Environmental Site Assessments Environmental risks can have significant impact on the viability and credit quality of your real estate property transactions. The goal of Capitol Environmental in completing an environmental site assessment (ESA) is to help you understand the risks completely in a clear and unambiguous manner. Our experts can perform an environmental site assessment that will alert you of any potential environmental risks in a timely manner, thus freeing you to concentrate on the financial and business aspects of the associated transaction. Capitol Environmental ESA services can include:
Capitol Environmental advice to all individuals, companies and corporations nationwide, is that negotiations for real estate transactions should not proceed without, at a minimum, a properly executed Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. Our Phase I ESAs incorporate but not limited too, ASTM Standard E-1527-00 and E-1528-00. In 1980, Congress signed into law the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act, commonly known as the Superfund act or CERCLA, with emphasis on the 'Liability" part. One of the purposes of Superfund is to assign financial blame for the cleanup of a chemical spill. But Superfund does not care if the spill occurred prior to 1980. This is known as 'retroactive liability'. The spill could have happened 30 years ago, but if the spill is discovered while you are the owner, then you may be held financially responsible for the cleanup. DEFINITIONS OF ESA PHASES A complete Environmental Site Assessment can involve three Phases, depending upon the size, type, construction and location of the property; the past and present intended use(s) of the property; and availability and access to complete records. PHASE I ELEMENTS A Phase I ESA determines, for a parcel of real estate, the "recognized environmental conditions." That is, the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products on a property under conditions that indicate an existing release, a past release, or a material threat of a release of the substance(s) into structures on the property, or into the ground, groundwater, or surface water of the property. It does this by accomplishing due diligence in:
PHASE II ELEMENTS Based on a properly executed Phase I report advising a Phase II report, a Phase II shall consist of:
PHASE III ELEMENTS Based on a properly executed Phase II report, a Phase III shall consist of:
FACTORS WHICH CAN AFFECT THE EXTENT OF AN ESA In some cases, completion of Phase I may result in an ESA which is comprehensive enough to adequately assess environmental risks. For example, Phases II and III may not be necessary if available site information is adequate or if environmental risks are satisfactorily addressed by an indemnification. If more than one phase is conducted, the phases would logically occur in a sequential fashion, with information obtained from each phase used to better define the scope of work in the next phase. However, the schedule for completing the real estate transaction may require that several phases be conducted simultaneously. CONFIDENTIALITY The Phase I report is confidential and remains the property of the client. An ESA is confidential and privileged if developed in anticipation of possible litigation. Accordingly, all parties involved in the performance and review of an ESA must take appropriate steps to protect the unauthorized disclosure of confidential and/or privileged information. The degree to which an ESA is conducted will vary according to the environmental concerns identified for each real estate transaction and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the site is located. However, all ESAs must be comprehensive enough so that environmental risks are properly considered in any business decision involving the real estate transaction. Additional Services
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