5 Facts About Environmental Site Assessments

5 Facts About Environmental Site Assessments

In terms of due diligence, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) are vital requirements for investors or developers purchasing commercial or industrial properties. Without the benefit of a Phase I SEA, the discovery of adverse environmental conditions after the purchase of a property can potentially leave the new owner fully responsible for decontamination or remediation.

Basics of environmental site assessments

This short blog post explains five basic facts about Phase I and II ESAs, which should be particularly helpful to novice commercial property buyers.

The basic standard for a Phase I SEA is ASTM E1527-13, which was approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late 2013. Property buyers who wish to reduce CERCLA's liability for contamination They must ensure that any phase I ESA meets this standard.

The basic elements of a Phase I SEA include:

A review of the property registry, which generally includes:

Title string review

Surrounding land use review

Review of all existing aerial photography records

Search agency files

A visual inspection of the site.

Interviews with anyone who may have relevant information on the site.

Completion of a detailed ESA report

Phase II SEAs are physical investigations of the subsoil carried out when contamination tests are identified during Phase I SEAs. In some cases, the investigations may focus on contaminants other than those revealed by the inspection of the sub -ground.

A phase II SEA involves the sampling and analysis of elements such as soil, soil vapor, groundwater, waste or indoor air, based on the results of the phase assessment I.

Performance in evaluation results

Buyers of commercial properties who perform Phase I and II SEAs may require the owner to clean up or lower the offer price based on repair cost estimates (assuming evidence is published). contamination). responsible for cleaning up hazardous materials after purchasing commercial property. Find out all the environmental issues before the fact with an environmental assessment of the ATC site.  Read More - site assessment services