Phase I ESA

Did you know that when you purchase a property, you also acquire its environmental problems!

The penalties for failing to comply with the federal and/or state environmental laws may be in the millions of dollars. The law authorizes EPA to seek statutory penalties of up to $32,500 for each day of non-compliance prior to January 12, 2009, and $37,500 for each day thereafter.

A real estate investment may be affected by:

Prior chemical spills

Hazardous waste sites

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Abandoned industrial operations

Underground storage tanks

Current business activities

Adjacent property histories

In any case, real state environmental problems cause a significant impact on the liability found by the buyer, seller, or lending institution.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs) are non-invasive studies to determine the environmental conditions of a commercial property during transfer of ownership or refinancing. This is the opportunity for the purchaser, investor, or financial institution to do due diligence investigations and verify the material facts of a potential investment.

Zimmetry recognizes the importance of identifying potential hazards when purchasing a property. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is the gold standard for evaluating the environmental liability associated with a real estate asset.

Our Phase I ESA service includes:

Physical inspection of the property

Interviews of knowledgeable persons

Review of federal, state and local lists of known contaminated sites, hazardous materials users, spills, and storage tanks

Evaluation of the potential effects of adjacent properties

Property history searches at applicable register of deeds offices

Review of existing environmental documents for the property

Interpretation of photographs and maps

Current and past property uses

We offer the peace of mind you deserve through practical business advice on environmental liability.