Environmental Site Assessment Guidelines - Ohio Department of ...

6.1.7 Site Inspection
A site inspection of each property in the project area must be conducted, regardless of current land
use, for features that indicate the potential for contamination by hazardous substances. This level
of inspection does not require the investigator to enter onto a property and may be done from the
existing ROW for the majority of projects.
The items that should be noted during the site inspection are evidence of staining, any part of a
UST (Underground Storage Tank) system, soil disturbance (for suspected buried waste), drums,
surface lagoons, distressed vegetation, or other features indicative of hazardous material handling,
storage, or disposal. Photographic logs of the inspection are helpful and should be included in the
appendices of the report. The photo log must adequately document the project. Individual
photographs shall be provided for all properties with current or historical commercial and/or
industrial uses. It is recommended that the site inspection occur after the review of the regulatory
database search and historical aerials, since they may indicate a previous land use that may not be
apparent during the site inspection.
6.1.8 Special Circumstances
While it is not necessary at this stage to conduct interviews with individual property owners, local
officials from the fire department, health department or other emergency response agencies, these
interviews may be conducted to acquire information regarding sites that potentially had managed
petroleum products or had petroleum releases in the project area.
6.1.9 Conclusions and Recommendations
The conclusions and recommendations section must include a discussion of the findings of the
investigation for all properties within the project and identify which sites, if any, warrant a PCS plan
note. Because there is no ROW, further environmental site assessment will not be warranted for
the project.
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