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 as one of the products they sell. These products are classified as “Environmental Due Diligence”.
To be called an “Environmental Professional (EP)” and to perform environmental inspections you need to meet some minimum criteria set by the EPA:
The AAI final rule defines an environmental professional as someone who possesses the specific education, training and relevant experience necessary to exercise professional judgment to develop opinions and conclusions regarding conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at, in, or to a property, sufficient to meet the objectives and performance factors of the rule.
You can read more by downloading the PDF from the US EPA here.
What exactly do Environmental Inspections consist of?
Elevations – When onsite, the first thing we do is take pictures of each of the sides of the buildings we are inspecting. We call the sides of the building “elevations”. What we are looking for is pipes and utilities that could indicate tanks underground. Underground Storage Tanks (UST) are always a concern because they frequently leak once they start to rust.
Adjoining Property – We take pictures of the adjoining properties to identify their uses. We work hard to understand what industry the adjoining properties are engaged in and if the work they do could be a threat to our subject property. It is possible, and we see it occasionally, that the neighbors are the reason for environmental contamination.
Basic Interior – These pictures are the non-concerning spaces such as offices, break rooms, bathrooms and retail spaces.
Advanced Interior – The best way to do this is to list them:
- Floor drains
- Hydraulic lifts
- Compressors
- Elevator mechanicals
- Flammables, acids, bases and the storage facilities.
- Above ground storage tanks (AST)
- Underground storage tanks (UST)
- Staining on concrete
- Stressed vegetation
- Sheens on water
- Pits, ponds & Lagoons
- Storage facilities for chemicals
- Waste hauler manifests
- Oil Water Separators
If you’d like to learn more about what we do, you can check out our YouTube channel for more information.
If you need Environmental Inspections on your property or one you are interested in purchasing, give A3 Environmental Consultants a call. We’ll work to get your Environmental REC removed with the utmost in confidentiality, we’ll meet or exceed ASTM Standard E1527-13 on any sort of commercial or industrial property. Our reports meet the requirements of all lenders and government agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). A3 Environmental Consultants can be reached at (888) 405-1742 or by email at Info@A3E.com.
