Environment

Environmental Assessment

A broad range of services to meet your requirements for Due Diligence and compliance with the Responsible Property Transfer Act are available. Many of our clients have their own criteria for completing this important aspect of a property transaction, which originated from early versions of the proposed ASTM E-50 Committee standard on environmental assessment. Finalized as ASTM E1527-00, this document in its current form is a national concensus standard on assessing environmental risk associated with property. We use it as the core of our standard Scope of Services.

Broadly defined, a Phase I Environmental Assessment consists of a site inspection of the property and buildings, a records search and review to determine the environmental impact of operations on the site and in the vicinity of the site, and research with local, state and federal agencies regarding known contamination sources within close proximity to the site.

The Phase I Assessment will include the following specific elements:

• a systematic and detailed visual inspection
• a preliminary investigation of adjacent properties with emphasis on how they may environmentally impact the property under study
• a review of available information supplied by the client, owner, seller, or other sources
• a 50-year site history and a review of federal and state environmental records for the site and properties within a one mile radius of the site
• interviews of local and state regulatory personnel familiar with environmental problems and accidents on or near the site
• a concise report of findings, complete with supporting documents

When suspected asbestos-containing materials are involved, we prefer to complete the sampling and assessment of these materials as part of the Phase I assessment. Our experience has shown that the presence of friable or potentially friable asbestos-containing materials in a building is the most common adverse environmental impact on the sale of a property and that early disclosure is crucial to the sale or purchase.

Environmental Assessment Client List

• Community and Economic Development ComissionSouth Bend, IN
• South Bend Heritage FoundationSouth Bend, IN
• Planning and Development Department, City of ElkhartElkhart, IN
• Ken Herceg and AssociatesSouth Bend, IN
• South Bend Community School CorporationSouth Bend, IN
• L. H. Leasing South Bend, IN
• Elkhart Community School Corporation Elkhart, IN
• CML Partnership South Bend, IN
• Midwest Commerce Bank Goshen, IN