Environmental risk management is becoming more important and common in the real estate transactions/property transfer process .RJLG follows the ASTM phased-approach to environmental site assessments. 

As an Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) provider, RJLG provides our clients with the total package. We can manage ESAs from cradle to grave, from site assessment to remediation.  Our Environmental Professionals are highly skilled and their credentials exceed the terms of the applicable standards.

RJLG performs Phase I, II, and III ESAs on sites ranging from vacated small parcels of land to large real estate ventures on for a number of diverse clientele.  ESAs are often associated with due diligence involving real estate transactions. RJLG performs ESAs in accordance with ASTM E1527.   Our Environmental Professionals are highly skilled and their qualifications meet the terms of the applicable standard.  Thus our clients automatically reduce their risk 100-fold.

ESA Background

In 1980, Congress signed into law the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund act, which regards contaminants within the scope of CERCLA and petroleum product on commercial property.  The focus is placed on “liability”. The primary purposes of Superfund are to determine whether the land has recognized environmental conditions and to assign financial costs of cleanup to the responsible parties.

A major defense to becoming financially responsible for an environmental cleanup is known as the ‘innocent landowner’ defense. The essence of the innocent landowner defense is that the prospective buyer makes an “all appropriate inquiry” into the subject property. By definition this means that the party invoking the innocent landowner defense “must take, at the time of acquisition, all appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership and uses of the property with good commercial or customary practice”.

“All appropriate inquiry” begins with what is known as a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. An ESA, at a minimum, must meet the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard E1527 "Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments." 

A Phase I ESA includes all of the following:

• Search of Federal, State, and Local Lists – a fifty-year title search, aerial photographs and fire insurance maps are involved. Regulatory databases and surrounding properties are also included in the inquiry to determine whether contamination may have migrated onto the subject property from a neighboring property.
• Thorough Site Investigation – this entails a visual and physical inspection of the exteriors and interiors of all structures on the property and recording of the site setting, evidence of hazardous substances in and around the property, current and past uses of the property and adjoining properties, and any avenues for the migration of hazardous substances. Main indicators of environmental contamination include odors, standing pools, containers, corrosion, stained soils, stressed vegetation, waste piles, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, possible lead-based paint, and bulging or subsiding areas on the property
• Data from Interviews – This involves obtaining ‘specialized knowledge’ about the property from parties such as present and former owners and managers and local government officials
• Preparation of a Conclusive Report – this report must clearly state if there are recognized environmental conditions

Based upon the results of the Phase I ESA, a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment may be recommended to assess the potential and extent of contamination. Abiding by ASTM E1903, “Standard Guide for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Process”, RJLG can accurately verify the findings of the Phase I through sampling and analysis of soil and/or groundwater.

A Phase II ESA may include one or more of the following:

• Asbestos surveys
• Container (drum) sampling
• Geophysical surveys for buried tanks and drums
• Groundwater monitoring well installation, sampling, and analysis
• Lead paint surveys
• Precision testing of underground storage tanks (USTs)
• Sampling of dry wells, floor drains, and catch basins
• Subsurface soil borings
• Superficial soil and water samples
• Transformer/capacitor sampling and wipe tests for PCBs

Phase III ESA - Remediation Management

If it is analytically conclusive that contamination exists, RJLG can provide expert consulting in full-scale remediation efforts.