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You are here: Home » Resources » Articles » Preliminary Assessments Simplified

December 14, 2018

Preliminary Assessments Simplified

By Jerry Ostrander

Understand the Differences from a Phase I ESA

If you’ve ever done even a single commercial real estate deal, you are familiar with a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and the importance of conducting it before buying or selling a property.  Before you sign on the dotted line, you’ll need to get a comprehensive picture of the property, by conducting a typical ASTM Phase I which will include a site visit, research historical records, maps, and directories, and a review of local permitting and zoning regulations for the property.

In the State of New Jersey specifically, a Preliminary Assessment (PA) is a regulatory document, which can and should, be done in conjunction with (or in lieu of) an ASTM Phase I.  If you want to obtain protection from potential liability as an innocent land owner (under the NJ Spill Compensation and Control Act N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11) a Preliminary Assessment is required. Additionally, industrial properties (in most cases) will require a PA to be conducted by the seller prior to closing a real estate transaction pursuant to the Industrial Site Recovery Act (N.J.A.C. 7:26B).

To read the full blog on GlobeSt covering the differences and nuances between a PA and a Phase I ESA, click here.

About the Authors

Jerry Ostrander

Jerry Ostrander

Regional Director
Mr. Ostrander is a Regional Director for Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., emphasizing in Site Mitigation. He has over 15 years of experience as a consultant and has managed various site investigations, remedial investigations, remedial actions, conducted closure forecasting, and environmental liability exposure assessments for a diverse range of impacted sites. He also has extensive knowledge of regulatory compliance statuses and guidance throughout the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Responsibilities include building positive Client relationships while assisting Client’s with not only regulatory and site remediation issues, but also in achieving their end goals, such as revitalization and development of environmentally impacted properties. Prior to joining Partner, Mr. Ostrander was directly responsible for all aspects of environmental remediation oversight and direction for approximately 200 remediation sites on behalf of LUKOIL North America. Responsibilities included developing and implementing remedial strategies which were economically and technically sound and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and corporate policies. Mr. Ostrander was accountable for financial management, including site specific cost to closure accrual forecasting and justification, multi-year budget estimates, annual environmental, laboratory, waste disposal and site divestment contract procurement, managing remediation project expenditures, and management of environmental remediation consultants.

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