Property transactions involving commercial and some residential properties frequently require 'Environmental Site Assessments'- ESA's or Phase 1's. These assessments are the key to satisfying the "innocent landowner's" defense referenced in the Federal law entitled "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980" for contaminated properties. Without performing this assessment, large-scale liabilities could be taken on by any buyer of contaminated property. Depending on the level of contamination, the remediation costs involved with the clean up could surpass the value of the property.
In the United States versus Fleet Factors Corp. (No. CV687-070 12/22/88), the Court ruled that the CERCLA statute imposes liability on a broad range of "potentially liable parties" including current "owners and operators" of facilities that release hazardous substances and those that owned/operated at the time of disposal. The bottom line of the case was that lenders (banks, mortgage companies, brokers, etc.) could be held responsible for the environmental contamination caused by businesses they had relationships with. This responsibility is magnified when the business becomes non-liquid, i.e. bankrupt.
To satisfy the CERCLA innocent landowner's defense, a buyer must perform an ESA in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Practice #E1527-97. An environmental professional must do this.
An ESA identifies recognizable environmental conditions such as the presence of hazardous substances and/or petroleum products that indicate an existing or historical release to the ground, groundwater, or surface water. An ESA typically has the following elements:
Depending on the level of complexity, ESA's typically run from $1500 to $5000.
Sun Environmental can not only perform ESA's using environmental professionals with many years of experience, but it can also do asbestos and lead-paint testing.
What experience does Sun Environmental have in these Phase 1's?
Sun Environmental staff environmental professionals have performed Phase 1's for the largest aircraft manufacturer in New York, with leased properties all over the country. This includes truck-manufacturing sites in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California. Additionally, Phase 1's have been done for various commercial and residential properties throughout the New York City metropolitan area.
Our staff includes NYS Licensed Professional Engineers and a highly trained support staff.