March 2012
Find out what 32 state vapor policies could mean for you
Understanding vapor is more important than ever in 2012 • EPA issues new final health assessment for PCE (from commonground) • ASTM revision—regulatory file review (from commonground) • events, courses and more!
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January 2012
What can you expect in 2012? An industry vet makes predictions
Environmental pro predicts three primary contaminant sources for 2012 • Take our reader survey • Chesapeake Bay to drive hundreds of thousands of environmental jobs • Amazing new commonground content • events, courses and a whole lot more!
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December 2011
Top five challenges lenders face in environmental due diligence—and how you can help!
Lender challenges and the role EPs play in helping conquer those challenges (Part 2 of 2) • commonground University's exclusive ASTM E2600 Vapor Encroachment Online Course • Why the University of Maryland Law School Environmental Law Program has come under fire (again) • And much, much more!
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November 2011
Top five challenges lenders face in environmental due diligence—and how you can help!
Lender challenges and the role EPs play in helping conquer those challenges (Part 1 of 2) • commonground University's exclusive ASTM E 2600 Vapor Encroachment Online Course • Why asthmatics might not want to move to New Delhi • And much, much more!
September 2011
Environmental contamination in our nation's schools—where it’s happening, and how YOU can help
Read September's EDR Insider for a report on environmental contamination in America's schools, a Scorekeeper update, important webinar downloads and more!
August 2011
Vapor intrusion raises new concerns about environmental contamination in Alabama
Read about Phase 1 growth in the US, a new Chain Of Title (COT) requirement and help commonground raise money for the less fortunate in the classroom.
July 2011
Inside intell from US SBA
Read July’s issue of EDR Insider for the latest intell from US SBA, Freddie Mac, the legal field, the strongest Phase I ESA growth metros, and more.
April 2011
Oil Wells May Pose 'Unacceptably High Risk'
In one Michigan county, the legacy of the oil boom that started in the 1920s may still pose an “unacceptably high risk” to the environment and public health according to the October 2010 findings of the Muskegon County Oil Field Work Group. Read more about the study, along with the latest on SBA’s new refi program, Phase I ESA volume and more.
February 2011
Vapor Intrusion Developments This Month
Read the latest developments on the vapor intrusion front this month, as well as encouraging findings from EDR’s broadest-based lender survey, the top 10 metros registering the strongest Phase I ESA growth and the six cities on tap for this spring’s Due Diligence at Dawn tour.
SEPTEMBER 2010
Two stories about California schools built on contaminated properties made headlines this month. The first case is teeming with irony: an elementary school being named for Al Gore was discovered to have been built on a contaminated site.
AUGUST 2010
A new EPA program is helping to support two of the agency's major initiatives: brownfields redevelopment and green energy projects. The RE-Powering America's Contaminated Lands and Mines program connects brownfields sites with renewable energy companies to convert eyesores into productive assets by furnishing contaminated sites with wind farms, solar arrays, geothermal installations or manufacturing centers for renewable energy components.
JULY 2010
EDR Insider recently sat down with Bill Wagner, an Indianapolis-based environmental attorney who has been representing buyers, sellers and developers of commercial properties in vapor intrusion cases for nearly a decade, to get his thoughts on the revised ASTM E2600-10 standard and what it means for environmental due diligence professionals.
JUNE 2010
An Illinois-based lender filed an environmental lawsuit after foreclosing on a seemingly benign property that was later found to be contaminated. In 2009, the bank foreclosed on a two-family home. Since then, the bank discovered that a nearby dry cleaner had allegedly contaminated the property, along with the surrounding area. As a result, the bank is now suing the dry cleaning company, its owner and its lender.
MAY 2010
In April, the U.S. EPA made its annual announcement of brownfields grant awardees. This year, almost $80 million will be distributed across the country to clean up blighted gas stations, textile mills, smelters and other abandoned industrial and commercial properties that comprise the nation's estimated 450,000 contaminated sites.
APRIL 2010
EDR's latest quarterly survey on the state of the environmental due diligence market just closed, with more than 250 environmental consultants across the country weighing in with their insight. The results show slight improvements in the market since the previous survey conducted in January.
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MARCH 2010
In the midst of a still-struggling commercial real estate market, other sectors are compensating for weak Phase I ESA demand on new property transactions. Among them is the telecom market. Robust demand for wireless communication services is creating an urgent need for new cellular tower builds.
FEBRUARY 2010
Two new studies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirm the danger posed by vapor intrusion. On December 14, 2009, EPA's Office of the Inspector General released a 23-page report stating that the agency's "efforts to protect human health at sites where vapor intrusion risks may occur have been impeded by the lack of final [EPA] guidance on vapor intrusion risks."
JANUARY 2010
A recent controversy in the coastal town of Cape May, NJ shed light on the environmental legacy of manufactured gas plants (MGPs). A public housing development was built on a site that once housed a plant operated by Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) from the 1850s to the 1930s.
DECEMBER 2009
Results from EDR's September 2009 Environmental Due Diligence Best Practices Survey reveal that although staff training is viewed as an important practice, many consulting firms do not focus on it as a primary business strategy. As the downturn continues, many firms have laid off staff and may not rehire for quite some time.
NOVEMBER 2009
EDR's survey data confirms what many environmental due diligence professionals are acutely aware of: the downturn has intensified an already price-competitive Phase I ESA market. How much have average Phase I ESA prices fallen in the past year? Earlier this month, EDR closed its Environmental Due Diligence Best Practices Survey 2009 with 525 responses from environmental professionals around the country.
SEPTEMBER 2009
As the pace of bank failures rises, the FDIC has emerged as a major driver of environmental due diligence. When a bank fails, the FDIC is often appointed as receiver. When the FDIC receives the real property assets of the failed bank, a number of "closing support functions" need to occur, including environmental investigations.