Environmental Site Assessment Guidelines - Ohio Department of ...

5. ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT SCREENING
The Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Screening is conducted on Minor Projects during Step 1
for all alternatives under study and in Step 5 for Major Projects for all conceptual alternatives. The
intent of the ESA Screening is to identify all parcels within a study area and provide sufficient
investigation to develop a list of suspect properties which require Phase I ESA. Gathering and
reviewing present day and some historic land use information, as well as regulatory databases, is the
primary focus of the ESA Screening. Additional information such as significant physical characteristics
of the study area and project history should also be included in the ESA Screening. All properties
within the project study area are screened at this level.
Although an ESA Screening does not imply a need to enter a property which may be contaminated
with hazardous substances, some level of field reconnaissance will be necessary to verify the
database information. The ESA Screening process notes potential sources of contamination. This
visual inspection should be conducted from existing public right of way or through normal project field
reviews.
The following outline identifies the elements of the ESA Screening report along with several sources of
information which should be reviewed; however, it does not preclude the use of other pertinent
information such as ESA Screening Checklists and supportive information such as historical aerial
photographs, project plan sheets, copies of regulatory records, and/or photographic logs.
5.1 Elements of the ESA Screening
5.1.1 Executive Summary
The executive summary is a portion of the report which provides a summary of the transportation
project and the findings of the ESA Screening. The executive summary is generally one page in
length and should include a listing of the properties recommended for additional investigation.
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