We complete ASTM-compliant Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for property transactions and perform regulatory compliance assessments for business acquisitions on behalf of attorneys, realtors, property owners, developers, investors and financiers.
Where a transaction needs it, we go past the finding and estimate rough order of magnitude costs for a range of potential outcomes leading to site closure, so the number can be argued in a negotiation.
For a variety of manufacturing facilities in Northern and Southern California, QES has completed ASTM-compliant Phase I assessments covering specialty metal parts manufacturing, photographic film developing and commercial warehouse facilities. In several instances rough order of magnitude costs were estimated for a range of potential outcomes leading to site closure.
On behalf of counsel representing investors, QES reviewed historical environmental documents to assess risks associated with purchase of the property, and reviewed available regulatory and safety compliance data to assess risk associated with the business operations. A compliance checklist was developed that the operators used to guide enhancement of the environmental and employee safety programme on purchase.
For the Port of Los Angeles, QES managed litigation support, liability control, and site investigation and remediation at a multiple source site including a 25,000-gallon underground storage tank. Environmental liabilities and costs were negotiated into the property acquisition price, pollution legal liability insurance was secured, monitored natural attenuation was accepted after screening with the BIOSCREEN model, and regulatory closure of the tank was achieved.
QES reviewed property development and land use history to identify and characterize chemical impacts to soil that occurred during the lease period and those that predated it, including metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in shallow soil. QES presented the technical argument and cost basis before the mediating judge and the case settled favourably for the client.
Call or write and you will speak with the people who will do the work. We will tell you plainly what a defensible path forward looks like.