Commercial Real Estate (CRE) professionals call us looking for Environmental Data Resources all the time — the databases, records, and professional judgment that tell you whether a property carries hidden contamination risk before you buy, sell, or finance it. We’re happy to be your trusted environmental resource, on-call to answer questions and help with strategy. We can’t do our jobs without data resources of our own: some are databases of known contamination we purchase from accredited third parties, others are the years of experience our staff has in the field. This guide is the data-source companion to our broader overview of environmental record search risk-reduction options — start there for the full menu of due-diligence products, then come back here for what’s actually inside the data.
Environmental Data Resources: Data Reports
We prepare three flavors of environmental database report for CRE professionals. They sit at different price-points and are used in different circumstances. All draw on the same underlying environmental data resources — regulatory and historical records — and what changes is how much professional interpretation comes attached.
Environmental Screen (ES) without Interpretation — $250
This screen is a basic, high-level review of known contamination tracked by Federal, State, County, and Municipal regulators. It’s like reading the headlines of a newspaper. It comes with a map plotting contamination source-points in a 1/4 mile radius around the subject property, with distances in feet. Environmental Screens go by many names because they are not an industry standard. In the environmental consulting business we work to the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). They’re also called Environmental Radius Reports, Environmental Database Reports (EDR), and Desktop Environmental Reports. If you want to see exactly what comes back in one of these data pulls, our walkthrough of the First Search environmental database report (EDR) breaks it down field by field.
These Environmental Database Reports answer a lot of questions but not all of them. Like all environmental data resources, they often need interpretation by environmental professionals before the information becomes actionable.
Environmental Screen with Professional Interpretation — $250
This is the exact same data pull as the one above, except one of our scientists interprets it to explain the significance to your property. It’s difficult to know whether a contamination issue is “open” — still active with a regulatory agency — or “closed.” We read the environmental data resources behind the report and tell you whether the contamination impacts your property and whether you should be concerned. That single distinction can swing a deal by six figures.
ASTM Standard Environmental Database Report with Professional Interpretation — $375
This environmental database report matches the ASTM standard for Phase I ESAs. Unlike the options above, it’s both the headlines and the stories behind each environmental issue affecting the subject property and surrounding parcels — the full set of government records, city directories, and historical sources within a 1/4 mile radius. Add topographic maps and the price is $415; either version takes about five business days. If your property later needs reports supplied to a commercial financer, this is the same product we’d need for that purpose, so you won’t buy two. Curious how vendors set raw database pricing? Our breakdown of what an EDR report costs explains where the money goes.
Environmental Data Resources: Where the Data Comes From
Environmental data resources are only as good as their sources. Most environmental data is technically public, but it’s strewn across dozens — sometimes hundreds — of separate federal, state, and local repositories, so we buy curated, accredited datasets rather than cobble together free searches. Two companies lead the field: ERIS and EDR; we prefer ERIS, which sells only to consultants with an account. Underneath any report, the data falls into a few categories: government regulatory records, historic city directories, fire insurance maps, aerial photographs, and topographic maps that hint at how groundwater flows. Reading those layers together is where the professional judgment lives.
Environmental Data Resources: Professional Advice
Databases of environmental contamination are a great start, but what you usually want is solid advice on what the data means. Our most valuable environmental data resources are people: A3 Environmental Consultants senior staff is available to talk through your environmental challenges and provide strategies that fit your goals.
Certified Professional Geologists
We have three Certified Professional Geologists (P.G.) on staff, each with roughly 20 years of experience finding and remediating contamination. One is a due-diligence professional, one handles industrial remediation, and one focuses on mold, asbestos, and lead. CRE professionals often have strategy questions when a property is contaminated — from both the buy side and the sell side — and our team is here to answer them.
Alisa Allen, P.G. — $150 / hr. Alisa’s specialty is due diligence for commercial real estate transactions, working for buyers and sellers alike. Often our seller-side consulting means defending a seller against a hyper-critical third-party consultant.
David McCoy, P.G. — $135 / hr. David’s specialty is remediation of heavily impacted industrial sites, with 20 years performing remediation for electric and gas utilities.
Patrick Hook, P.G. — $135 / hr. Patrick specializes in asbestos, lead, and mold, with 16 years of experience and work in all 50 states.
Environmental Resources: Boots on the Ground
A3E Map of Resources
One of our finest qualities is the people we work with. Click through the map above to find the environmental professionals we partner with across the country. If you’d like to join us as a resource for projects, you can sign up here.
An A3E Data Pull in Action
On a recent commercial acquisition in Peoria, Illinois (40.6936°N, 89.5890°W), a CRE broker asked A3 Environmental Consultants to run our environmental data resources on a former automotive parcel before listing it. Our $250 environmental screen flagged a leaking underground storage tank one parcel upgradient — an open state release within the 1/4 mile radius that the seller hadn’t disclosed because they didn’t know it existed. Reviewed by an A3E Professional Geologist (P.G.), the data let the broker price the listing honestly and head off a deal-killing surprise during the buyer’s due diligence. That’s the difference between a raw database printout and a report read by a professional.
What to Expect
Pricing for our environmental data resources ranges from $250 for a desktop environmental screen to $2,200–$4,000 for a full Phase I ESA. The $250 screen turns around in 48–72 hours (sometimes 24); the complete database package is $375 without topographic maps or $415 with them, in about five business days. A Record Search with Risk Assessment (RSRA) — the SBA-recognized desktop product — runs $850 over roughly five business days, and a Phase I ESA takes two to three weeks because it adds a site visit, ASTM E1527-21 compliance, and All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI). You receive a written deliverable sized to the product, from a radius-map data package to a signed, lender-ready assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Environmental Data Resources?
Environmental data resources are the regulatory databases, historical records, and professional interpretation used to identify documented contamination on a commercial property and its neighbors. They include government records (federal, state, county, and municipal), city directories, fire insurance maps, aerial photographs, and topographic maps — pulled in a 1/4 mile radius around the subject property and read by an environmental professional.
How much do Environmental Data Resources cost?
The cost of environmental data resources varies by depth. A basic environmental screen costs $250 with or without professional interpretation. The complete ASTM-standard database package is $375 (or $415 with topographic maps). For a signed risk opinion, a Record Search with Risk Assessment is $850, and a full Phase I ESA ranges from $2,200 to $4,000. Price tracks how much interpretation and on-site work is included.
Do I need a professional to interpret the data?
You can buy raw database reports, but environmental data resources are only useful once someone tells you whether a contamination record is “open” or “closed” and whether it actually impacts your property. That single distinction can swing a property’s value by six figures. For CRE professionals, the professional interpretation is usually worth far more than the modest fee difference.
How fast can I get an environmental screen?
A $250 desktop environmental screen is typically delivered in 48–72 hours, and sometimes within 24. The complete database package and the RSRA take about five business days. Turnaround only lengthens when you add on-site work, as with a Phase I ESA.
Will these reports satisfy my lender?
Yes — the environmental data resources behind the ASTM Standard Environmental Database Report and the RSRA are built to lender and government specifications, including the SBA, HUD, and USDA. If your deal escalates to a Phase I ESA, the database work you already paid for carries forward.
Get Your Environmental Data Resources Started
If you need Environmental Data Resources, research, or testing on a property you own or want to buy, the fastest place to start is our $250 Environmental Screening Report — a 48–72 hour, flat-fee screen delivered nationwide across all 50 states. Our assessments meet the requirements of all commercial lenders and government agencies, including the SBA, HUD, and USDA. Call A3 Environmental Consultants at (888) 405-1742 or email Info@A3E.com.
We Fix Gnarly Environmental Problems
Reviewed by Alisa Allen, P.G., founder of A3 Environmental Consultants.
