthony Buonicore, chairman of the ASTM vapor intrusion task group.

HUD Takes a Stand on Vapor Intrusion on Dianne Crocker's "Market Maven" blog, details the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's new requirement for a Tier 1 vapor intrusion screening at multifamily properties applying for Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance.

Shopping Center Liable for Vapor Intrusion In what may be one of the most far-reaching RCRA cases yet, the federal district court for the district of Nevada ruled that the owner of a shopping center who simply leased space to a dry cleaner could be liable under RCRA's citizen suit provision.

Attorneys Speak on VI

Charlotte, North Carolina
Allison Edgar, Parker Poe

Boston, Massachusetts
Marilyn Newman, Mintz Levin

Chicago, Illinois
David R. Gillay, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Client Education

• VEC Alert: A Roundup Of The Latest Vapor Encroachment Information: The inaugural edition of EDR's e-newsletter, VEC Alert. Each timely issue will highlight the latest developments related to vapor intrusion risk in real estate transactions. 
• Vapor Intrusion One Pager: This one-pager was designed in response to feedback from environmental professionals looking for a concise summary of vapor intrusion risk and the importance of assessing it during real estate transactions.

Vapor Intrusion Resources

• Vapor Intrusion Will Your Collateral Go Up In Smoke by Diane Crocker
  

• Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council vapor intrusion page
• EPA Vapor Intrusion Guidance
• EPA Contaminated-Site Clean-Up Information
• GAO Testimony: SUPERFUND - EPA's Costs to Remediate Existing and Future Sites Will Likely Exceed Current Funding Levels. This document is noteworthy for suggesting EPA consider vapor intrusion in adding sites to the NPL.
• Vapor Encroachment Screening Under the Newly-Revised ASTM E 2600-10 Standard.pdf by Anthony Buonicore

Vapor Intrusion Guidance Documents

• Standard Guide for Vapor Encroachment Screening on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions Download the new ASTM E 2600-10 vapor intrusion standard from the ASTM Web site.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) environmental policy, including vapor intrusion screening requirements
• United States Postal Service (USPS) Vapor Intrusion Guidance

Vapor Intrusion State Web Sites

• New York DEC Vapor Intrusion Guidance
• New Jersey DEP Vapor Intrusion Guidance
• Illinois DPH Vapor Intrusion Fact Sheet

Vapor Encroachment Legal White Papers

• Court Rules Against Property Owners in Vapor Intrusion/Groundwater Citizen Suit Case Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
• Is Vapor Intrusion a "Next Big Thing" in Environmental Law? Edward V. Walsh, III, Reed Smith LLP
• Vapor Intrusion Update: New Landlord Notification Requirements Ned Abelson and Joanna Giorgio Hilvert, Goulston & Storrs

Articles

• AWMA’s EM magazine, February 2011: Read why leading attorneys believe that vapor intrusion should already be part of standard due diligence in this February 2011 article. 
• Vapor Encroachment a Real Environmental Risk: Read why Michigan environmental professional Mark Resch thinks ASTM’s E 2600-10 Vapor Encroachment standard is likely to be considered the “industry standard” and will become a routine part of AAI-compliant assessments (Michigan Lawyers Weekly, November 2010)

• Vapor Intrusion and ASTM's Revised Vapor Encroachment Standard: The experts answer why the topic is so hot now and the best way you can protect your clients and yourself from liability. (Environmental Protection, December 2010)
• Top Vapor Intrusion Questions Answered (EDR EP Insider, July 2010)
• EPA Studies Say VI Guidance Needed, TCE Carcinogenic (EDR EP Insider, Feb 2010)
• VI Quickly Becoming the New Asbestos (EDR LEN Insider, June 2010)

Vapor Intrusion In The Real World

• Indoor Love Canal
  In a landmark case referred to as the "Indoor Love Canal," an oil company is ordered to perform clean-up activities with an estimated cost of $150 million to $300 million to address vapor intrusion and groundwater contamination.
• Danger Below? Minnesota Schools Weigh Land Risks Vapor intrusion complicates development of new school, raises concerns about existing school built on site with known TCE contamination.
• Vapor Intrusion's Silent Threat This environmental menace is called vapor intrusion, a toxic stew of gases that rises from groundwater and contaminates indoor air. Scientists have only recently begun to understand its dangers. The Record, Oct. 17, 2010.

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