Contamination Audit Phase 1
Definition of a Phase 1 Audit
The Phase 1 Audit can be a desktop study of historic and current information sources to indicate whether a site is contaminated or not and, if so, the potential for the contamination to spread.
The information gathered in the Phase 1 Audit is used to build a conceptual model of the site and set objectives for intrusive site investigations, when required. Code of Practice - BS 10175 states that a conceptual model should be developed for any contaminated site.
Phase 1 Audits look at a broad range of information including historic uses, the topography and geology and the hydrogeology and hydrology regime (to identify potential water pollutants and their distribution paths).
Audit Scope
The Phase 1 Audit includes consideration of the following:
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Audit Outcome
The results of the Phase 1 Audit are presented as a conceptual model which is a reliable representation of the environmental processes on a site and its vicinity.
The conceptual model comprises a set of written descriptions supported by quantitative and qualitative information which may include maps, borehole records, and cross sections.
The conceptual model is used to guide further investigation, interpret results, monitor changes and communicate results to stakeholders.
What Prompts a Phase 1 Audit?
The regulations covering contaminated land and the responsibilities of the Government, Local Authorities, landowners, occupiers and other interested parties are set out in the Environmental Protection Act Part 1995 IIA.
However, contaminated land is also featured in over 160 other acts and statutory instruments covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland, America and now Australia so the picture is far from simple.
The Act states that every Local Authority “shall cause its area to be inspected from time to time for the purpose of:
- identifying contaminated land; and
- enabling the authority to decide whether such land is land which is required to be designated as a special site.
Authorities then have a duty of serving remediation notices on responsible parties specifying what action has to be taken and at what time to clean up the site.
The act does not specify what “from time to time” means and there are many provisos on who is deemed a responsible party and when notices can be served.
Who Undertakes Phase 1 Audits?
Sites are identified for investigation when Local Authorities prepare their local development plans. A significant proportion of this land will be owned by the authority and it is their responsibility to determine its condition.
Any brownfield land transaction will require a Phase 1 Audit, to be undertaken by the vendor and purchaser. The Phase 1 Audit should be one of the first things carried out on consideration of a purchase of a site as environmental liabilities can be prohibitively expensive.
Banks also require assessments of land condition when considering their funding decisions.
Large landowners in both the public and private sector are continuously examining their land banks when developing remediation strategies and Phase 1 Audit reports are essential tools when considering each site.
The Safety Alliance prides itself in providing a personal and dedicated service. We listen and work with you to produce useful and reliable environmental reports with advice that will assist you in your decision making, whether it be to buy, to sell, to walk away or to investigate further.
Overview
The name Phase One Audit comes from terminology generally used in the assessment of environmental liabilities, including site contamination, in the United States, and now adopted in the UK, Australia and elsewhere in both developed and developing countries. This is part of a three-phase process:
| Phase | Objectives | Procedure |
| I - Site Evaluation | Information gathering | Documentary desk-based study and visual evaluation |
| II - Instrusive Studies | Instrusive scientific testing | Chemical and geotechnical sampling and analysis |
| II - Site Remediation | Problem-solving & remediation | Physical and contractual |
Detailed Contamination Assessment & Site Auditing
Contamination of land or groundwater can pose a heavy legal, financial and environmental burden on the property owner. If you own land or plan to develop land, you need to consider if it could be contaminated. In the land redevelopment process, services of environmental specialists are required during the following stages:
Pre-purchase due diligence – It is important to know what you are buying into and be able to identify and quantify the risks and opportunities associated with contamination;
Rezoning of the site – As the consent authority, the Council needs to be satisfied that the site is suitable for the proposed use or can be made suitable through remediation and would direct the applicant to demonstrate such suitability;
Development approvals – Councils often place a condition on the development consent for the project, relating to the site being suitable for the proposed use and to the auditor issuing the Site Audit Statement;
Construction – If contaminated, the site would need to be remediated and validated. In addition, environmental services may be required to design and implement control measures to abate environmental impacts during remediation and construction as well as lead consultation/liaison with stakeholders; and
Post development – In some cases, the remediation & management strategy adopted for the site requires ongoing monitoring.
The Site Audit Statement is based on an independent review of a Consultant’s site assessment, which may be one or more of the report types outlined above (eg. Phase 1 ESA, Phase 2 ESA). The level of site assessment required to obtain a Site Audit Statement is quite rigorous, and at the very least a Phase 2 ESA is generally required with no unresolved contamination issues. In case that there are contamination issues a Remediation Action Plan should be added to the process in order to delineate the strategy adopted to remediate the site before a Phase 2 ESA be submitted.
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