SERVICE

Environmental Site Assessment Phase 1 (ESA)

The acquisition of land, property or a business is a major transaction. Both buyers and lenders need to evaluate all the risks in order to limit unforeseen circumstances that could lead to undue expenses.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) identifies potential sources of contamination that have affected or could affect the environmental condition of the site in question. This assessment reduces uncertainty regarding liability in the event of potential damage to the environment and constitutes an excellent basis for supplementary inspections of the premises.

Terrapex Environnement Ltée conducts environmental site evaluations in accordance with CSA Z769-01 norms and section IV.2.1 of Quebec’s Environmental Quality Act (EQA).

The environmental assessment consists of five steps, including a description of the property, a review of historical and complementary records (freedom of information requests, land title research, aerial photographs, topographic maps and fire insurance plans), a site visit, interview(s) with contact person(s) and an evaluation of the information and preparation of a report. The information gathered during each of these steps will establish whether there are indicators of potential contamination present that the quality of the soil, the groundwater or both may have been affected on the site. Read more about the Common Contamination Risks.