Environmental consultant

An environmental consultant does a Phase I environmental site assessment. That’s a records search, interviews and a site visit, looking for past uses that could have left pollution behind.

When you need one

• Commercial property, before you take title: cleanup can cost more than the price.
• Vacant land with a past commercial or industrial use, such as an old gas station or dry cleaner.

How to find one

• Ask a commercial lender or broker for consultants who do Phase I assessments.

Questions to ask

• How long will the Phase I take, and what does it cost?
• What happens if you find a problem?

An environmental consultant checks whether a property may be contaminated, usually through a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. That means a records review, interviews and a site visit. If the Phase I finds warning signs, a Phase II tests soil, groundwater or tanks. Old gas stations, dry cleaners, auto shops and industrial lots are the classic risks.

A current owner can be liable for cleanup even if it did not cause the pollution (the federal Superfund law, CERCLA). Buyers can qualify as “bona fide prospective purchasers” only if they meet several conditions. One key condition is completing “all appropriate inquiries”. That generally means a Phase I under ASTM E1527-21, done by a qualified environmental professional. It must be done within one year before buying. The interviews, records review, site visit, lien search and the environmental professional’s signed declaration must be done or updated within 180 days. After buying, you must keep meeting “continuing obligations”: take “reasonable steps” to stop releases and limit exposure, follow any land-use limits, cooperate and give access to cleanup agencies, answer their information requests and give required notices. A clean Phase I isn’t a guarantee the site is clean.

Courts have denied this protection to buyers who knew of contamination but didn’t act; a federal appeals court took it from a developer that was too slow to fill sumps (PCS Nitrogen, 4th Cir. 2013). On the good side, EPA Brownfields grants have paid for Phase I and II assessments that let abandoned sites be sold and reused. In Nevada, in a Las Vegas case, an owner that demolished a former dry cleaner without removing contaminated soil was held liable under Nevada law. The federal appeals court called its proof that it was a protected buyer “woefully insufficient” and sent that question back for another try.

How they’re paid

• Ask for a written fixed fee for the Phase I and a separate estimate for any Phase II sampling. (No sourced typical fee was found.)
• Cities, counties and other eligible entities can apply for EPA Brownfields Assessment grants. Phase I work paid for by those grants must follow the AAI rule (40 CFR Part 312).

Check before you hire

• Confirm the consultant meets EPA’s definition of an “environmental professional” and will follow ASTM E1527-21 (or E2247-23 for rural/forest land).
• Time it right: complete the Phase I within one year before closing. The interviews, records review, site visit, lien search and the environmental professional’s declaration must be within 180 days.
• Make sure the report is in your name (the buyer) and signed by the environmental professional.
• Ask what historical uses they’ll research (gas stations, dry cleaners, tanks) and whether they’ll search for environmental cleanup liens.
• Ask about data gaps and when they’d recommend a Phase II.
• Plan the “reasonable steps” you’ll take after buying, such as capping sumps or limiting exposure, and document them. Also follow any land-use limits, cooperate with cleanup agencies, answer their information requests and give required notices.

Real stories

Phase I found tanks; cleanup made sale possible (2024)

A county development authority used a 2022 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant on an old service station. It had sat vacant for years. The Phase I flagged two underground tanks. Phase II work found and removed seven tanks, and testing showed no exceedances of state standards. A local business bought the site in 2024. It now runs a machinery reclamation and auction company there, with new full-time jobs.

Lesson: A proper Phase I and II turned an unsellable former gas station into a property a small business could safely buy.

Abandoned hospital became 69 affordable senior apartments (2019)

The town bought a long-abandoned hospital. It then used a $168,393 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant for Phase I and II assessments. They found asbestos, lead and incinerator ash. A $342,560 EPA revolving loan paid for cleanup and demolition. A developer later built affordable senior housing there, finished in fall 2019.

Lesson: Assessing contamination before redevelopment lets a risky site be fixed and reused instead of sitting idle.

Bought a dry-cleaner site, then spread the contamination (2013)

A former dry cleaner had leaked the solvent PCE under a Las Vegas shopping center. It reached groundwater beneath nearby homes. A buyer bought the site in 2005, knowing about the contamination. It tore down the building in 2006 and did not remove contaminated soil, so the state had to. The Ninth Circuit called the buyer’s evidence for bona fide prospective purchaser status “woefully insufficient”. It held the buyer liable to the state under Nevada law. On the federal (CERCLA) claim, the court sent the case back so the buyer could try to prove it qualified.

Lesson: Knowing about contamination isn’t enough. You must do proper inquiries and take reasonable steps after buying.

Delayed filling sumps, lost buyer protection (2013)

In 2003 the developer bought 27.62 acres for $2.7 million. It knew the soil was contaminated and meant to clean it up. Courts found it was too slow to clean out and fill sumps and failed to manage a debris pile, so it did not take the required “reasonable steps.” It lost its bona fide prospective purchaser protection and had to share cleanup liability, even after spending at least $194,000.

Lesson: Buyer protection under CERCLA depends on what you do after closing, not just the Phase I.