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Enviromental Consulting Services
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Over the last few years, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and locally the Hawaii
Department of Health (HDOH), have changed and expanded their regulations, policies and guidance
documents. HDOH has taken the lead in the U.S. in addressing various forms of industrial and agricultural
contamination and has developed sound, risk-based guidance and regulatory standards which are being
adopted around the world; however, it is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses and commercial
property owners to keep up with this changing regulatory environment. As the laws and regulations and
list of regulated chemicals grow, it is becoming more important than ever to obtain a knowledgeable and
experienced environmental professional to help guide you through this complicated and confusing
regulated environment. Kevin S. Kennedy Consulting can help you.
Kevin S. Kennedy Consulting works with small and large businesses to help them address their
environmental issues in an appropriate and effective manner consistent with all of the new regulations
and guidelines. We work closely with the various regulatory agencies, on your behalf, to solve your
environmental problems quickly and efficiently and are your personal liaison with the regulatory agency.
Kevin S. Kennedy Consulting provides environmental site investigation, soil and groundwater assessment
and waste removal and remedial action services. We specialize in expert witness and litigation support
and detailed project management services. Kevin S. Kennedy Consulting’s investigation reports and work
plans have become the standard in the environmental industry.
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A Recognized Environmental Condition, or REC for short, is a
term everyone involved in a commercial property transaction
is familiar with. It is a potential problem area for the
perspective commercial property buyer, a red flag to the
lender, and often a headache for the seller and buyer both.
Officially defined by ASTM International (ASTM, E-1527-05)
as “the presence or likely presence of any hazardous
substances or petroleum products on a property under
conditions that indicate an existing release, a past release, or
a material threat of a release of any hazardous substances or
petroleum products into structures on at the property or into
the ground, groundwater, or surface water of the property.
The term includes hazardous substances or petroleum
products even under conditions in compliance with laws”.
RECs are most commonly identified by an
Environmental Professional during the performance
of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, or ESA,
of a property, prior to a sale or transfer. The ESA, and
the identification of RECs, is an integral part of the
buyer’s due diligence efforts and is generally
conducted towards providing the buyer with the
“innocent landowner, contiguous property owner, or
bona fide prospective purchaser” liability limitations
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or
Superfund.
Now while it seems obvious that any well-qualified
environmental professional would identify a
potential environmental problem area, or REC, on a
property (for example leaking oil drums, oil-stained
soil, old leaking fuel tank), not all Environmental
Professionals see things the same way. One person’s
REC is another’s “other issue” or in some cases, not
identified as an issue at all.
Over the last several years I have conducted hundreds of Phase I ESAs and have reviewed hundreds more
ESA reports prepared by Environmental Professionals from around the globe. During this time I have
often been surprised at what some Environmental Professional identify, or do not indentify, as RECs, and
what some might identify as “other issues” or may not even bother mentioning at all. The most common
example of this discrepancy in REC identification is that related to underground storage tanks, or USTs.
Is a legally installed, double-walled UST, outfitted with interstitial monitoring, overfill sensors, spill
devices and a state-of-the-art continuous leak detection monitor, installed at a properly licensed gas
station, a REC? Does this UST present a “material threat of a release”?
For more information please visit
http://www.kevinskennedyconsultingllc.com