& Affiliations
Mr. Luzkow is an Environmental Professional (EP) with more than 30 years of experience as an environmental consultant. Mr. Luzkow serves as a strategic team member in the financial and commercial real estate sectors by combining his extensive knowledge in environmental due diligence with Partner’s national reach of a broad spectrum of services for the management and assessment of real estate to satisfy client objectives. As a Technical Director for Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Partner), Steve will be focused on Lender Services, including SBA services, policy development, bank-owned or leased asset due diligence, and more.
He drives team participation to manage and satisfy client objectives with a responsive and timely resolution, quality work products, adherence to budgets, and meeting scheduled deadlines. He is responsible for managing due diligence assignments, third party reviews, and lender support services, including underwriting and lender-owned asset assessments. Mr. Luzkow has extensive experience in the all appropriate inquiries (AAI) requirements promulgated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and related ASTM E1527 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments. Mr. Luzkow integrated CERCLA and the ASTM standard practice in the finance and consulting sectors.
As an environmental risk manager for a national lender, Mr. Luzkow developed and administered environmental policy for bank service areas, including commercial real estate, business banking, trust and real estate, special assets, facility operations, as well as bank asset pre-acquisition and lease due diligence. He managed portfolio due diligence in accordance with national and state regulations that included over 1,200 environmental evaluations per year, including consultant management and contract assignments for Phase I and II ESAs, and remedial actions. Mr. Luzkow managed environmental matters and response activities for bank-owned or operated facilities.
Previously, Mr. Luzkow was a client manager and senior environmental reviewer with a Fortune 500 company and was responsible for managing due diligence projects throughout the country as well as mentoring assessors and reviewers. Mr. Luzkow was also responsible for developing report templates for various equity and debt clients. During this time, Mr. Luzkow worked with large private and publicly traded equity clients, CMBS lenders, bank Environmental Risk Managers (ERMs), legal counsels and regulatory agencies to quantify environmental risk associated with commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Luzkow provided consulting services to conduct environmental risk management program reviews and policy development to facilitate the underwriting and credit risk review process (regulatory and client-specific) for financial institutions. He performed transaction-specific evaluations for service areas and lines of business that included commercial real estate, small business lending, and asset management (pre-foreclosure). He integrated state and federal regulations, and potential liabilities to establish applicable pre- and post-closing terms and obligations within deadlines. Mr. Luzkow has prepared and reviewed over 5,000 Phase I ESAs. His clients included Fortune 500 companies, private equity investment firms.
Mr. Luzkow represented the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), formerly Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) on the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Financial Assurance (MUSTFA) Policy Board. He was responsible for preparing and representing the Agency position to appeals of funding denials by claimants or their representative counsel. Mr. Luzkow was responsible for coordinating with MDEQ regional district staff, MDEQ legal counsel, the State Fire Marshal, and the Department of Management and Budget. In addition, Mr. Luzkow was the state lead project manager for two Superfund sites. He was responsible for preparing federal funding requests, coordinating with Region V EPA, presenting at public forums, assigning consultants and approving the scope of work, field oversight, and he represented the MDEQ in numerous negotiation sessions with responsible parties and USEPA.
