What Is A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)?

A Phase I ESA (or Stage 1 Preliminary Site Investigation as its referred to in BC) is a non-intrusive investigation of current site conditions/operations, and a historical review of environmental records relating to the site and surrounding area.

Phase I ESA’s consist of:

• An interview with the current owner of the site, or a representative knowledgeable about current/historical Site operations (a long-time tenant, operations manager, or maintenance personnel, etc);

• A walk-through of the Site Building(s) and exterior storage/staging areas at the Site;

• A desktop review of historical documents and databases of various regulatory agencies including:

  • Land titles

  • National Pollutant Release Inventory

  • Historical Aerial Photographs

  • Alberta Energy Regulator (Alberta only)

  • Alberta Water Wells (Alberta only)

  • Petroleum Tank Management Association of Alberta (Alberta only)

  • Environmental Law Centre (Alberta only)

  • Environmental Site Assessment Repository (Alberta only)

  • Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (Saskatchewan only)

  • Government of Saskatchewan Spills Search (Saskatchewan only)

  • Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (Saskatchewan only)

  • BC Water Resource Atlas (BC only)

  • BC Dangerous Goods/Incidents Database (BC only)

  • Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (BC only)

• A summarization of the findings outlining a clear and concise recommendation on whether further investigation is required (Phase II ESA) or no further work is required.

Why Do I Need A Phase I ESA?

The purpose of a Phase I ESA is to ensure both the purchaser and lender are protected from potential hidden liabilities. 

For example, imagine that a commercial property is purchased for cash without conducting a proper Phase I ESA. 

After a few years, the owner needs to secure additional financing for some upgrades and renovations to the Site Building. As a condition to receive financing, the lender requires the owner has to conduct a current Phase I ESA on his property. 

The owner discovers his property has potential to be contaminated from a former on-site gas station that was active in the mid-1990s, which he had no idea existed. 

The lender requires the potential contamination to be investigated, delineated, and cleaned up before they release any funding for renovations on the current property, to limit the financial liability they are preparing to take on.

Overnight, the owner finds out that he is on the hook for a $150,000.00 cleanup that could have been avoided if a Phase I ESA was conducted before he purchased the property.

Why Should I Choose Basin Environmental to Conduct my Phase I ESA?

The Environmental Group at Basin prides themselves on transparency and customer communication. The benefit of being a small business is that when a customer has a question or concern regarding a project, they are able to immediately get in contact with the Basin personnel who is preparing the report.

When you choose Basin, you are speaking directly with the team who is completing your project. 

We also pride ourselves on our industry-leading turnaround times. 

We understand that real estate transactions consist of many moving parts, and that deals are often waiting on the completions of the Phase I ESA before closing. 

Being a small, tight-knit group, we are able to move quickly at every step of the process and be flexible when it comes to customer needs and due dates.

What Does A Phase I ESA Cost?

Basin prices our Phase I ESA with a fixed rate plus travel. Given that travel distances vary widely in Western Canada, its best to contact us with the address and location of your site. 

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment’s are a non-intrusive site investigation designed to assess the environmental condition of a site and/or building(s).  It assesses the risk of potential environmental liability at a property associated with current or historical activities at the site and neighboring properties.  It includes a historical review, site visit and personal interviews.

The typical scope of our Alberta Phase I Environmental Site Assessments includes the following:

• A review of current title as well as historical title search.

• A review of current/historical aerial photographs.

• A request submitted to the Government of Alberta regarding reported spills, storage tanks, and other environmental information available for the subject site and surround area.

• A review of the National Pollutant Release Inventory database for any pollutant releases within the vicinity of the subject site.

• Completion of a site inspection to identify potential concerns on the property.

• Interview with the current owner of the property.

• Preparation of a report documenting the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from the study.

The final report follows the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) document “Z768-01 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment”, dated November 2001 in addition follows the Stage I Environmental Site Assessment as per Alberta’s regulatory requirements.  Environmental Site Assessments assist in reducing uncertainty about potential environmental liabilities and in making informed decisions about property transactions.  Our client base includes energy companies, realtors, property developers, lending institutions and business owners. 

A Phase I ESA does not include the collection or laboratory analyses of samples of soil, groundwater, or other materials; these activities are associated with Phase II Environmental Site Assessments.  

Back to Commercial Environmental Site Assessments – Alberta

Commercial Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
Commercial Phase III Environmental Site Assessments