Environmental Site Assessment

Environmental Site Assessments are performed prior to property transfer or the closing of industrial and commercial real-estate transactions to determine if recognized environmental conditions exist on a subject property.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA)
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is the gold standard for evaluating the environmental liability associated with a real estate asset.  A Phase I ESA is used to identify actual and potential environmental concerns and contamination at a Site which may impact the property value or affect claim to an “innocent land owner” exemption following acquisition. American Environmental performs ESAs in accordance with the most recent American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 1527-05, Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessment.

Financial institutions frequently require that a Phase I ESA be conducted to accomplish this task. This assessment will provide you with information to assist in making an informed business decision. Overlooking this concern can cost you substantial future environmental expenditures, even if you did not create or contribute to the contamination.
American Environmental Phase I ESA includes:

• A review of historical and current environmental records and documentation pertaining to the Site, including review of Sanborn Insurance Maps, aerial photos and USGS 7.5′ topographical maps;
• Regulatory records review, including Federal, State, Local and Tribal records concerning the property and the neighboring properties;
• Performance of an on-site visit to view present conditions and evaluate any likely environmentally hazardous site history;
• Evaluation of risks of neighboring properties upon the subject property;
• Interview of persons knowledgeable regarding the property history (past owners, present owner, key site manager, present tenants, neighbors);
• Professional report, including conclusions and recommendations concerning the property, based on our professional judgment and findings.

American Environmental is well versed in numerous, lender-specific scopes of work. Our ESAs include extensive documentation of a property’s environmental condition, providing resolution of detected recognized environmental conditions and, when necessary, recommendations to bring these conditions to closure.

• Property Overview Assessments
• ASTM Compliant Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Transaction Screen Questionnaires
• Client/Lender Specific Phase I Formats
• Due Diligence Environmental Audits and Transaction Screening
• Environmental Inspections
• Risk Assessments
• Environmental Impact Statements