Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA’s) are an important part of real estate transactions, as they allow a prospective buyer to satisfy one of the requirements to qualify for the “innocent landowner defense” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).  In conducting an ESA, Vision Forestry will undertake the research and field inspections needed to constitute “all appropriate inquiry into previous ownership and uses of the property consistent with good customary practice,” as required by the law, as well as surface observations designed to discover and describe all obvious or suspected environmental contamination or petroleum pollution.

Neil Sampson, President, is a qualified Certified Environmental Inspector recognized by the Environmental Assessment Association.  Under his leadership, ESA’s are conducted with the process, scope, and limitations outlined in ASTME 1527 and the Standards of the Environmental Assessment Association.  The ESA is designed to identify “recognized environmental conditions,” meaning the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products on a property that indicate an existing release, a past release, or a material threat of a release into structures on the property or into the soil, groundwater, or surface water of the property.

For questions about a potential Phase I ESA on property you are considering to purchase, contact Neil at 703-924-0773.

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Last modified: February 16, 2005