environmental due-diligence

Environmental auditing is a prerequisite for all property transactions. The implementation of government legislation including Part IIa of the Environmental Protection Act and the recent Environmental Liability Directive, effectively places responsibility for contamination on the polluter – ‘polluter pays principle’.  In many cases the polluter can no longer be traced and liability transfers to the owner or occupier.

Liability is not limited to the subject property but also to the surrounding properties and environmental receptors such as groundwater and ecology. Unless provided by the vendor, the assessment of liability rests with the purchaser.

No property or land parcel is immune from potential environmental liabilities. These can exist, to name but a few, by way of historical land use, past and present fuel storage, asbestos, underlying and neigbouring contaminants, sensitive groundwater and surface water and sensitive ecological features.

Resurgam Environmental has considerable expertise in the auditing and assessment of contaminated land on sites as varied as tanneries and steel-works through to landmark city buildings.