A desktop risk assessment is an environmental database report (EDR) where the scientist who is performing the report doesn’t leave her desk. So much of what we do involves sampling, testing and site visits. It makes the distinction between “desktop” work and “field” work that much more poignant. Desktop risk assessments are done by computer

Due Diligence Period is a legal contract timeframe in which a buyer can inspect a property to determine if a transaction is worth the price being paid. When purchasing really expensive assets there is a lot of things that are unknown to the buyer while the buyer is still prospective. The seller doesn’t disclose everything

What is a brownfield? It’s an urban or suburban site which had a former use such as housing or a factory. Very often, these sites are diminished in value and sit fallow for years because of real or imagined contamination at the site. There are more brownfield sites than you think. Think of any corner

Here at A3 Environmental Consultants, we’ve found the general public doesn’t know much about what we do and has more than a few preconceived notions. This post is about some of the the things we’ve come across which people frequently didn’t know. Environmental Remediation: Once soil is contaminated, there’s no cleaning it. No matter what

CCDD stands for Clean Construction Demolition Debris. Similarly, USF is an abbreviation for Uncontaminated Soil Fill. In Illinois both of these terms are used interchangeably as “Clean Fill”. Both of these terms refer to a body of laws unique to Illinois whereby clean materials can be put into old gravel, sand or limestone mines. These

MAC stands for Maximum Allowable Concentration. It refers to the maximum allowable levels of contamination in clean fill (CCDD). CCDD stands for Clean Construction Demolition Debris and is a body of laws from the IEPA (Illinois EPA) that regulate clean fill operations in Illinois. Only the State of Illinois has CCDD regulations so if you’re

You’re probably wondering how you’ve lived so long on this planet without ever knowing how Illinois landfill pricing works. Settle down nerd. I’m not going to answer every question you have, just give you a slightly better understanding. This article is designed for regular people, new environmental consultants and trucking companies that haul clean fill,

As an environmental consultant, we’re frequently asked for advice that veers out of our lane and into what environmental lawyers do best. While I’ve never meet or talked to the good people over at Spencer Fane, they seem to have some pretty good, concise, advice about environmental law. The following is gleaned from their website,

I thought this article was great information that most people in a property transaction never hear about. You can read the whole thing by clicking here. Lenders, borrowers, purchasers, sellers, and even contractors sometimes get annoyed with environmental lawyers when we insist on reviewing Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) draft reports, looking at the

You have (or think you have) a leaking underground storage tank (UST). Maybe you’re about to buy or sell a property. Either way, you know it’s going to be a problem. The government doesn’t like underground tanks, it especially doesn’t like them leaking and it gets twitchy if the tank isn’t being currently used for

The information below represents a EULA, End User License Agreement regarding A3 Environmental Consultants services. You can download this as a PDF document by clicking here. Estimated Fees Unless the Scope of Work provides otherwise, the Estimated Fees contained therein constitute A3 Environmental’s estimate of the probable cost required to complete the proposed Project. The

Before we start we should get on the same page about why environmental consultants are hired by commercial lenders to begin with. An Environmental Consultant’s job is to limit downside risk on a commercial loan. Too often lending institutions business practices encourage environmental consultants to raise costs, increase environmental risk, or both. How can this

The ESA Questionnaire is an important part of an ASTM 1527-13 Phase 1 ESA. A3E wants to help Freelance Environmental Consultants to do more work, faster and ultimately get paid more. Why? Because we’ve been there, done that. Let’s work together!

Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Checklist for Freelance Environmental Consultants. Download.

Everyone needs to start somewhere. Commercial investors are no different. Sometimes a commercial building is bought by a business owner because they need it for operations. Other times the commercial investors are buying the property to become a landlord. The building is inventory for potential renters. What do commercial investors need to know? If Your

Before we start we should get on the same page as to what constitutes a “bad” environmental report. You might think bad is the same as saying that your environmental consultant found a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC). A REC generally means issues for buyers, sellers, and lenders while casting a shadow over the transaction. This

Commercial Real Estate Professionals don’t typically hire environmental consultants themselves, but as a trusted professional, they can influence the buyer on who gets used. CRE Pros know they get paid when a property closes. In reality, they get paid IF a property closes. That’s why managing the process after the contract is signed and on

For many people, purchasing a commercial property is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s not surprising that most don’t know the terminology. There’s no such thing as a “Level One Environmental”. It’s called a “Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment”. This post is dedicated to all the ways people get their terminology understandably wrong. It makes it difficult

To answer the question of which is better, the Environmental Desktop Report (EDR) or the Record Search with Risk Assessment (RSRA) you must first know what each is. Environmental Desktop Report (EDR) This is a light form of environmental due diligence done by an environmental consultant to determine quickly what kind environmental risk is

RSRA is the abbreviation for Record Search with Risk Assessment (RSRA). It was developed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a less expensive form of environmental due diligence when applying for SBA backed commercial loans. With a price-point of less than half the cost of a Phase 1 ESA, these environmental reports lowered the

There are three phases for environmental investigations, conveniently called Phase I, II and III. Phase I Environmental Assessment: Phase I is an environmental audit. It starts with a database and historical record search. We request data from the city and fire department and an environmental professional walks through the site looking for past, present or

Environmental Database Reports (EDR Reports) are low cost, high level data regarding the environmental risks affecting a target property. They are sometimes called Desktop Assessments, Desktop Due Diligence or Desktop Environmental Reports. The desktop refers to the fact that an environmental consultant does not visit the subject property like they do in a Phase I

The organization that established guidelines for the Phase 1 Environmental Study is the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). They aren’t guidelines so much as they are a standard way of conducting a Phase 1 ESA. In much the same way as accounting has Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and manufacturing has the International

Phase 1 Environmental Inspections are performed by environmental professional who is trained to find past, present or future threats of environmental contamination walks through a property and inspects for environmental risks as part of the scope of work of a Phase I ESA. Phase 1 ESAs are done by environmental consulting companies, and environmental professionals

When buying commercial real estate everyone knows about Phase 1 Environmental Reports. The Phase 1 ESA is the gold standard when it comes to environmental due diligence. Most investors don’t know that there are other options, less expensive options that are often better choices for determining environmental risk based on constraints of money and time.

There are many reasons to perform Environmental Due Diligence. The most compelling reasons have to do with the risk of financial loss from possible contamination. In addition there’s a legal liability issue when buying contaminated land. Finally, there’s a health and human safety component wise commercial real estate buyers should always be concerned with. Protect

The most common way to clear a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) from a Phase 1 Environmental Study is to complete a Phase 2 Environmental Study. The results will answer with hard science, if the REC is a concern and if it needs to be further remediated. What is a REC? A REC is basically an

The environmental inspection is part of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). It’s just one component of what goes into the project. If you are asking how the whole process is done, look here. If you are really only looking for insight into the Environmental Inspection part of the Phase I ESA, you are

You are asking an unintentionally difficult question. In order to answer it we need to know what “Environmental Test” you are talking about. If you’re looking for environmental testing of products like cell phones, you’re in the wrong spot. If you’re talking about commercial real estate, soil or groundwater environmental testing, read on… Environmental Screen

The best way to find a historic Phase 1 Report is to find it in your records or email. They are typically sent as PDFs from the consultant that did the work. The second best way to find a historic Phase 1 Environmental Study is to call the consultant who did the work. They should

As environmental professionals we get a lot of questions about the environmental questionnaire. A3 Environmental Consultants uses an online questionnaire to satisfy the requirements of what the ASTM standard calls AAI, or All Appropriate Inquiries. The survey questions are designed for the respondent to answer as either the “user” or “property owner”. Things quickly get

If you are reading this, you are either the buyer or seller involved in a commercial property transaction which requires a Phase 2 ESA. An environmental professional found a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) during the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment process. The short answer to the question of who pays for the Phase 2 ESA