May 2023 / Published in Due Diligence

Upland & Wetland Field Work: Fast & Inexpensive Answers

In the universe of services termed “environmental due diligence” one of these services is determining if a property has a wetland. There are different levels of due diligence needed to answer important questions before the sale of a commercial property. Wetland due diligence is no different. We created four different levels with four different price points to meet our clients needs:

Wetland Screen – Desktop review of databases and maps to predict the probability and location of a wetland
Upland & Wetland Field Work – Actually going to the site, inspecting, flagging, & delineating.
Wetland Delineation Report – The work product of this kind of work is always a report of some kind. In a full delineation, this report is good enough for the Army Corp of Engineers
Wetland Permitting – If jurisdictional wetlands are found, permit applications need to be submitted.

Our lowest level of wetland due diligence is the wetland screen. It’s inexpensive and fast and provides good answers when making decisions on whether or not to purchase a commercial property. But often it’s not enough. Wetlands inside the footprint or 100 foot buffer zone of a potential building site can create all kinds of problems for architects and engineers. You don’t want to purchase a property if it will cost a fortune to mitigate the wetland impacts and another fortune to architect and engineer your way around a wetland.

What do you do if you don’t feel a wetland screen is enough, but a full wetland delineation, especially if it finds jurisdictional wetlands and kills your purchase of the property, cost too much and takes too long?

Upland & Wetland Field Work

A3 Environmental Consultants can perform a wetland screen and regardless of it shows low or high probability of a wetland, we can take the extra step to perform wetland field work. As with all things environmental, you have two different options of how in-depth you’d like us to look.

Wetland Screen With Wetland Confirmation

The fastest and least expensive examination of property for a jurisdictional wetland is the wetland confirmation. Essentially we travel to the property and take a series of samples looking for the tell-tale signs of wetlands. If we find them, we report back that we have confirmed wetlands. This is an add-on service to the wetland screen. Combined, these two services give very good insight into the presence of a jurisdictional wetland on the property. This is different from a wetland delineation. While determining the presence of a jurisdictional wetland is important, it’s not helpful if you want to take the next step to purchase the property and permit the building of a structure in or around the wetland. For that, you’ll need a proper delineation, report and wetland permit with the Army Corp of Engineers and / or the county stormwater regulatory agency.

Wetland Screen with Wetland Delineation

The difference between a wetland confirmation and a wetland delineation is in a delineation we outline the boundary between the wetland and the upland. Instead of getting a report stating wetlands exist, you get a map and report showing they exist and where they are. This takes more time to create and is more expensive but it’s a stop on the journey to getting a wetland delineation report that you could submit to the Army Corp of Engineers and / or the county stormwater regulatory agency. As our clients are making their decisions on what level of wetland due diligence is right for them, we try to council them into taking the path that leaves the correct options open for them as they progress through their decision. If your mindset is “If they find wetlands, this deal is dead” then the right service for you is a wetland confirmation. It saves money and time and returns a yes / no answer. If you say “If they find wetlands this deal might not be dead. It depends on where the wetlands are and how the architects and engineers work around them” then a wetland delineation is the right field work for you.