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Method of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments

Phase I Assessment is the standard way that potential property buyers, lenders, investors, owners and managers environmental liability is protected and controlled. An ESA essentially establishes that they have performed their due diligence.

Environmental site assessment is a report prepared for a real estate holding that identifies potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities. The analysis, often called an ESA, typically addresses both the underlying land as well as physical improvements to the property. A proportion of contaminated sites are "brownfield sites." In severe cases, brownfield sites may be added to the National Priorities List where they will be subject to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program....read more at - Wikipedia.org.

What's included in a Phase I ESA?

Rules and regulations

Regulations governing operations that can affect the environment fall under both federal and provincial jurisdiction, and differ from region to region. The rules for establishing liability for contamination can be complicated and time consuming. “You don’t want to be in a position where you have to pursue a vendor after a sale,” says LaBossière. “You want to be able to tell a vendor that the property must be cleaned up before you purchase it.”

Environmental insurance

Once you buy a property, LaBossière recommends that you purchase environmental insurance if there is a chance your operations could cause contamination (if, for instance, you operate fuel tanks or a paint shop on a property). Nevertheless, the best strategy is preventing contamination by working to limit the impact of your business on the environment. This includes ensuring safe management of hazardous substances, safe storage and leak prevention, and proper waste disposal...to know more, visit - bdc.ca.

Some of the areas of investigation include:

A thorough review of historical records of the property, including historical aerial photographs, fire insurance mapping (maps, usually older, of most of the US showing what properties contained in the past, such as buildings, fuel tanks, etc.), and historical topographic mapping.

A thorough review of readily available government environmental records of the property, such as for spills, releases to the environment, fuel tank registrations, hazardous material manifests, environmental records, etc.

Interviews with current and past property occupants as might be obtainable, as well as others who might be able to shed light onto past or present uses of the property...read more at - rmagreen.com.

Environmental insurance

Once you buy a property, LaBossière recommends that you purchase environmental insurance if there is a chance your operations could cause contamination (if, for instance, you operate fuel tanks or a paint shop on a property). Nevertheless, the best strategy is preventing contamination by working to limit the impact of your business on the environment. This includes ensuring safe management of hazardous substances, safe storage and leak prevention, and proper waste disposal...to know more, visit - bdc.ca.

The following information is collected during the phase I assessment:

Records review - All state and federal environmental records will be reviewed to identify any contaminated sites in the vicinity of the property.

Physical setting - This review will include identification of all physical characteristics of the property including geologic and topographic conditions.

Property uses - All historic uses of the property and adjacent properties will be identified and all recorded land and title information will be collected back to original development or 1940 whichever is earlier

Site reconnaissance - The property and adjacent properties will be observed visually and physically. All evidence of current and historical facilities and uses will be documented.

Interviews - Owners and occupants or adjacent property owners and occupants will be interviewed to obtain information about the recognized environmental conditions in connection with the property.

Environmental assessments are important in helping buyers and sellers understand just how safe a property is. If you're considering purchasing a residential or commercial property, and you want the peace of mind of such an assessment, you should take the help of an environmental consulting group soon.