A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment helps determine whether a property contains contamination. This is normally established using non intrusive measures.
You can have an ESA conducted for situations such as property transactions, site clean ups, initial set ups, etc.
Environmental Site Assessments (ESA's)
A century of industrial development has left a legacy of contamination and toxic real estate. Many industrial lands, strategically located at the core of cities, are valuable for continued industrial use, or for commercial or residential development.
A Phase 2 Environmental Assessment is more in depth with respect to contamination. It involves intrusive testing, such as sampling, and follows a Phase 1 ESA. In some situations, if there is sufficient information, you may proceed directly to a Phase 2 ESA.
Typically, Phase 2 ESA's are conducted when serious contamination exists and a clean up must be undertaken.
ESA's are often conducted as part of the purchaser's due diligence evaluation, prior to finalizing a real estate transaction.
ESA's are commonly required by lending institutions as part of their due diligence process, prior to financing a property transaction.
ESA's are also required by some municipalities, as part of the pre-development application process.
Continue reading to learn about Phase 1 and Phase 2 ESA's
However, problems arise because many industries utilized their premises for disposing waste created by their manufacturing processes. Also, spills or similar incidents may have occurred, thus creating what is referred to as "toxic real estate"
