Common Sources of Potential Contamination Discovered on a Residential Property

Not many people realize that contamination may be present on a residential property, too. Contamination to a residential property can be resulted from:

• Leaking fuel storage tanks either above ground or underground and the associated piping systems;
• Spills resulting from over filling of the fuel storage tanks;
• Leaking sewer lines near or across a property;
• Failed onsite septic systems;
• Leaking from cars on nearby streets, cars on driveways or diesel powered lawnmowers;
• Potential contamination transported from nearby contaminated facilities such as a gas station with leaking USTs, an automobile garage with the surficial spills, a transformer station with a leaking transformer, an old urban landfill without liners, a badly managed waste management facility, a former dry cleaner, an abandoned section of rail tracks, etc.;
• Potential contamination from the former industrial land use of the property such as a former railway station, a place for stockpiling of treated wood, a former machine manufacturing facility, a former dry cleaner, a former clothing manufacturing plant, a former printing facility, an old fuel tank farm, an abandoned retail gas station, a former fire range, a former junkyard, etc.;
• Contaminated backfill brought to the site during house construction or landscaping; and
• More.

According to a radio broadcast, petroleum contamination leaked from a fuel storage tank in a backyard of a house situated by Rideau River several years ago. The owner living in the house woke up at the midnight by loud noises from the heavy machines operated by an emergency response crew arriving at her premise. She had to leave her home right away due to the safety concern. It took months to complete the site remediation.

Potential environmental liability screening and Phase I Environmental Assessment are able to identify most of these potential contamination sources as such reduce the levels of potential environmental liability of a buyer at a minimum cost. It can also help current property owners to assess the potential environmental liability prior to putting their houses on the market. Any unanticipated delay of the sale or devaluation of the property due to the potential contamination on the property could be a major blow for a current owner.

The true environmental conditions can be determined by a Phase II ESA that typically consists of borehole drilling and soil and groundwater sampling.

Disclaimer: The information published in this blog is based on author’s personal knowledge and experience and is provided to readers as references only. The environmental conditions and requirements of regulations could vary from site to site. As such, readers should seek professional advices from a consultant who is familiar with the site conditions when readers address their environmental concerns. The authors of the blogs and GreenRideau Environmental Solutions Inc. are not responsible for any losses or damages resulted from either direct or indirect uses of the information provided in the blogs published on www.greenrideau.com.