Locus provides environmental due diligence (EDD) services to various sectors of the commercial marketplace real estate and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) industries. These services normally pertain to due diligence and risk management studies for evaluating whether there is significant potential for financing liability associated with property transactions (sales, acquisitions, leases and/or financing). In the early days, EDD was predominantly land-focused, used to evaluate actual and potential soil and groundwater liabilities pertaining to a business or a property.
Locus has performed many EDDs in connection with business transactions. We are experienced in all aspects of the EDD, from Phase I or AAI to assessment of large, complex facilities. Our staff includes real estate experts, engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, risk assessment specialists, and other environmental professionals. Locus has tamed the complex environmental regulation by understanding and balancing the local, state, and federal requirements.
All Appropriate Inquires (AAI)
On 1 November 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule setting federal standards for the "all appropriate inquiries." AAI is the process of evaluating environmental conditions at a property and assessing potential liability for contamination; it is a key test in determining future liability for prospective purchasers of the property. The new rule, effective as of 1 November 2006, establishes regulatory requirements for conducting all appropriate inquiries into the previous ownership, uses, and environmental conditions of a property to qualify for certain landowner liability protections under CERCLA. AAI must be performed within 1 year of the date of acquisition of a property. The investigation must be updated if it was conducted more than 180 days before the acquisition date. AAI must include certain specific activities, such as:
- Interviews with past and present owners, operators and occupants
- Reviews of historical sources of information
- Reviews of federal, state, tribal, and local government records
- Visual inspections of the facility and adjoining properties
- Searches for environmental cleanup liens
- Assessments of any specialized knowledge or experience of the prospective landowner (or grantee)
- An assessment of the relationship of the purchase price to the fair market value of the property, if the property was not contaminated
- Commonly known or reasonably ascertainable information
What Locus Offers
Locus provides a single point of responsibility for your environmental needs. Our staff is knowledgeable of the steps taken to address ongoing releases and to protect human health and the environment.
We offer the following services:
- Conducting all appropriate inquiries using the new rule 40 CFR Part 312
- Performing Phase I site assessments (useful for those who do not wish to conduct All Appropriate Inquiry)
- Performing Phase II site assessments (investigation to confirm the presence of contamination that typically includes sampling of soil, surface water, and/or groundwater, chemical analysis of the samples, and evaluation of the data)
- Phase III Remediation Design, Construction, and Operations and Maintenance
- Performing environmental compliance audits on behalf of property owners
- Providing peer review services for property owners whose property has been or may be impacted by contamination migrating onto the property from offsite sources
- Audits of Tenant Operations
- Real Estate Environmental Support Services
- Web-based data room organization for EDD using LocusFocus ePortal