The cost of Phase II Environmental Site Assessment varies depending on the complexities involved in the assessment. Moreover, the results of the Phase I ESA also play a critical role in the cost estimation. Since environmental site assessment involves expenses, many businesses tend to overlook due diligence. But, overlooking such an important aspect leads to compliance issues for your business. Moreover, it may attract some hefty penalties or other violations from the governing authorities.
When Phase I ESA gets completed successfully, it is time to gear up for the Phase II ESA. The most crucial thing at the beginning of the Phase II ESA is cost assessment. A well-planned approach ensures that the procedure gets completed at a reasonable budget.
An Overview of Phase 2 ESA
When Phase-1 ESA identifies potentially hazardous substances, the Phase-2 ESA becomes crucial. The procedure involves a few subsurface investigations to determine the degree of environmental and health risks involved in a particular industrial or commercial property. Such subsurface investigations include the following things:
- Reviewing geographical conditions and historical site use.
- Drilling and collecting samples (soil, groundwater, etc.)
- Lab analysis to understand the degree of hazard.
- Result evaluation to prepare recommendations.
- Recommendation of additional investigations not covered under Phase 2 ESA.
Factors That Influence Phase 2 ESA Cost
Many factors may influence the overall expenses of the Phase-II Environmental Site Assessment. In the following section, let us find a quick guide on the factors that can increase or reduce the cost of the procedure.
1. Scope
Scope is the most important aspect of Phase II ESA. The scope is determined depending on the concerns raised during Phase-I ESA. Furthermore, the scope depends on multiple factors as discussed in the following section.
- The property’s compliance status with federal and state environmental regulations.
- The size and degree of contamination in the property.
- The historical uses of the property (Like industrial land, agricultural land, etc.)
- Inspecting the presence of underground storage tanks and drums.
2. Site Characteristics and Accessibility
Site accessibility has a significant impact on the cost since large sites posing challenges in accessibility require more equipment support. It is obvious that the overall assessment cost rises in such cases. Moreover, specialized drilling equipment is required for the areas with topographical issues.
Additionally, the size of the site for assessment is also a crucial factor that influences the process cost. For example, a large site assessment cost will be higher than assessing a site of a smaller size. In the case of a larger site, you need to drill more holes to take samples. Nevertheless, the experts need to spend more time in fieldwork. All these things contribute to a higher expense.
3. Subsurface Composition
The subsurface composition is also a critical factor in the cost of conducting Phase-II ESA. For example, the cost will be higher when the subsurface composition consists of stones and rocks. This is because drilling into the stones and rocks will be more time-consuming and extensive compared to drilling on the subsurface composition made of dirt, soil, and sand.
4. Range and Type of Contamination
The cost of the Phase-2 Environmental Site Assessment further depends on the range and type of contamination. When the contamination is widespread on the site, the cost of the assessment will be higher.
5. Soil Sampling
Soil sampling is a common practice in Phase II environmental site assessment since it helps understand the extent of the potential contamination. The overall process cost depends on the number of soil samples that have been taken. At the same time, the cost also varies depending on the soil sampling collection methods.
6. Groundwater Sampling
There is no difference in the purpose of soil sampling and groundwater sampling. Besides helping in understanding the extent of potential contamination, groundwater sampling helps in identifying flow direction. The cost will rise depending on the number of monitoring well installations.
Conclusion
So, these are some of the crucial factors that can influence the overall cost of Phase II ESA to a large extent. Consult a professional environmental site assessment provider for a seamless due diligence report. Due diligence at Projexiv Environmental ensures maintaining compliance with precision. We also ensure a cost-effective Phase-1 and Phase-2 ESA to our clients.