Commercial lot with contaminated soil

[Logan Krutsch]

Hello BP,

I am looking at a 6 acre lot to develop a self storage facility on. The problem is the land has been contaminated due to fuel tanks leaking from a gas station next door as shown on the phase II soil survey. The owners of the gas station are aware of the contamination and are not willing to cooperate in any way. The land is also next to a quarry and is likely gravel (which would make construction easier but could also mean the contamination is very deep). It is possible that over 1 acre of the land is contaminated but we will find out after the second soil survey is finished to determine the size of the contamination. I am wondering if anyone has any experience or stories dealing with contaminated soil and how I would estimate the costs to remediate. 

Any advice or help is appreciated,

~LK

[Lawrence P. Schnapf]

@Jordan B.- There is a nuance that needs to be clarified. while the past owner at the time of disposal can ultimately be liable, a developer is not going to wait for the state to commence legal action. Once a purchaser takes title and start moving dirt, they will become liable. that is why purchasers tend to enroll in the brownfield or voluntary cleanup programs so their work is "blessed" and will not result in additional liability. in the case of self-storage project, most of the remedy will be what you would have done anyway as part of construction though there may be some "delta" of additional costs if the soil vapor requires installation of an SSDS (as explained above). In addition, a developer that enrolls in a state program and incurs significant "delta" costs could themselves seek cost recovery from the responsible party.