NEXT Environmental Inc.

In the realm of commercial real estate and land development, environmental due diligence  is way more than a bureaucratic housekeeping chore — it’s a risk management essential. Such an investigation is meant to reveal the environmental state of a property before purchase, and effectively make a buyer immune to unexpected liabilities such as soil contamination, underground tanks, or remnants of hazardous materials.   Because without adequate environmental due diligence , parties can unwittingly wind up facing expensive cleanups and regulatory violations, though they never played a role in causing the pollution. This is particularly important where industrial or brownfield transactions are concerned, as the existence of such historic problems may not be immediately apparent.   The process generally starts with a Phase 1 environmental site assessment, an investigation in which historical records, environmental databases and site inspections are reviewed. When flagged for pot...

As part of environmental due diligence, the environmental risks on the property are being evaluated. This allows the purchasers, owners and developers of the property to understand any potential pollution problems that may affect the value or possible uses of the site. Proper environmental due diligence helps to prevent individuals or companies from incurring heavy financial or legal risks in the event of environmental liabilities. The environmental due diligence  generally consists of a Phase 1 ESA, that assesses the property’s historical uses and potential contamination. If issues are recognised during that stage, additional assessments, such as a Phase 2 ESA, may be required to determine the extent of the contamination or existence of environmental hazards. When stakeholders conduct environmental due diligence, they can prevent adding to their responsibilities the cost of cleaning up and potential regulatory fines for failure to deal with any contamination. Moreover, proof of en...