Environmental Engineers & Scientists > Geologist > Remedial Contractors
SBA UPDATES ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has updated the environmental investigation steps that must be integrated into lenders and certified development company (CDC) loan programs. This change became effective on October 1, 2011.
The following is an outline of the steps to be followed, when begins by comparing NAICS codes current and historic for site operations to the SBA list of environmentally sensitive industry codes.
1. If there is a code match, the site is a gas station or there were on-site dry cleaning operations. Proceed with a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) by a qualified Environmental Professional. (Note: If on-site dry cleaning operations were conducted for more than five years, a Phase 2 ESA must also be conducted.)
2. If there is no NACIS code match, the site is not a gas station or on-site dry cleaner and the loan is more than $150,000, proceed with an Environmental Questionnaire and Records search with Risk Assessment (RSRA).
a. If the Environmental Questionnaire shows that environmental contamination is unlikely and no further investigation is warranted and the RSRA concludes the property is a “low risk” for contamination, submit the results of the environmental investigation to the SBA.
b. If the Environmental Questionnaire shows that environmental contamination is likely, and former investigation is warranted, or, the RSRA concludes the property is an “elevated risk” or “high risk” for contamination, then proceed with a Phase I ESA by a qualified Engineering Professional.
3. If there is no NAICS code match, the site is not a gas station or on-site dry cleaner, and the loan is less than or equal to $150,000, proceed with an Environmental Questionnaire.
a. If the Environmental Questionnaire shows that contamination is unlikely and no further investigation is warranted, submit the results to the SBA.
b. If the Environmental Questionnaire shows that contamination is likely and further investigation is warranted, proceed with the RSRA.
i. If the RSRA concludes the property is a “low risk” for contamination, submit the results of the environmental investigation to the SBA.
ii. If the RSRA concludes the properly is an
“elevated risk” or “high risk” for contamination, then proceed with a Phase I ESA by a qualified Environmental Professional.
4. Phase I ESA
a. If the Environmental Professional concludes that no further environmental investigation is warranted, submit the results to the SBA.
b. If the Environmental Professional concludes that a Phase 2 ESA is warranted, the SBA will typically agree with the Environmental Professional, therefore, proceed with the Phase 2 work.
5. Phase 2 ESA Work
a. If the Environmental Professional concludes that no further investigation is warranted upon completion of the Phase 2 work, submit the results to the SBA.
b. If the Phase 2 ESA reveals that contamination is present and the CDC still wishes to proceed with the loan; then Environmental Professional must have documented:
i. Whether contamination exceeds the reportable or action levels;
ii. Whether remediation is necessary;
iii. An estimate of remediation costs; and
iv The projected completion date of any remediation.
SBA environmental due diligence protocols are important for many of our clients.
For more information, please contact Lawrence Bily at 610-265-1510 Ext. 236 or lbily@rtenv.com.
ASPHALT FUMES NO SIGNIFICANT RISK
Over a number of years, principally due to odor concerns, there has been a perception that asphalt fumes present a health problem. In-depth testing has now been made available based on work by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based in Leon, France. Scientific studies included:
- Human mortality – IARC’s eight-country study (Nested Case Control, 2009) showed no link between exposure to asphalt paving fumes and cancer in paving workers.
- Animal inhalation – Fraunhofer Institute (Germany, 2005-2006) study found no link between asphalt paving fumes and cancer.
- Animal skin painting – A study in the U.S. sponsored by the Asphalt Institute (2009-2010) found no link between asphalt paving fumes and cancer.
The result of the research was that the two key animal studies on paving asphalt did not show any evidence of cancer risk, and a major IARC cancer study of people working in the paving industry in Europe did not show any increased risk for cancer.
It should be noted that there are different types of asphalt products and asphalt cement, which is within the asphalt mix and holds the asphalt together, comes from a petroleum refinery. There are different petroleum fractions which come from refineries, including everything from lighter oils and gasoline, to such products as home heating oil or bunker oil. It so happens that asphalt, contains less carcinogenic compounds, such as benzene, as compared to a lighter oils and gasoline. Gasoline contains significant concentrations of benzene which is carcinogenic.
The asphalt industry has determined that there is only limited exposure to asphalt fumes for its workers actually standing on and behind the paving equipment. Newer paving machines, have ventilation systems to disperse the fumes which come off of the paving machine, at the discharge point.
The bottom line is that there should be no concern regarding asphalt fume health impacts by the general public although asphalt produces a temporary odor, when pavements are placed. Note also that asphalt used in pavement placement is different from “coal tar”, which is a different material which does not come from petroleum refineries.
The comprehensive health assessment work completed is good news for the industry and the general public as there is no need to be concerned about public health when paving operations take place.