EPI has been integrally involved in over 1,000 acquisition projects, ranging from the performance of individual Phase I environmental site assessments (ESAs) to the evaluation of environmental liabilities at over 100 sites simultaneously throughout the United States. EPI routinely joins the acquisition team providing input on environmental liabilities, associated costs, and timing of anticipated environmental expenditures as part of the pro forma for the acquisition target.  What distinguishes EPI from others conducting business in the environmental due diligence area is that we understand the management implications.  EPI's professionals can take a complicated environmental due diligence project and work it through from the initial site walkover and aerial photograph study to final negotiations with agencies or buyers.

A sample of the environmental due diligence services EPI personnel have provided our clients is presented below.

Project #1:  EPI conducted a Due Diligence/Risk & Liability Assessment of the Weskem-Hall Company for Van Waters & Rogers Inc. (VW&R) as part of the purchase agreement of Weskem-Hall. This assessment was performed in only one week in an effort to expedite this purchase.   Weskem-Hall's holdings consisted of 10 oil field support facilities throughout remote parts of the Rocky Mountain States.  Weskem-Hall is a supplier of lubricants, catalysts, adsorbents, and desiccants, to the natural gas processing, refining and petrochemical manufacturing industries.  EPI provided summary reports and an estimate of environmental liability for each site.  Ultimately, EPI assisted in negotiations that led to VW&R's purchase of Weskem-Hall.

Project #2:  EPI assisted in a Phase I ESA and review of numerous environmental reports documenting former soil and ground water sampling.  The nursery is to be redeveloped with residential houses, a school, and parks.  The nursery has grown orchards and potted plants since the early 1900s and has numerous environmental concerns from the use of pesticides, underground piping and storage tanks of weed oil and fuel, and a water reclamation system.  An extensive aerial photograph review and personal interviews were performed to identify areas of environmental concern that were not mentioned in the previous environmental reports. The environmental assessment identified existing environmental concerns with recommendations for additional sampling to assess the extent of on-site contamination from historical nursery operations.

Project #3:  EPI personnel assisted a commercial developer in the redevelopment  of a  former  aerospace  manufacturing facility.  Areas of the site included a machine shop, a degreaser area, hazardous materials storage areas, a manufacturing building, and an office building.  Chemicals and other hazardous materials handled at the site included paints, solvents, and oils.
 
Previous investigations of subsurface conditions at the site indicated the presence of various chlorinated volatile organic hydrocarbons in the soil and ground water.  The source of the contaminants was unknown.  EPI personnel were part of an acquisition team that included the developer, attorneys and a variety of potential funding sources.  We assisted in the preparation and negotiation of an attractive and comprehensive indemnification agreement with the parent corporation of the former aerospace company and assisted in making presentations to the perspective lenders on the project.
 
To support the redevelopment efforts, a soil-gas survey was performed to assess the presence and potential lateral extent of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the vadose zone at the site and to provide a baseline of current soil-gas conditions against which future soil-gas investigation results could be compared.  The soil-gas survey was critical to the indemnification agreement and a key element in obtaining funding for the project.

To further ensure successful redevelopment of the parcel, a screening risk assessment of the soil-gas survey results was performed to assess if a potential human health risk exists for employees at the site.  The screening assessment determined that a potential health risk does not exist to long-term employees, and likewise does not exist for construction workers during the building of the new facility.  The property was purchased, redeveloped and is currently a profitable retail center.