Environmental Considerations for Real Estate

ASTM Standard E 1527-05, the standard by which all Environmental Professionals conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, is currently under review for revision and update. A significant revision in the works pertains to agency file reviews, and when they should be included. The current standard lends itself to subjectivity on the matter, with many consultants falling back on the "reasonably ascertainable" definition as justification for a change order to cover the additional expense of an...

A lot of the Phase I ESA's we perform are conducted as a result of a property purchase or lender risk management practice prior to financing/refinancing. However, requests from savvy business owners looking to acquire a competitor are also becoming popular. What I admire about the situation (hence the savvy compliment) is that the business owner isn't necessarily looking to acquire the property, just the business. So they're performing a Phase I ESA to establish a baseline condition...

The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is the most commonly associated assessment when considering environmental due dililgence for a commercial property transaction. However, there are several areas of interest that a prospective purchaser might want to consider, which are not included in the base scope of work for a Phase I ESA. The following non-scope issues might also be considered depending on the nature of the transaction and the age of the improvements on the site:

• Asbestos Containing...

Don't miss our upcoming webinar focused on Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. Follow the link below for a schedule of all upcoming webinars:

http://www.augustmack.com/Webinars/Index.html

I recently presented a webinar on environmental due diligence for commercial property transaction. In case you missed it, there was a discussion of three of the more common environmental site assessments we commonly conduct:

1. Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
2. Modified Phase I (MP-1)
3. Records Search with Risk Assessment (RSRA)

Each is a valuable tool that can be used in a commercial property transaction. The Phase I ESA is probably the most familiar, as it was formalized to comply with the USEPA's...

The purpose of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (or lesser level of due diligence assessment) is to identify Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) associated with a site. An REC is defined in ASTM E1527-05 as:

The presence or likely presence of any hazaradous 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 any hazardous substances or petroleum products into structures on the...

Check out this very intertesting story on how commonly known information plays a very signifcant role in conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments:

http://commonground.edrnet.com/posts/25703b439d

I get a lot of questions regarding the "shelf life" of a Phase I ESA, when it can be updated, what parts have to be updated, etc. I thought I would reference the ASTM standard in an effort to clarify. Section 4.6 of ASTM E1527-05 (Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments; Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process) discusses the continued viability of an environmental site assessment:

"An environmental site assessement meeting or exceeding this practice and completed less than 180...

We see a lot of requests from financial institutions for environmental assessments for Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans. The SBA's environmental policy is outlined in its Standard Operation Procedures (SOP 50-10-5(D)). The first step of the environmental investigation is to determine if the site operations have a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that matches one of the SBA's published list of environmentally sensitive NAICS codes. If so, a Phase I...

Optimism among small business owners = increased SBA lending:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45827467/

August Mack has extensive experience in conducting environmental assessments in accordance with SBA Standard operating procedures. From a Records Search with Risk Assessment (RSRA), to a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, and all the way through a Phase 2 Investigation, we can help ensure a smooth environmental process for your SBA backed loans.

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