Due Diligence

Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA)

A Phase I ESA is generally performed on behalf of a buyer, seller, broker or lender who is involved in the purchase, sale or lease of a property. A lender will typicially require a Phase I ESA in order to assure that properties do not possess recognized environmental conditions that could either diminish the value of the property, affect the ability of the borrower to repay a loan, or to establish a baseline to allocate responsibility for possible remediation costs.

The goal of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is to identify recognized environmental conditions as defined by ASTM Standard E1527-13. The term “recognized environmental conditions” is defined by the ASTM Standard as:

“The presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at a property: (1) due to any release to the environment; (2) under conditions indicative of a release to the environment; or (3) under conditions that pose a material threat of a future release to the environment.”

The presence of recognized environmental conditions can be further evaluated by the performance of Phase II ESA activities, which may include groundwater sampling, soil sampling, or characterization of waste materials. Patriot Environmental Management offers the flexibility of performing Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment activities concurrently to save time and expense.

Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment activities qualify a potential buyer or seller of a property for defense as an “innocent landowner” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). This Act mandates that the buyer or seller has performed an appropriate level of due diligence in an attempt to identify existing environmental conditions at the subject property.