What to look for when hiring an "Environmental Professional"

As Brownfields decision makers and grantees evaluate the capabilities of environmental professionals whom they may hire to perform all appropriate inquires, the following qualifications should be considered:

• Does the individual who will supervise the environmental assessment, or all appropriate inquiries, meet the minimum qualifications of an Environmental Professional, as defined above and in the final rule at §312.10?
• Does the vendor have experience in performing Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessment activities, including: interviewing owners, operators and occupants; reviewing historical sources of information and federal, state, tribal and local government records; performing visual inspections; conducting multi-media sampling and analysis; interpreting geologic, hydrologic, and chemical data; and preparing site assessment reports?
• Can the vendor demonstrate experience within the industry associated with the property being assessed (e.g., aerospace and defense, chemicals, electronics, energy, manufacturing, metals/mining, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, real estate, telecommunications, transportation, etc.)?
• Is the vendor knowledgeable of federal, state, tribal, and local environmental laws and policies, particularly those related to the industry with which the property being assessed is associated?

WHO QUALIFIES AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALL APPROPRIATE INQUIRIES?

The final rule defines an environmental professional as someone who possesses sufficient specific education, training, and experience necessary to exercise professional judgment to develop opinions and conclusions regarding conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at, in, or to a property, sufficient to meet the objectives and performance factors of the rule. In addition, an environmental professional must:

• Hold a current Professional Engineer’s (P.E.) or Professional Geologist’s (P.G.) license or registration from a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and have the equivalent of three (3) years of relevant full-time experience; or
• Be licensed or certified by the federal government, a state, tribe, or U.S. territory (or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) to perform environmental inquiries and have the equivalent of three (3) years of relevant full-time experience; or
• Have a Baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution of higher education in a discipline of engineering or science and the equivalent of five (5) years of relevant full-time experience; or 
• Have the equivalent of ten (10) years of relevant full-time experience.

A good place to start is your State Brownfield Coordinator or Environmental Agency.  Some States require that Phase I and or Phase II ESAs are the practice of engineering or geology.  Still others require that a licensed water well driller be used when installing wells (Phase II ESAs).  If the "professional" has done all his work in Minnesota, chances are that he/she has little understanding of the local/state rules/regs or, better yet, the regional geology of the area.  Using this kind of "expert" may be a bad idea.  Shop around, consultants are hungry.