It's vital to get a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in New York

Whether you need a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in New York City, Ithaca, or Buffalo, a Phase I ESA helps protect you financially.

I was driving through New York City this last week (I know, who drives in New York?) on my way to a project site and I got thinking about some of the really interesting history I've sifted through when conducting Phase I ESAs. Between Superfund sites, both heavy & smaller industrial facilities, and over a century of property usage records, there's a lot of records to get through. For instance, I conducted a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in New York at a site that was a former horseshoeing operation!

But looking at the entirety of New York state, I can say that there's a lot of history regardless of where you're located. For instance, we've done a lot of Phase I ESA work in western New York at old steel mill sites and other heavy industrial properties. Certainly remote locations in the Adirondacks or the Catskills might be different, but we've found New York has a lot of history above and below ground that comes to the surface during a Phase I ESA.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessments in New York are more than just a good idea.

New York, just like a lot of the East Coast, has a long history of varying usage at this point. Over the course of the last two centuries, we've seen industries come and go, best practices change, and the way waste and industrial by-products have been both handled and disposed of have changed greatly.

A lot of New York, especially NYC, is old and sites often have a long, industrial history. We frequently see both remnants and details of businesses and the practices they used to engage in that make us shake our head. Things like disposing of chemicals on and in the ground, ignoring spills of chemicals and petroleum, improper waste disposal practices, buried materials, floor drains, you name it, we've seen it. Things that used to be standard practices a long time ago, but now we know much, much better, frequently are unearthed during a Phase I ESA in New York.

These practices created Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs), which are exactly what we look for in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in NYC and all across the Empire State. You could (and we routinely do) say that New York is a "target rich environment" for RECs due to the extensive amount of past industrial use in and around New York City, and all across the state. In fact, chances are pretty good that on most properties in New York, you’re going to find environmental concerns. This is especially true if you're in an industrial area, or generally located anywhere within New York City limits.

Not sure what an REC is? Check out our article on what are RECs in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment to learn more.

In New York, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments are crucial to avoiding liability.

A common theme we see repeated time and time again is a dangerous one.

Someone buys a property quickly from a 'friend', or someone they trust, without conducting any environmental due diligence. It's like buying a car without getting it checked out professionally first, with one huge difference. Let me explain...

Imagine you wanted to buy a used car. You would certainly get the CarFax and most likely get a mechanic to give the car a once over and provide their professional opinion on the vehicle. Makes sense, right? Certainly you could buy a car from a friend or someone you trust, and yes, you're taking a risk, but what's the worst that's gonna happen?

The same can be said about buying a property, with one extreme difference. When you buy a property, you buy everything about the property, including the good & bad. So if your site has a massive amount of contamination and you bought your property without any sort of investigation into the past usage or extent of contamination, that contamination becomes your problem. You'll have to report it, clean it up, and deal with any and all governmental fines & penalties they place on you.

Take the car example again. Imagine if you found out you needed to get your transmission replaced. Sure, it's going to cost you a lot, but if you had to follow the same concept as buying contaminated property you might have more costs to deal with. Imagine if you had to pay for a new transmission, and also report your transmission issue to the NJDOT & the federal DOT. Now imagine they both gave out heavy fines for having a car with a faulty transmission, even if you bought it that way. Now imagine if they could reserve the right to inspect your transmission, or how your transmission has to be fixed, or what you'd be allowed to use that car for, and the entire time, you're footing the bill.

Sounds miserable, doesn't it? Do you want that much governmental control & oversight into your property? Do you want to be told how to spend your money? Do you want agencies to dictate how you can use your land? I know I wouldn't.

Point is, who knows what went on at any property in New York 100 plus years ago? Do you? Does the seller? Do you trust they can accurately relate to you the entire history of the site? Are you willing to risk hundreds of thousands of dollars or more that your new property isn't contaminated?

I hate to state the obvious, but Love Canal took place – in New York! Are you willing to take on the liabilities of cleaning up an old industrial site because you "trust someone"?

The biggest thing too is a Phase I isn't even all that expensive! We cover how much does a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment cost to give you a great idea of what you can expect to pay for a Phase I ESA in New York.

Regardless of where you are in New York, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments protect your investments.

We recommend folks always get a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, regardless of whether they're buying in the city or in the country, and regardless of whether or not they're buying an industrial or commercial facility.

Get a Phase I ESA everywhere, every time, no way around it. Especially in New York, a state, with heavy industrial history, with over a decade of manufacturing, heavy industry, waste disposal, and bad chemical management practices. To skip getting a Phase I ESA in New York is absolutely crazy. Without one, you’re playing with fire.

To learn more about getting a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in New York click here to contact us or give us a call anytime at 609-693-8301.