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Otwell Mawby, P.C. offers clients efficient and
thorough site assessments. Completed in a
conscientious and timely manner, Otwell Mawby provides
owners, lessees, buyers, and lending institutions
essential information to identify environmental issues
and afford innocent purchaser protection from
environmental liability under state and federal law.
Based on the needs of each client, site assessments may
vary in scope and extent. Generally, Environmental Site
Assessments conducted by Otwell Mawby can be categorized
as:
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Over the past ten years, OMPC has conducted hundreds
of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs),
facilitating the transfer of property for development
and redevelopment. Phase I ESAs are performed
consistent with ASTM E1527-05. The Phase I ESA
includes four components:
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Review of records, including historical documents and
aerial photographs relating to previous uses of the
property and state and federal databases of known
environmental problems in the vicinity;
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A site visit to identify any evidence of past
environmental problems, view current uses of the
property and adjacent properties, and inspect
buildings, structures and materials on site;
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Interviews with current owners and occupants, state
and local officials, and community members with
information and knowledge of the property previous
uses; and
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A report the documents the finding, opinions, and
conclusions, including Recognized Environmental
Concerns (RECs), if identified.
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If results of a Phase I assessment provide indicators
of potential contamination, a secondary, or Phase II
assessment is recommended. A Phase II assessment
typically includes selective sampling and analysis of
potential problem areas, which may include:
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Sampling surface or near surface materials and/or
water on the property
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Excavating obvious soil contamination and sampling to
determine if enough impacted material has been removed
or to further delineate problem area.
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Test borings for sampling soil and/or groundwater
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Laboratory analyses of soil and/or water samples for
potential contaminants.
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Examining site geology and hydrogeologic
characteristics of the property.
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In many cases, environmental issues can be
successfully managed on a property to allow for
feasible redevelopment of that property.
A Baseline Environmental Assessment is necessary in
order to comply with state and federal requirements for
due diligence to protect innocent property purchasers
from environmental liability from contamination caused
by other parties.
Properties with environmental impacts can be
positioned for re-use by managing their environmental
risks. Detailed evaluations regarding future site use,
potential exposure scenarios, development and
implementation of land use restrictions, engineered
controls and/or other site-specific measures can be
designed into a redevelopment plan.
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While new property owners may not be responsible for
clean-up of existing contamination, they have a
responsibility to prevent unacceptable exposures to
the contamination, prevent exacerbation of the
contamination, protect against the foreseeable actions
of third parties, and provide notification of
abandoned containers or migration of contaminants
beyond the property boundary .
Otwell Mawby, P.C. can develop detailed re-use plans
which can manage the identified environmental concerns
associated with the property, to assure that no
unacceptable community health risks are associated with
the property's future use.
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