What exactly does a Phase I environmental site assessment entail?

Question

And what type of experience should you have under your belt for getting an entry level job doing this?

Answer 1

A phase I Environmental Assessment is where a qualified environmental assessor inspects a property for potential envrionmental hazards and/or historical environmental releases.

The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) recently published a new standard for performing a Phase I ESA. It gives the definition of a qualified person to perform an ESA.

The USEPA has also weighed in on the issue of who is qualified to perform an assessment.

An entry level position means just that - you are not expected to have any experience. The company that hires you will mentor you through the process.

It would help if you had a technical background such as Engineering or Geology when performing an ESA, but it is not required.

From the ASTM Standard:

X2.1.1 Environmental Professional means:
(1) a person who possesses sufficient specific education,
training, and experience necessary to exercise professional
judgment to develop opinions and conclusions regarding conditions
indicative of releases or threatened releases (see
§312.1(c)) on, at, in, or to a property, sufficient to meet the
objectives and performance factors in §312.20(e) and (f).
(2) Such a person must: (i) hold a current Professional
Engineer’s or Professional Geologist’s license or registration
from a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico) and have the equivalent of three (3) years of
full-time relevant experience; or (ii) be licensed or certified by
the federal government, a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) to perform environmental
inquiries as defined in §312.21 and have the equivalent of three
(3) years of full-time relevant experience; or (iii) have a
Baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution
of higher education in a discipline of engineering or science
and the equivalent of five (5) years of full-time relevant
experience; or (iv) have the equivalent of ten (10) years of
full-time relevant experience.
(3) An environmental professional should remain current in
his or her field through participation in continuing education or
other activities.
(4) The definition of environmental professional provided
above does not preempt state professional licensing or registration
requirements such as those for a professional geologist,
engineer, or site remediation professional. Before commencing
work, a person should determine the applicability of state
professional licensing or registration laws to the activities to be
undertaken as part of the inquiry identified in §312.21(b).
(5) A person who does not qualify as an environmental
professional under the foregoing definition may assist in the
conduct of all appropriate inquiries in accordance with this part
if such person is under the supervision or responsible charge of
a person meeting the definition of an environmental professional
provided above when conducting such activities.
X2.2 Relevant Experience
X2.2.1 Relevant experience, as used in the definition of
environmental professional in this section, means: participation
in the performance of all appropriate inquiries investigations,
environmental site assessments, or other site investigations that
may include environmental analyses, investigations, and remediation
which involve the understanding of surface and subsurface
environmental conditions and the processes used to
evaluate these conditions and for which professional judgment
was used to develop opinions regarding conditions indicative
of releases or threatened releases

Answer 2

A Phase I ESA is an environmental assessment on a parcel of property to identify, to the extent feasible, recognized environmental conditions (existing and potential) in connection with the property. Components of this assessment include a site reconnaissance, as well as research and interviews with representatives of the public, property management, review of historical documentation including records of use of the site and surroundings, review of Sanborn maps and pertaining federal, state, city and local regulatory agencies database.

Who can conduct Environmental Site Assessments?
As per EPA and ASTM regulations, only Environmental Professionals can perform Environmental Site Assessments.