Due Diligence Services

Etech has developed and implemented the use of its own database to assist in the collection of information from our field inspections. This database provides a means for our inspection teams to gather data and enter it directly into a database that can be shared with our clients in real time. Etech’s staff has performed complete due diligence screenings on as many as 450 sites and provided lists of recognized environmental conditions (RECs) and costs of remediation and equipment replacement within seven days of starting the project. Etech maintains a variety of tools necessary to perform thorough site screenings. These tools are always readily available to our staff and allow them to respond to those client needs on a moment’s notice. A few examples of these types of tools would be 1) organic vapor meter, 2) water level indicators, 3) oil-water interface probes, 4) fully-equipped well sampling trailer, 5) NORM meters, 6) x-ray fluorescence equipment, 7) and field analysis for hydrocarbons and salt (chloride) contamination.

Phase I ESAs are the first step in the site assessment process and they satisfy the requirements of the innocent Landowner Defense to liability imposed by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Phase I ESAs are performed for buyers, sellers, brokers and lenders involved in the sale, purchase or lease of industrial, commercial, and agricultural properties. Phase I ESAs are typically required by lenders in order to assure that properties do not possess environmental conditions that could diminish the value or the property, the ability of the borrower to repay, and/or to establish baselines to allocate responsibility for clean-up costs.

Etech’s Phase I ESAs are performed in accordance with American Standard Testing Method (ASTM) E 1527-05 (the “ASTM Standards”), which has been deemed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to satisfy the requirements of CERCLA.

The purpose of the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is to identify, to the extent feasible, RECs at the subject property. As defined in the ASTM Standards, RECs are defined as “the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products on a property under conditions that indicate an existing release, a past release, or a material threat of a release of any hazardous substances or petroleum products into structures on the property or into the ground, groundwater, or surface water of the property.”

The scope of the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is limited to interviews with past and present owners, operators, and occupants; reviews of historical documents and records (including, but not limited to, aerial photographs, fire insurance maps, building department records, chain of title documents, and land use records); reviews of federal, tribal, state and local government records or databases of governmental records; a visual on-site inspection; notations of improvements on the subject property; a visual inspection of adjoining properties; and documentation of the presence or likely presence of contamination at the property to the extent practicable. The on-site investigation includes site inspection utilizing site/facility checklists, photographic documentation, and GPS coordinates.

In addition to the routine Phase I approach, Etech also offers modified assessments, which focus on specific aspects of our clients needs. These can include pre/post drilling surveys, existing environmental conditions surveys, and pre-sale surveys to identify potential areas of concern or recognized environmental conditions.

Phase II ESA’s are conducted if a Phase I assessment indicates a strong likelihood that contamination exceeding regulatory action levels is present at a site. The Phase II ESA could call for comprehensive drilling, sampling, and analytical testing to more precisely define the type and extent of contamination, as well as to define appropriate remedial actions and related costs.

A Phase III ESA, if called for, would involve actual remediation of the site, taking steps to restore the site to an acceptable environmental condition. Etech has extensive experience in the remediation of most forms of contamination.