"We have come to rely on WESTECH to provide practical solutions and guidance related to the complex world of environmental compliance. They provide valuable expertise to our real estate developers and help us (the lender) understand and navigate a highly regulated industry."
- Joe Huber
COO, Cincinnati Development Fund
Environmental SITE ASSESSMENTs
Over the past few decades, awareness of what constitutes an environmental hazard forces owners, developers, and lending institutions to examine past land use practices to determine whether a potential hazard exists.
WESTECH helps sellers, purchasers, and lenders estimate the extent of their possible exposure by performing an Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) prior to conveyance. The purpose of the assessment is to evaluate the potential for environmental contamination at the site. Conducting an Environmental Site Assessment early in the planning process can help to eliminate unpleasant surprises and unexpected costs.
WESTECH approaches Environmental Site Assessments in three phases; each phase is dependent upon the information gathered in the previous phase.
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments - Sites that are found to be clean after preliminary investigation need not go beyond Phase I. Others may require the more detailed study and sampling that is part of a Phase II investigation.
Phase II Environmental Site Assessments - Testing is often called for on sites with a history of improper waste management practices or where contaminants may have migrated to the soil, groundwater, or surface water.
Phase III Environmental Site Assessments- Site Remediation--Depending on the type of contamination, many types of corrective actions can be utilized to bring a property into usable compliance.