What the scope is allowed to chase
The REC the Phase I wrote. A dry well under the degreaser. The former UST. The plating-sludge pad. Expanding the scope because “we are already here” is how bills grow without a hypothesis. Environmental liability in manufacturing sales is the liability owner.
AAI still sits in 40 C.F.R. Part 312 as the Phase I wrapper (Source: EPA / 40 C.F.R. Part 312). Phase II is not AAI. It is the follow-up the REC demanded.
What Phase II will not do
It will not satisfy a transfer-act form. It will not transfer an air permit. It will not make ISM’s 54.6 PMI relevant to a solvent plume (Source: ISM). National BLS welder pay of $53,750 is not a sampling cost (Source: BLS).
| Outcome | Typical next step |
|---|---|
| Non-detect / below criteria | Close the REC in diligence |
| Detect, limited | Price a remedy or escrow |
| Detect, unbounded | Walk, reprice, or more work |
| Access denied | No data, deal risk remains |
Who pays for the borings?
The LOI should say. Often the buyer, sometimes split, rarely the seller alone on a competitive file. Jason Taken is a business broker. Educational information only. The EP and counsel own the workplan.
How to keep a Phase II from becoming an unbounded science project
Write a hypothesis per REC. “Chlorinated solvents at the former vapor degreaser” is a hypothesis. “Sample the whole site because it is old” is not. Set a depth, a media list, and a decision rule before the drill is on the truck. If the first round is non-detect, stop unless counsel has a reason to go wider. If the first round is a hit, decide whether you need delineation, a remedy price, or an exit — do not automatically order a third mobilizations because the EP is available Thursday.
Access is a deal term. A tenant seller who cannot authorize borings in a leased aisle needs the landlord in the letter. A winter frost line can slip a close. Write weather and access as conditions, not as excuses after the exclusive expires.
Data rooms should hold the Phase I, the boring logs, the lab sheets, and the chain of custody. A slide that says “Phase II clean” without the tables is a teaser, not diligence. Environmental liability is where indemnities and escrows live once the numbers exist.
Do not use a Phase II to delay a decision you have already made. If the buyer’s credit box cannot live with any solvent history, say so before the first hollow-stem. The glossary will not treat sampling as a personality test.
Isolation
The glossary keeps Phase II off Phase I. The FAQ holds the question. When a REC is already on paper, book a confidential intro call.
Lab methods, stop rules, and the landlord who never signed
Name the analytes that match the REC. Chlorinated solvents and metals are different lists. A metals-only suite on a degreaser REC is the wrong science. Set reporting limits that can actually decide a walk-versus-price question. Then stop when the rule is met. Unbounded sampling is a project, not diligence.
If the seller does not own the dirt, the landlord has to allow the borings. Put that consent in the letter. A Phase II that cannot touch the pit is a brochure. A CIM should quote the REC language and say whether access is granted. Bring that sentence and the access status before anyone books a drill. Phase I and Phase II sequences the work. The EP owns the workplan. After a REC is already on paper, a confidential intro call is the conversion path.
What Phase II is not
It is not Phase I. It is not unbounded science. It is not a personality test. It is not a slide that says “Phase II clean” without lab tables. Data rooms should hold the Phase I, the boring logs, the lab sheets, and the chain of custody. Environmental liability is where indemnities and escrows live once the numbers exist.
How it shows up: after a named REC, with a hypothesis, a lab list, and a stop rule. If the buyer’s credit box cannot live with any solvent history, say so before the first hollow-stem. Name the analytes before the drill is on the truck. Chlorinated solvents and metals are different lists. A metals-only suite on a degreaser REC is the wrong science. Then stop when the rule is met. A Phase II that cannot touch the pit because the landlord never signed is a brochure.