SPRING 1999     Inside: • FAST, A New Approach to Pre-Purchase Site Assessments • New BC WCB Regulation Highlights • Building Material Diversion • Health & Safety Challenges in Argetina FAST, A NEW APPROACH TO PRE-PURCHASE SITE ASSESSMENTS Craig Robertson, M.Sc., P.Geol.     Clients requiring a due diligence environmental site assessment for the purchase of property have approached PHH with a need for a fast and accurate method of determining potential environmental liability. Until now the only acceptable assessment method has been a standard Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) based on CSA or CMHC protocols. It can take two weeks or longer to receive responses from regulatory authorities and produce a complete Phase I report. Sometimes, the prospective purchaser doesn’t have that much time to complete a deal. Fast track your way through environmental assessments.     To allow for a quick turnaround on due diligence assessments, PHH now offers an alternative to the Phase I ESA. The FASTŠ (which stands for "Fast Assessment for Site Transactions") can be completed within three to four working days. It is a decision-making tool that can quickly provide enough information to determine whether to proceed to a Phase II ESA. Quality is ensured since the FASTŠ is based on a recognized ASTM standard.     The major difference between the FASTŠ and Phase I ESA is in the level of reporting. As with the Phase I, the FASTŠ includes a historical review, an environmental database search and a site review. However, the FASTŠ report is much briefer, hence simpler and quicker to prepare. It consists of a letter outlining potential environmental concerns along with a copy of the completed FASTŠ questionnaire.     Three outcomes are possible upon completion of the FASTŠ : The client decides to proceed with a Phase II ESA; The client proceeds with the property transaction; The client does not proceed with the property transaction.     In scenario #1, Phase II proceeds. The results of the FASTŠ can be incorporated into the Phase II report, thus eliminating the need for two separate and costly reports.     In scenario #2, the property transaction proceeds. If a Phase I report is required subsequently to secure financing, it can be completed using information obtained during completion of the FASTŠ. The key (location) map, site plans, annotated site photographs of significant features of the site, detailed historical data, and letters from regulatory authorities collected during the FASTŠ survey can be included in the complete Phase I report.     If the purchase does not proceed (scenario #3) there has been a significant saving in both time and money.     The intention is not to replace the Phase I ESA with the FASTŠ in all situations, but to add an additional tool to the pre-purchase assessment process. It offers greater flexibility and increases the assessment options for the purchaser, property owner and the environmental consultant.