Environmental Assessments
Download your ESA Order Form here
Introduction
Environmental laws state that any lender or prospective owner that takes title
to a property with recognized environmental conditions (such as the presence of
petroleum products or hazardous materials that could indicate the release, past
release, or spill of environmental contaminants) may assume responsibility or
liability for cleanup and remediation of the site regardless of what or who
caused the environmental condition. Without question, having a thorough
due diligence Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) conducted prior to any
commercial or industrial real estate transaction is a wise business
decision. The Phase I ESA allows the owner or bank to claim "Innocent
Landowner" defense provided by U.S. law. Applied Environmental
conducts environmental site assessments in accordance to standards set forth by
the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Transaction Screen
Conducted in accordance to ASTM standards, a Transaction Screen (TS) is
valuable when a full Phase I ESA is not required, or when a loan amount is below
the threshold that triggers a Phase I ESA requirement. Similar in nature
to but less involved than the Phase I ESA, a TS includes a physical inspection,
limited historical and regulatory investigations, and interviews with
appropriate persons to evaluate any environmental issues. Transaction
Screens are completed quickly and are relatively inexpensive.
Phase I ESA
Conducted in accordance to ASTM Standard
E1527, a Phase I ESA is typically required for transactions involving commercial
and industrial properties or any other property having a known history of use
that may have caused recognized environmental conditions, or because of onsite
impacts caused by events on adjacent properties. Our thorough investigations
include a detailed site description, physical setting review (historic aerial
photo review, interviews, etc.) and a site reconnaissance visit. A comprehensive
review of local, state and federal environmental databases is conducted. Based
on the results of a Phase I ESA study, a Phase II ESA may be required.
Phase II ESA
If environmental conditions are
identified during a Phase I ESA, additional data must be collected. Phase II ESA
work is tailored specifically to the environmental condition identified. The
objective of the Phase II ESA is to determine if existing site conditions
require further action in the form of monitoring or environmental remediation.
Applied Environmental provides a detailed report describing the work performed
and recommends remedial action, where appropriate.
Phase III ESA
Environmental remediation
activities are extremely variable and tailored specifically to every situation.
Because of this variability, the ASTM has not developed a standard practice.
However, the ASTM Committee D-18 recommends guidelines that should be followed.
In each case, Applied Environmental assembles a multi-disciplined team of
professional scientists and engineers that develops a comprehensive approach to
solving the problem.
Environmental Audit
When company management
understands their applicable level of compliance to federal, state and local
environmental regulations, compliance issues can be corrected before
environmental degradation and enforcement actions occur. The Environmental Audit
process can focus on one or many environmental issues, including air quality,
drinking water, wastewater, oil and petroleum, hazardous materials, toxic
substances and special pollutants.
Where to Begin
To request a Transaction Screen or Phase I ESA, please call our toll free
number at 1-877-949-2500, or print out our ESA Order Form
by clicking here.
Fax the completed form back to us at 260-749-2573 to get
started.
