§ 137.45 Interviews with past and present owners, operators, and occupants.

(a) Interviews with owners, operators, and occupants of the facility and the real property on which the facility is located must be conducted for the purposes of achieving the objectives and performance factors of § 137.30(a) and (b).

(b) The inquiry of the environmental professional must include interviewing the current owner and occupant of the facility and the real property on which the facility is located. If the facility and the real property on which the facility is located has multiple occupants, the inquiry of the environmental professional must include interviewing major occupants, as well as those occupants likely to use, store, treat, handle or dispose of oil or those who have likely done so in the past.

(c) The inquiry of the environmental professional also must include, to the extent necessary to achieve the objectives and performance factors in § 137.30(a) and (b), interviewing one or more of the following persons:

(1) Current and past facility and real property managers with relevant knowledge of uses and physical characteristics of the facility and the real property on which the facility is located.

(2) Past owners, occupants, or operators of the facility and the real property on which the facility is located.

(3) Employees of current and past occupants of the facility and the real property on which the facility is located.

(d) In the case of inquiries conducted at abandoned properties where there is evidence of potential unauthorized uses or evidence of uncontrolled access, the environmental professional's inquiry must include an interview of at least one owner or occupant of a neighboring property from which it appears possible that the owner or occupant of the neighboring property could have observed use or other presence or likely presence of oil.