Environmental Site Assessments
Real Estate Transaction Screen
Many financial institutions include an environmental risk management strategy for all loan processing and servicing activities. These regulations establish a standard procedure for evaluating the environmental condition of real property with regard to releases of hazardous substances and petroleum products in the context of a real estate transaction. This evaluation process is commonly referred to as "Environmental Due Diligence."  Most of these regulations incorporate by reference the commonly accepted standard developed by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), E-1528-06, Environmental Site Assessment: Transaction Screen Process.   This process is basically a limited Phase I Assessment which serves to evaluate the environmental condition of real property by using a transaction screen questionnaire developed by ASTM.  If potential problems are encountered, Meryman Environmental, Inc. (M.E.I.) will assist in determining the potential magnitude and extent of contamination with the ultimate goal of evaluating the financial impact these problems may have on market or collateral value of the property.

M.E.I.’s Transaction Screens involve the following reconnaissance actions:

1. Data Collection & Review - As in our Phase I Assessments, M.E.I. will request any pertinent data available regarding the facility or property including; present and prior operations, environmental permits, environmental liens, previous reports, and any other environmental related information.  
   
2. Regulatory Review - We will conduct a record and agency review of the federal, state, county and local hazardous material databases to gather information regarding the usage, treatment, transportation, and/or disposal of hazardous substances in the vicinity of or on the subject property. Records analyzed could include the following:
   • County Offices (Health Department/Fire Department records of underground storage tanks to determine releases, spills and violations)
   • State and Federal published lists and databases of NPL Sites, CERCLIS sites, LUST sites, UST locations, landfills, and hazardous waste generation/disposal locations within prescribed research radii of a site location.
   • Review of private records of property managers, owners and tenants, such as title reports, appraisals, and previous environmental investigations, inventories of stored materials, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), manifests and permits for waste disposal, and storm water management and spill prevention plans.
   The goal of this regulatory review is to identify contaminated or potentially contaminated sites close to the subject property or concerns with the subject parcel.
3. Site Visit - A site visit of the subject and any adjacent sites will be conducted to identify visible hazardous substances that may be causing contamination including but not limited to the following:
   • storage/use of chemicals or signs of improper practices;
   • signs of previous environmental investigations, architectural features indicative of adverse site usage;
   • stained or malodorous soil or surface water, or distressed vegetation.
   M.E.I. staff will also attempt to interview individuals who are familiar with the site and its past and present operations
4. Report - At the completion of all tasks, we will prepare the standard comprehensive report form detailing our findings and opinions of the subject site.

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