Due Diligence and Environmental Cleanup

Location: Portland, Oregon

A former service station built in 1930 but unused since the 1980s and listed on the Oregon DEQ’s Environmental Cleanup Site database was causing problems for the City of Portland. The site had become a popular location for illegal dumping, abandoning vehicles, and unauthorized occupancy, and was a potential health and safety risk to the neighborhood.

After being contacted by the client, Maul Foster & Alongi, Inc. (MFA) stepped in to perform a Phase I ESA of the property for the client with the eventual aim of completing the necessary diligence to qualify the property for landowner liability protection under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) for purchase of a commercial property. After the Phase I revealed recognized environmental conditions, a subsequent Phase II identified specific, hazardous contaminants including gasoline, petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs, and metals. Additionally, site cleanup involved the decommissioning of multiple underground storage tanks. Conditional to the prospective purchaser agreement, MFA orchestrated the decommissioning of the tanks as well as a comprehensive facility cleanup.

As a result of MFA’s familiarity with this type of cleanup, all activities were able to take place under the provisions of DEQ’s Independent Cleanup Pathway, which streamlined efforts and allowed MFA to efficiently secure a No Further Action (NFA) letter for the client, paving the way for the successful property transaction.

With help from MFA, the client:

• Received effective project management within time pressures to balance environmental requirements with business needs.
• Received accurate cost estimates supported property transaction negotiations.
• Was able to achieve remediation of environmental concerns.
• Was granted an NFA for the site
• Transacted the property
• Received purchaser liability protection provided under CERCLA.