Environmental Site Assessment Guidelines - Ohio Department of ...

7. PHASE I ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT
The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is typically the next step in the ESA process in
determining the presence of hazardous substances within a Minor or Major Project. This occurs in
Step 3 for Minor Projects after the Preferred Alternative has been selected. For Major Projects, the
Phase I ESA occurs in Step 6 on all feasible alternatives. In general, parcels which require a Phase I
ESA have been identified in the ESA Screening. The intent of the Phase I ESA is to determine the
potential of encountering hazardous substances or petroleum products from a specific property. For
the purpose of Phase I ESA investigations, property is referred to as a “site” prior to land acquisition
and/or construction activities.
Since a single site can contain multiple parcels of land, the Phase I ESA should cover all parcels
within the site and include both the area to be acquired and the outside of the proposed ROW. The
Phase I ESA involves researching and reviewing site-specific information in order to determine a list of
suspect sites which require a Phase II ESA. In general, the Phase I ESA should not be conducted
without having performed an ESA Screening. The ESA Screening deals with all sites within a project
area. The Phase I ESA involves only the suspect sites in the project. The following outline documents
the elements of a Phase I ESA. This outline is not intended to preclude the use of any available
information which could aid in assessing a site for potential contamination.
7.1 Elements of the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
7.1.1 Executive Summary
This section should include a brief general description of the project location and type of proposed
transportation project. In addition, a brief discussion of activities conducted and general
conclusions and recommendations for further environmental site assessment should be included.
7.1.2 Introduction
A discussion of the project location, a description of the transportation project, and description of
the proposed ROW acquisition should be provided in this section. While some of this information
may be limited or not available, this information should be provided and used to assess the
potential environmental impacts to the transportation project. In addition, a summary of any
28