Environmental Site Assessment Phase 1: Fundamentals, Guidelines, and Regulations - Chapter 8 pot

Introduction Unrecorded information concerning the past usage of and activities associ‑ ated with property can be collected only through interviews.. Document the interviewee’s name, rel

Introduction

Unrecorded information concerning the past usage of and activities associ‑

ated with property can be collected only through interviews People familiar

with the site and surrounding areas may have witnessed, participated in,

or observed that which was never recorded This may be an observation of

one brief incident, a sequence of events, or a routine People may be aware of

what they witnessed, or they may not have any idea what actually occurred

or its significance Interviewees may have been the participants in an activity

or the eyewitnesses

You may conduct interviews by phone, or it may require a visit to someone’s

home or a manufacturing facility Always carry calling cards Homeowners

are particularly suspicious, and businesses may be difficult to approach as

well Introduce yourself and explain the purpose of your visit Be sure to ask

if they mind you taking notes Some people are intimidated by the process

Notes are a must, but, in some instances, you may have to complete them

after the fact

Document the interviewee’s name, relevance to the information being

sought (e.g., retired employee who worked for a business that was located

on the property), and telephone number, as well as the time, date, address or

relative location of the interview (e.g., across the street from the property, at a

neighboring residence), form of communication (e.g., telephone), and details

of the conversation

Some investigators maintain a form with their standard questions Once

again, do not be limited by forms and checklists They cover general infor‑

mation, at best, and can be a distraction Conjure up a clear picture of the

information that is important, and be prepared to rework the picture as the

interview progresses

When taking notes, be concise and accurate Travel the path of a good

reporter—do not interpret intent Be objective—record what the person says,

not your interpretation

In closing an interview, leave a calling card The interviewee will need

a means to contact you, and this should be encouraged The participant or

witness may recall something relevant after your departure For instance,

a neighbor may have noticed drums being hauled away from the site on a

routine basis in the middle of the night Although this is suspicious behav‑

ior, the witness may have perceived it as business as usual Later, however,

as the witness reconsiders past events based on questions posed during the

interview, he/she may decide the information is relevant Most people want

to help Provide a means for them to reach you

You may need to ask follow‑up questions at a later date If the interviewee

understands this, future questions are easier to handle, possibly over the

telephone, whereby the parties concerned have been forewarned

Any of a number of people may be interviewed At a minimum you should

attempt to interview the present owner and a couple of impartial, unbiased

people associated with the property and surrounding area (e.g., a neighbor)

The ASTM Standard recommends:

A reasonable attempt should be made to interview the current owner

and occupants regarding the past and present uses of the property

At an industrial facility, the occupants may be the property manager,

plant supervisor, or head of maintenance At a residence, a reasonable

attempt should be made to interview as many of the occupants as fea‑

sible, excluding dependent children In multifamily properties, one

should attempt to interview a minimum of five current occupants

A discretionary effort may be made to interview past owners and

occupants

A discretionary effort may be made to interview neighboring or nearby

property owners or occupants

The All Appropriate Inquiries Rule mandates a greater effort to interview

than that recommended in the Standard The Rule mandates:

Interviewing the current owner and occupants of the property

Interviewing the past owner and occupants

Interviewing neighboring or nearby property owners or occupants—if

the subject property is “abandoned”

The objective is to identify “possibilities,” generate ideas, and allow more

speculation than what background search information indicates The inter‑

viewing process should not be set in concrete Do not limit these efforts to

that which is mandated or recommended The Rule mandates interviewing

neighboring or nearby property owners or occupants only if the property

has been abandoned It would be well advised, however, to do so also if the

occupants are of questionable character or if the land is undeveloped and on‑

site activities are observable by the neighbors Once again, do not be limited

by minimum requirements

Owners

Owners should be asked to provide information in the form of documents

These documents may include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Environmental site assessment reports

Environmental audits

Environmental permits

Reports of hydrogeologic conditions of areas

Aboveground and underground storage tank registrations

In addition, if commercial/industrial activities have occurred on the prop‑

erty, request access to the following:

Material safety data sheets

Community right‑to‑know plan

Environmental health and safety plans (e.g., spill prevention plan)

Records of previous violations and/or citations for noncompliance with

environmental health and safety regulations

Records of hazardous waste generator activities (e.g., manifests and

annual summaries)

Although the owners are the easiest source of information concerning

prior site usage and building structural records, they are biased and there‑

fore must be considered one of many people to be interviewed If you suspect

the owner is potentially responsible for questionable and/or illegal activities,

seek corroboration of information from other parties

Questions, in addition to the request for documentation, should be site

dependent, based on research information gathered and observations made

during a site reconnaissance Some consultants use a guide or a screening

questionnaire (See Figure 8.1.)

An owner may not have answers to all of the questions but may be able

to point you in the right direction Seek names and contact information for

these other parties familiar with the property For instance, the property

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Figure 8.1  Items to be addressed while interviewing the property owner

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may have been leased to a tank cleaning service prior to the present market‑

ing business The owner is unfamiliar with the process but has the name and

contact information for the former lessee The lessee should be added to the

list of people to be interviewed

Present

The present owner may have some historic information on the property, and

thus should be consulted on present activities and previous site usage This

interview should be conducted prior to and possibly again after the site recon‑

naissance This information may provide direction for the site reconnaissance

and answer questions generated as a result of the property inspection

Owners may be helpful in clarifying the rationale for some environmental

findings For example, an overgrown building foundation is found on the

property next to a clearing where no vegetation grows The owner may

know that twenty years ago the structure was used to repackage and ware‑

house herbicides Although the kind of herbicides may be unknown, you

now have an explanation for the lack of vegetation and can initiate further

investigation

Past

Previous owners may be difficult to locate A title search provides a good

start, and the present owner may also know where to locate previous owners

More often than not, however, the most recent owner is long since gone, and

the others may have either moved or passed away If the previous owner can‑

not be located, others may be able to provide information concerning his/her

reputation For example, the previous owner may have committed suicide,

leaving behind a trail of indebtedness and a reputation for shady dealings

One of his business activities involved hazardous chemicals that were not

generated at the site but may have been dumped on the property Such situa‑

tions may alert the investigator to possible environmental contamination on

property that may not have appeared to be associated with industrial/com‑

mercial activities that generate hazardous wastes

Site Residents

Site residents include single‑family or multifamily occupants of the property

This may include a resident employee (e.g., a security guard who is given a

home on the premises) Residents have a tendency to notice unusual activi‑

ties, odors, and conditions more readily than those using the property for

a business, the visiting owner, or the neighbors For example, a family has

noticed that their ten‑year‑old son and their small terrier dog, who were the

picture of health prior to moving into their home on the property over a year

ago, have since been listless and frequently ill with flu‑like symptoms They

also have noticed a pungent odor occasionally prevails when the wind blows

from the southeast This is worth further investigation

Site Personnel

Site personnel, past and present, who have worked on the property in an

industrial/commercial setting should be interviewed The plant or business

manager should be at the top of the list Then, attempt to interview some of

the employees

If the owner is not the operator of the property in such a commercial/

industrial setting, request access to those same documents that would be

requested of the owner (see lists in “Owners” section above) from the person

who is managing these activities on the property

The plant or business manager will be able to disclose the processes,

chemicals used, and waste management procedures specific to the opera‑

tion If there is or was an industrial/commercial activity on the property, this

interview is a must As will be discussed in Chapter 10, on “Industrial/Com‑

mercial Activities,” such information can help the investigator formulate a

general idea about the operations and generated hazardous materials Each

operation is different, however Specifics and details can be obtained only

from those operating the business and their employees For example, the

plant manager of a chemical formulating complex will be able to identify

what specific chemicals are being used, how they are managed, and which

means are used for disposal

The employees are an excellent source of job‑specific details Sometimes

they are the only ones available to be interviewed, particularly if the busi‑

ness is no longer active For example, a retired maintenance employee for one

industrial complex was consulted for information concerning where he bur‑

ied three 55‑gallon drums of mercury thirty years ago His response, “Out

under the old oak tree that died ten years ago.”

Local Government Officials

Environmental incidents, events, and conditions that are not a matter of

record or have not been recorded by some means other than those previ‑

ously discussed may be disclosed by local officials most likely to have been

involved in or to have observed such matters These officials may be associ‑

ated with, but not be limited to, the following:

Local fire department

Local health agency (or regional health department)

Local hazardous waste disposal agency (or regional hazardous waste

management office)

Local environmental management agency

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In‑person interviews tend to involve the interviewee more, and there is

generally greater cooperation and interest Yet, visitation of each location is

not always practical, nor efficient, and the knowledgeable person may not

be easily reached In some cases, the knowledgeable person has retired or

moved Thus, these interviews are most often conducted by telephone

Neighbors

Residential neighbors generally notice strange activities on a property and

are more than happy to have someone to tell about their observations They

may also have noticed normal activities that created a situation for which

there appears no easy investigative tool, other than to interview someone

who knows For example, an investigator notices on a site visit that there is a

large mound of overgrown dirt on the premises A neighbor, having lived in

the area for more than twenty years, clarifies that the mound is nothing more

than the excess soil that resulted when the ground was leveled No further

investigation is indicated

In another example, the operator of an automotive repair shop located just

outside of town died of a coronary The property was leased, and the new

owner had a reputation for being a reclusive, spiteful old man He never had any

employees who might have known what he did with his waste oil Although the

neighbors maintained their distance from the man, they had not once observed

waste oil being hauled away The man had dug his own latrine, and the prop‑

erty is over sensitive groundwater Further investigation is indicated

On the other hand, neighboring businesses rarely notice activities on adja‑

cent properties, unless they are blatant For example, 80% of the occupants

in an office building complain of foul odors and eye and respiratory irrita‑

tion on days when the wind is blowing from the north The property site is

located on the north side of the building, and it houses an industrial activity

When the building management staff was interviewed, they volunteered the

above information Further investigation is indicated

Historians/Local Historical Societies

Most cities and towns have some form of historical records that are main‑

tained by a city librarian, a specially designated historic center, or an agency

already performing other functions (e.g., city planning department) They

generally attempt to collect historic records and information from the local

public Many of the items or records of historic value have been donated The

designated responsible person who maintains these records is an invalu‑

able source of information, and this person can oftentimes provide reference

source information as well For example, a fire insurance map indicates a

“filling station” dated 1887 Although cars were being produced at that time,

they were not being manufactured until the early 1910s The town historian

reviews some old records and discovers that the first automobile in this city

was in 1914 This historic tidbit rules out a gasoline station The question

remains, “Was the term ‘filling station’ a misprint or was a filling station

in the late 1800s something other than a gasoline station?” Do not assume

terms used in the 1800s have the same meaning as they do today Further

research may be necessary

Others

A shot in the dark—anything goes Now that the obvious sources have been

exhausted, locating an individual familiar with activities on the property

may be futile—unless one of the other interviews result in a name and means

for contacting someone who may be more knowledgeable about activities on

and/or around the property For example, the present owner says the previ‑

ous owner left town in a hurry The bank foreclosed on the property, which

was later purchased by the present owner The loan officer is identified and

interviewed He discloses that the previous owner appeared to be connected

with illegal dumping Newspaper reporters investigated, but nothing was

found Yet, he did disappear about the time the local residents began to

get suspicious This might lead the consultant to interview the newspaper

reporter who investigated the property And the list goes on

Summary

Interviews are an important part of the Phase I site assessment Questions develop

as an assessment nears completion Keep a list of these questions, and consoli‑

date the list The minimum interviews to be conducted are the following:

Present owner

Past owners

Site residents

Site personnel

Local government agencies

Additional parties to be interviewed that may provide pertinent informa‑

tion with minimal effort include the following:

Neighbors

Historians or local historical societies

Historians are sometimes more helpful than some of the others, and neigh‑

bors are an important source of unbiased information

The ultimate purpose is to identify possibilities and potentials for a site

to have become contaminated with hazardous materials, using the last

resource The interviews should be used as a catchall for information that

may have otherwise slipped through the cracks

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