Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)

How clean is your intended site?

Understanding environmental conditions is essential to managing risk. This is especially true during acquisition, financing, or redevelopment.

Early insight helps you avoid delays, unexpected costs, and approval challenges. Phase I Environmental Site Assessments are commonly required by lenders. They identify potential environmental conditions that may affect a property.

Even when contamination occurred under a previous owner, responsibility may still transfer. You could be held responsible for cleaning and addressing the environmental concern, regardless of whether you caused it.

A Phase I assessment helps reduce uncertainty before you move forward.

Our Approach

Shive-Hattery completes Phase I Environmental Site Assessments in accordance with ASTM E1527 standards. Our process is thorough, practical, and focused on your decision-making needs.

The assessment typically includes:

Review of available environmental records
Evaluation of surrounding land uses
Historical property research
On-site observations
Interviews with relevant parties

These steps create a clear picture of past and present site activities.
That clarity helps identify conditions that may indicate environmental risk.

Clear Findings. Confident Decisions.

The Phase I report documents our findings in a clear, usable format.
It identifies any Recognized Environmental Conditions, as defined by ASTM standards. These conditions may involve actual or likely hazardous substance releases. They may also indicate a material threat of future release. When concerns are identified, we help you understand what they mean. Our findings support informed decisions and next steps.

Value Beyond Compliance

Whether required by a lender or completed voluntarily, a Phase I assessment adds value. You gain insight into property conditions and potential risk. Most importantly, you move forward with greater confidence and clarity.