A Phase I ESA Can Help You Have Peace of Mind

Usually, a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) should be carried out prior to purchasing or renting an industrial/commercial use property to eliminate potential environmental liability. Should a buyer of residential properties also request a Phase I ESA? For many cases, the answer can be no. However, a Phase I ESA can greatly reduce the potential environmental liability for the buyers, especially, when you purchase the following types of properties:

• A property adjacent to a gas station, a dry cleaner or a transmission station
• A property close to a waste management facility or a landfill
• The house on the property that could have been heated using liquid fuels from an above ground tank (AST) or an under ground tank (UST).
• A property located in an area that could have been used for industrial/commercial purposes in history
• The property formerly used as a waste management facility, a railway yard, a dryer cleaner or a manufacturing facility.

A phase I ESA may be able to find an onsite drain backfilled with potentially contaminated debris during the house construction based on the review of air maps, a piece of pipe that might have been connected to a former UST in the basement of a property through a site visit, or a house built on a former rail yard or a waste management site based on the review of historical reports.

A Phase I ESA may bring you the peace of mind.

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.