Environmental Assessment

You may need a Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) if you purchase or redevelop a commercial building – including schools and child care facilities. Here’s what that means. When you buy or lease a piece of commercial property, the last thing you want to happen is to get hit with a bunch of unforeseen costs down the road. Yet,…

To open a new child care center in New Jersey, the owner must perform some basic environmental tasks for compliance with regulations. Let’s talk about what that means. Environmental compliance shows that a child care center is adhering to New Jersey’s laws in order to obtain a license to operate. In addition, compliance helps ensure that the child care center…

If you have a new child care center, State licensing requirements require an environmental assessment.  Usually, this entails hiring a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) to issue a Response Action Outcome (RAO) to satisfy NJ Department of Environmental Protection requirements.  The RAO is the final document. So why does the NJDEP inspect the site and review the file after the…

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, have been used as a coolant and lubricating fluid in a variety of electrical products due to their good heat insulation properties. Hence they have historically been used in pole mounted and ground transformers, fluorescent lighting fixtures and equipment using hydraulic oils. PCBs are generally odorless and colorless and tend to persist in the environment. Aroclor…

Many child care centers are located at sites where there is (or was) oil heat, or other uses that had storage tanks, such as commercial properties or former service stations. There may be aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) or underground storage tanks (USTs) that stored #2 fuel oil, or some other petroleum product. Are samples required for child care center licensing…

Many urban and low elevation areas in New Jersey have been mapped by the New Jersey Geological Survey as having historic fill.  Fill material often contains metals, semi-volatile compounds and petroleum hydrocarbons. The first step is to confirm if mapped historic fill is actually present.  This is generally accomplished via drilling small diameter holes in various areas of the property. …

When planning a new play area for a child care center, it is important that the Licensed Site Remediation Professional know and understand the play area’s construction, size, and location on the property. This is needed to produce an accurate Response Action Outcome (RAO) letter which satisfies NJDEP requirements for child care licensing. The same could be said for indoor…

When opening a new child care center or expanding an existing play area, oftentimes soil samples are needed for compliance. Soil samples are generally required when there is a potential for children to have direct contact with any site contaminants, such as pesticides from historic agriculture use. The potential for direct contact includes play areas constructed on natural grass or…