Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Requirements:
Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments and reports must adhere to
the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM E-1527-05) standard.
This report complies with United States Environmental Protection Agency's Code 40 of Federal Regulations Part 312.
Phase 1 Environmental reports typically include the following:
- visual inspection of subject property and surrounding areas (non invasive)
- interviews with owners, occupants and neighboring tenants
digital photographs of the site and surrounding areas with descriptions
- a detailed professional site plan
review of historical building permits for the site
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review of historical aerial photographs of site
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review of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
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review of city directories
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review of historical topographical maps of site and surrounding area
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interviews with, and review of local environmental oversight agencies' reports
analysis of local hydro-geologic conditions
- identification of any indicators of
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government environmental database review
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inclusion of the Statement of Qualifications of assessors
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conclusions regarding potential environmental liabilities using risk-based analysis
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recommendations.
The latest Phase 1 Environmental standard items:
Additional Scope of Work Required by 40 CFR Part 312 for Phase 1 Environmental Assessment report-
ASTM Standard for the rule is: ASTM E-1527-05 and it stipulates (among other things) the requirements stated below.
Visual inspection of the subject property and adjoining
properties is required (rare exemption with certain specific requirements if
the subject property cannot be visually inspected)
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Defines the term Environmental Professional (EP) and
establishes qualifications for those performing Phase 1 ESAs (must hold a
current Professional
Engineer or Professional Geologist license or registration
from a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico) and have the equivalent of three years of
full-time relevant experience
OR 4 year Baccalaureate degree in any engineering or science
field with five years of full-time relevant experience OR ten years of
full-time relevant experience).
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Previous use of the property must be described from the
present back to when the property first contained structures or was
developed for residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial or
governmental purposes.
In addition to interviewing current owners and occupants of
the subject property, an interview with past owners and occupants must
be conducted as necessary.
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Interviews with neighboring or nearby property owners or
occupants must be conducted if the subject property is abandoned.
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More site specific information is to be requested from the User of the report (person for whom the report is being prepared).
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EPA rule requires identification of records of Activity and Use Limitations (AULs) and Environmental Cleanup Liens.
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In addition to the review of applicable federal and state records, the
ESA must include a review of all local and tribal records within the method
required search distance of the Property.
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The EPA rule requires that the relationship of the purchase price with the fair market value of the property be analyzed. An unusually low price may indicate
contamination at the property.
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Data gaps must be identified and reported along with the possible significance of the data
gap with regard to the ability of the Environmental Professional to identify conditions
indicative of past or present harmful releases and threatened potential releases.
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Shelf life of Phase 1 Environmental report is defined as one year with some updates being required after 180 days.