Every commercial property holder is legally responsible for ensuring that their property is clean and safe. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the right to seek reimbursement from property owners responsible for releasing hazardous substances into the environment. This makes it essential for property buyers to get a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment before owning the new property.
Phase 1 ESA informs buyers whether the property is exposed to hazardous substances or not. This saves new buyers from the allegation and financial liabilities for clean-ups for which they are not responsible. A certified environmental agency conducts Phase 1 ESA which involves multiple steps. Having a clear idea about these steps helps you to prepare essential documents beforehand for accurate and smooth assessment. The following section of the blog explores the different steps of Phase 1 ESA for you.
The Essential Steps of Phase 1 ESA
The Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment includes a visual site assessment, a review of history, interviewing neighbors, and analyzing topographical maps. Even though the assessment varies from one site to another it follows a step-by-step process in general. Here are the essential steps of Phase 1 ESA that you must know.
1. Pre-Assessment Preparation
The pre-assessment includes mainly gathering information about the property and the neighboring areas from past records and government databases. It helps environmental professionals to understand how the land was used in the past, and how it has affected the property. This in turn helps them to understand the kind of hazards the property might have been exposed to. Additionally, it also helps to identify the present ecological concerns of the property.
Apart from reviewing historical data environmental professionals may also go through environmental regulation and zoning ordinances. It informs them whether the property has any current non-compliant issues at the local, state, or federal level.
2. Site Exploration
The next step of Phase 1 ESA is site exploration in person and documentation of observation through photographs and notes. A professional environmental professional would visit the site and visually inspect the property and surrounding industrial sites and waste disposable sites. Some of the important things they take into account are the presence of iridescent sheens from oil or chemicals, foul orders, soil degradation, and sewage buildups.
After visual inspection, they might decide to photograph and note down findings that are of ecological concern. These include chemical storage cans, excessive dirt accumulation, and so on. These notes and photographs would help in site investigation at the Phase 2 ESA level.
3. Interviews and Documentation
After the physical inspection, the environmental professionals would conduct interviews with previous inhibitors of the property. The interview questions include queries such as: how long they used the property? What type of activities were carried on? What impact it have on the environment? What sorts of substances are they used for industrial purposes and so on? These questions reveal important information that would help environmental professionals to understand the present environmental standing of the place.
4. Organization of Data and Analysis
At this step, environmental experts would compile all the data collected from the physical inspections, government databases, interviews, and compliance ordinances. After that, they would analyze the data to determine whether the site is already contaminated or not. If so they would suggest remediation measures accordingly.
5. Reporting and Suggestions
The last step involves reporting the data combined and analyzed and offering remedial guidance. The report mentions detailed accounts of findings and explanations as to what are the reasons for contaminations. Based on that, they would provide detailed guidance as to how to clean up the present site and suggestions for future activities.
Conclusion
The blog has discussed the step-by-step Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment ESA. It helps you to avoid the responsibility of site clean-ups for past land use and compliance hassles that you are not responsible for. Make sure you hire top environmental consulting services in Texas to ensure accurate and comprehensive assessment. Phase 1 ESA is cheaper than what you have to spend for clean-ups.