Commercial property buyers, investors and brokers

What property are you thinking of buying?

Free check for Superfund, cleanup, leaking tank and regulated sites near an address, plus flood and wetlands, and a plain call on the need for a Phase I.

Free to read
No sign-up until the draft
Hands off to the right door

ePlan fills in

Superfund sites within 1 mile
Cleanup and tank sites
Regulated facilities
Flood zone
Wetlands

How it works

Environmental screening note, from one answer

Enter the address and what the property was used for.
ePlan searches federal cleanup and facility records at the Phase I distances.
Read the screen free. Buying or borrowing? Price a Phase I and draft the user questionnaire.

What you get

Environmental screening note and 1 more document

The check is free. The paperwork after it is drafted at the Phase 1 ESA cost calculator door.

The first draft

Environmental screening note (free)

Property and past uses
Superfund and RCRA corrective action sites within 1 mile
Cleanup, brownfield and leaking tank sites within half a mile
Regulated facilities nearby
Flood zone and wetlands
Phase I: needed or not, and why

Next · 2

Phase I ESA user questionnaire

Environmental cleanup liens
Activity and use limitations
Specialized knowledge
Purchase price versus fair market value
Commonly known information about the property

From public data

What ePlan fills in, and from where

Superfund, brownfield and cleanup sitesEPA Cleanups in My Community
Regulated facilities nearbyEPA ECHO
Flood zoneFEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (Map Service Center)
Mapped wetlandsUSFWS National Wetlands Inventory

1 mile

is how far a Phase I records review searches for Superfund (NPL) sites; leaking tanks and state cleanups are searched to half a mile
Source: 40 CFR 312.26(c), eCFR

Ready for the paperwork?

Estimate a Phase I environmental site assessment's cost and timing, then fill in the ASTM E1527-21 user questionnaire your consultant needs. Free to read.

Phase 1 ESA cost calculator →

Questions

Property Environmental Screen: what people ask

Do I need a Phase I to buy commercial property?

Under Superfund, owners can be held strictly liable for cleanup. To claim protection as an innocent landowner, contiguous property owner or bona fide prospective purchaser, a buyer must complete All Appropriate Inquiries; an ASTM Phase I is one way to do it.

Source: epa.gov

How long is a Phase I good for?

All Appropriate Inquiries must be done within one year before you acquire the property. The interviews, lien search, government records review, site visit and the professional's declaration must be done or updated within 180 days before.

Source: ecfr.gov

Will a database report satisfy an SBA lender?

Sometimes. With no match to SBA's sensitive-industry list, a loan up to $250,000 may start with an Environmental Questionnaire; above that it needs a questionnaire plus a Records Search with Risk Assessment. Gas stations and listed industries start with a Phase I.

Source: sba.gov