At Enviro Probe Inc. our goal is to assist our clients in their business risk decisions by providing a wide array of environmental and engineering services. We are confident in saying we will become a valued service provider to your organization. Our dedication to customer satisfaction is the reason for our overwhelming success.
ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS
Enviro Probe provides Environmental Site Assessment consulting services for all types of commercial property transactions.
Enviro Probe’s Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) (ASTM E1527 - 13 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process) is a comprehensive non-invasive Property Transaction Assessments. The Phase I ESA includes comprehensive research into the current conditions, historical conditions and regulatory status of a property and nearby sites to determine if environmental conditions at a site have been impacted by on-site or off-site sources. The practice is designed to define good commercial and customary practice for conducting an environmental site assessment of a parcel of commercial real estate with respect to the range of contaminants within the scope of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and petroleum products. The Phase I ESA permits a user to satisfy one of the requirements to qualify for the innocent landowner defense to CERCLA liability: that is, the practices that constitute "all appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership and uses of the property consistent with good commercial or customary practice" as defined by federal law. The Practice also complies with the "all appropriate inquiry" standards established under the Brownfields Law (assessments conducted by entities with the use of Brownfields grants awarded under CERCLA). The SBA and other lenders require a Phase I ESA for Environmentally Sensitive Operations Past or Present and for generally larger project sizes.
The Phase I ESA includes.
Site Visit
Inspection of the Site by an Experienced Environmental Professional
Historical Research
Historical Aerial Photographs
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
City Directories
Building Permits
Planning Records
Topographical Maps
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
Title Information
Geology and Hydrogeology
Soil Type
Geological Setting
Groundwater Depth
Regulatory Research
Fire Departments
State Environmental Agencies
Federal Environmental Agencies
Local Fire Departments
Interviews and Document Review
Interview Owners, Users and tenants
Interview State and Local Regulators
Prior Reports
Site Surveys, Drawings, Maps
The Phase I ESA scope of work and report format may be tailored to meet the needs of our clients and may include additional scope items (Over and above ASTM standards) such as asbestos, mold, lead-based paint, radon, endangered species, historical landmarks and water quality assessments.
Enviro Probe’s Transaction Screen (ASTM E1528 - 06 Standard Practice for Limited Environmental Due Diligence: Transaction Screen Process) also includes research into the current conditions, historical conditions and regulatory status of a property and nearby sites to determine if environmental conditions at a site have been impacted by on-site or off-site sources. The Transaction Screen investigation is less comprehensive than a Phase I ESA and is often used by lenders as a screening tool for environmental issues on properties that involve a lower level of security interest. By definition, the Transaction Screen practice is not intended to permit a user to satisfy any of the requirements to qualify for the innocent landowner defense to CERCLA liability and does not comply with the "all appropriate inquiry" standards established under the Brownfields Law.
A Transaction Screen is not intended for Not for Environmentally Sensitive Operations Past or Present. Many of our clients use a Transaction Screen revisit a property that has had a clean Phase I ESA to determine the current status.
Enviro Probe’s provides Tier I Screening for Vapor Encroachment (ASTM E2600 - 10 Standard Guide for Vapor Encroachment Screening on Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions) as part of our Phase I ESA.
Enviro Probe’s Records Search Risk Assessment (RSRA) is conducted per the Small Business Association (SBA) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) SOP 550 10 5 (F) dated January 1, 2015. The RSRA includes (1) a search of the government databases identified I 40 CFR 312.26 for an AAI compliant Phase I as well as a search of historical use records (For example, aerial photography, historical topography maps, city directories, reverse directories and/or fire insurance maps). (2) a risk assessment by an Environmental Professional based on the results of the records search as to whether the Property is either “Low risk” or “Elevated risk” or “High Risk” for contamination.
An RSRA is a preliminary assessment with very limited due diligence and is not intended for Environmentally Sensitive Operations Past or Present; Includes records review by Environmental Professional but no site visit. When a RSRA report comes back with High Risk, SBA requires that the
lender must then proceed to a Phase I. Enviro Probe credits the cost of the RSRA towards the cost of a Phase I so that the borrower isn't paying twice (if Enviro probe has performed the RSRA and the Phase I)