Environmental Impact Assessment
We at Balanced Approach understand the potential environmental and social impacts of any proposed project. We keep in mind the associated regulatory constraints that are very critical to the development of timely and cost-effective project plans, evaluation, suitable engineering designs, effective stakeholder management and successful permitting. Our Environmental Impact Assessment team ensures that environmental assessment is conducted as early as possible in the planning stage of a designated project, to give our clients, the opportunity to consider the analysis in the proposed plans to address adverse environmental impact. BA Environmental Services Group conducts Phase I, II and III Environmental Site Assessments, Environmental Impact Assessment and more.
Our strategic services include:
- Sampling and testing of noise frequencies, air emissions, soil, water, and sediments.
- Environmental baseline studies, social impact, and sustainable planning.
- Groundwater level, flow, quantity, and pressure monitoring.
- Aquifer testing, local and regional scale groundwater assessments.
- Hydrogeological (physical and contaminant) site assessment.
- Contaminant transport and fate investigations and soil remediation.
- Assessment of archaeological and heritage site, ecology and environmental impact, and natural environment.
- Assessment of waste management and landfills, and asbestos hazardous materials management.
- Regulatory permitting, negotiation, and feasibility studies as well as technical support for operating facilities.
- Archaeological and indigenous engagement, ecological design, implementation, and restoration.
- Digital analyses and data conveyance for impact assessment.
- Creating models for fate and effects, transport/dispersion, and visual and noise impact assessment.
- Environmental due diligence and compliance.
What is Phase I Environmental Site Assessment ?
A Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) is conducted to support a landowner’s defense to liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) in general accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 1527-05. CERCLA is a federal law that was designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances.
It is often referred to as a Phase I ESA or Phase 1 Environmental Assessment and is part of the real estate due diligence process. A Phase 1 ESA rigorously studies historical and current land-uses of a property. Additionally, it documents the environmental liability and likelihood of contamination at a property.
While the scope of work is not absolutely defined in the Standard and can be modified in accordance with the client’s needs, there are four principles involved in the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment process:
- Records Review
- Site Visit or Inspection
- Interviews with property owners, occupants, site personnel, government officials and third parties
- Evaluation of the information and reporting of the findings and conclusions
Records review includes searching and reviewing historical public and private records related to the subject property is another major stage in the assessment. It also includes in-depth review of paperback and digital records from various federal ,state, local environmental agencies which helps the assessor understand the uses of the property and the surrounding areas since their first development. Historical compilations of city directories aerial photograph, topographic maps mining plans and fire insurance plots are critically analyzed for evidence of past environmental concerns. The major documents required for review are divided into a few categories:
- Records Review
- Site Visit or Inspection
- Interviews with property owners, occupants, site personnel, government officials and third parties
- Evaluation of the information and reporting of the findings and conclusions
Site Inspection or a site visit, is a visual inspection of the readily accessible areas of the subject property, the surrounding areas, and the adjacent properties (if accessible). The scope of work for this part of the assessment preparation is generally identical between the CSA-based (CSA Z-768/01 Standard) and the Ontario Regulation based (O.Reg. 153/04) version of the assessment. Site inspection is one of the important stages in the Phase 1 ESA assessment and requires:
- Records Review
- Site Visit or Inspection
- Interviews with property owners, occupants, site personnel, government officials and third parties
- Evaluation of the information and reporting of the findings and conclusions
Interviews with people familiar with the site can provide information about historical uses of the subject property and the adjacent area, information about how the site is managed, hazardous materials (chemical, fuels, oils and wastes) that are managed and disposed on the site, and so forth.
People that could be interviewed may include current and past owners, tenants, site personnel, or governmental staff in some cases.
The process of writing the report includes organizing the information and records collected from the defined sources, identifying the important information, analyzing the information and evaluating the issues that may raise concerns about environmental impact on the subject property.
An environmental report is an investigation on commercial property to discover if there are any dangerous contaminants. Potential buyers assume the cost of the investigation and it is completed in one or two phases.
This is the initial investigation to test for dangerous contaminants. Investigators will research past tenants and prior uses of the property to determine suspicion of contaminant use. In addition, they’ll look for evidence of pollution by examining the adjacent land. If there is indication of contamination; phase II will be initiated
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment ?
- The purpose of a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Report is to evaluate the presence, or absence of, petroleum products or hazardous substances in the subsurface of the site. A trained, licensed, experienced staff of geologists and engineers that possesses expertise in Phase II Environmental project design performs these assessments per the ASTM E1903-11 Standard Guide.
- It is systematic, iterative process as outlined in (Z769-00 reaffirmed 2013 EAS) standard, by which an assessor to seek to characterized and / or delineate the concentrations or quantity of substances of concerns related to site compare those levels to criteria.
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Principles
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Process Flow
Phase III Environmental Site Assessment - Overview
- A Phase III Environmental Site Assessment is only conducted when contamination is found in Phase II. Once contamination is discovered, an action plan must be set in place for any remediation to occur. Phase III will closely analyze details regarding the contamination, such as the pathway of movement along with the removal and disposal of the materials that are contaminated.
- The first step in conducting a Phase III ESA is delineation, which basically determines the volume of the contamination and its boundaries. A lot of planning is required surrounding the approach of remediation, the time it will take to complete the project, and strategizing risk management.
- A Phase III assessment can take as little as a day if it is a simple excavation. However, that is a rare occurrence, and other remediation such as bioremediations can be months or years. It is important to realize that the process of cleaning up is unique to each project and its case. Therefore, the time it takes can vary, but removing the hazard should be more of a focus than how long it would take.
- The purpose of conducting a Phase III assessment is to simply remove any traces of contamination and return the site to a state where no such event occurs again. Lastly, as in all ESAs, a professional will document the work done and confirm that the contamination is removed. The purpose of the Phase III assessment is to delineate the physical extent of contamination based on recommendations made in the Phase II report.
- Typically, additional testing is conducted by the environmental engineers and consultants to determine the extent of contamination at the site. Few of the tests that are performed are:
- Sediment Testing
- Groundwater Testing
- Top layer soil assessment
- Subsurface soil assessment
