Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports in Florida

1. Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports in Florida A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is common thread and staple involving a property transaction. The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is used to identify any potential environmental risks associated with the subject property, and to protect a potential buyer, lender, investors, or other active interested parties on the transaction from any environmental liability. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment report is the most common report typically required by a lender who is involved in the financing of a property. Fulcrum performs all Phase I Environmental Site Assessment with seasoned Environmental Professionals who meet the requirements of the EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule. The AAI Rule was set forth to provide specific scope requirements for a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report to meet the requirements of CERCLA’s innocent landowner defense. Fulcrum’s reports are generally accepted by most lenders throughout the nation as Fulcrum’s team are more than qualified to meet the criteria set forth by lending institutions. Fulcrum also performs all Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports to the latest revised standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) (ASTM E1527-13), which took into effect on November 6, 2013, and replaced the previous standard (ASTM E1527-05). The changes include the following within the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report: Vapor Migration Potential-The risk of vapor intrusion from subsurface contamination originating from onsite or offsite has been a question challenged for some time, but was previously subject to opinion of the environmental professional to include in the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report. The latest ASTM revision specifically requires the Environmental Professional to determine if the subject property would meet the criteria to be considered a vapor encroachment condition. Fulcrum’s team of environmental professionals are experts in this field, and will determine if a vapor encroachment condition is or is not likely to exist at the subject property. Agency File Reviews -The Environmental Professional must discuss all available regulatory file reviews within the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report. A stricter standard is now set on the environmental professional to conduct regulatory file reviews. Revised Definition(s)-The term “Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition” is now used within a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report. A controlled recognized environmental condition is a subset to the recognized environmental condition category. The ASTM definition of CREC in the E1527-13 standard is as follows: “a recognized environmental condition resulting from a past release of hazardous substances or petroleum products that has been addressed to the satisfaction of the applicable regulatory authority (for example, as evidenced by the issuance of a no further action letter or equivalent, or meeting risk-based criteria established by regulatory authority), with hazardous substances or petroleum products allowed to remain in place

2. subject to the implementation of required controls (for example, property use restrictions, activity and use limitations, institutional controls, or engineering controls).” This discussion is generally found within the executive summary section of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report. Fulcrum performs Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Reports frequently throughout the country. By having qualified Environmental Professionals in strategic areas throughout the U.S. gives Fulcrum an edge to our competition as our Environmental Professionals are more familiar with local geography and local regulatory authority.