ESA Phase I & II Reports
An ESA (Environmental Site Assessment) Phase I is a review of potential environmental risks that may impact a property or a building. These are sometimes a requirement by lenders or banks in order to purchase a property. An ESA Phase I may also be a good option to determine if there are any existing environmental hazards that may be present on a property.
ESA Phase I are the first step in determining in environmental due diligence. If a site is found to have a possible REC (Recognized Environmental Condition), then an additional more intrusive investigation is recommended that may involve soil or water sampling through a ESA Phase II report.
What does a ESA Phase Report Consist of ?
What is the purpose?
An ESA phase report investigates potential environmental hazards on properties. This allows the owner to make a decision of whether further actions should occur in order to cleanup or prevent potential hazardous material from impacting the environment and people.
How is it conducted?
Research is conducted not only by a site investigation but also through conducting interviews of past owners, the owner, employees and reviewing past property documentation such as historical aerial photos to determine if there are potential environmental hazards present within the soil or water on the property.
What types of documents are researched?
Various types of documents may hold valuable information that can give insight to the condition of the property.
These documents may include:
Historical aerial photos
Regulatory databases that has evidence of past environmental spills or UST (Underground Storage Tanks) on the property.
Fire Insurance or historical maps
What happens if a recognized environmental condition is found or suspected at the site?
If there is a potential recognized environmental condition that is suspected on the property. Then it would be recommended that the client get an ESA Phase II Assessment.
What is the ESA Phase II Assessment?
An ESA Phase II assessment, is a more thorough site investigation to determine if there are potential environmental hazards. The assessment may include collecting soil and water samples that will be lab tested. Once the results have been determined by the lab, the environmental specialist will generate a new ESA assessment report with the findings.