FAQs on environmental site assessments

Deciding to have an environmental site assessment is one of the best decisions any property owner can make. Who knows how many people prior to you owned a particular piece of land. Ideally everyone would conduct solid, environmentally-sound business practices but the fact of the matter is that your new business could be sitting on top of chemicals that have been in the ground for years. Motor oil, anti-freeze, toxic waste, who knows? It could be anything and without an environmental site assessment the ‘not knowing’ factor could cause many problems later. However, environmental site assessments are new to many people and as such they still have many questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked.

What happens if I don’t complete an environmental assessment?
The legal ramifications for owning an environmentally contaminated piece of property are extensive. Even if you had nothing to do with the initial contamination, it doesn’t matter. Now that it’s your property, you’re liable for all clean-up costs.


Do I have to pay for the clean-up if someone else contaminated the property?
Initially, yes. As the current owner of the property it’s your responsibility to comply with federal regulations requiring the clean-up. Afterward, it’s up to you to identify the person responsible and sue for compensation.


Is conducting an assessment mandatory by law?
No. However, in the event that you do not complete the assessment and are found to have environmentally damaging contaminates at a later date the clean-up can be costly (think million of dollars). It’s much more cost-effective to be preventative rather than reactive in this situation.


What is a Phase I assessment?
Phase I is a preliminary assessment that generally consists of researching the history of the property, possibly taking soil and groundwater samples, and determining the need for further testing. This is a non-invasive stage that takes roughly two weeks to complete.


What is a Phase II assessment?
If the Phase I test identified possible issues, then a Phase II test is conducted. This is a more in-depth analysis of the site including sub-surface soil and groundwater samples to determine the extent of the environmental issues. The degree of the sampling depends on the property itself and the possible presence of different contaminates.


What are the qualifications of the assessing agent? Can anyone do it?
Not just anyone can do it. A qualified environmental agent that conducts the assessment will have had proper on-the-job training as well as a college degree in a related field.