In today's uncertain economic environment, buying or selling real property can be an unmatched investment opportunity or liquidation strategy. As the first step in determining the true value of real property, a quality ESA is prudent to identify liability issues before title is transferred.

We have completed hundreds of accurate, timely ESAs on behalf of municipal and urban redevelopment agencies, real estate developers, attorneys, and commercial and residential property owners. Let us use what we have learned from those ESAs to help you make informed decisions about the actual value of a real estate asset and its potential liabilities and property usage challenges.

Investigating soil, bedrock , or groundwater quality requires careful, informed planning. and effective implementation so that the data collected is representative of the sampled medium and supports the objectives of the investigation (e.g., define the extent of affected medium; identify the source; plan remedial actions).

Our experience includes working in a variety of complicated geologic and hydrogeologic settings such as alluvial fans, bays, river alluvium, lacustrine environments, limestone, gypsum, sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, schists and fractured granite.

In those environments, we have demonstrated that we can complete investigations without delays and during the minimum number of trips to the Site, to provide our clients with a documented representation of their properties in less time and without change-orders.

A useful Conceptual Site Model (CSM) sheds light on the subsurface to promote a dynamic understanding of contaminant release and potential remedial options.

The basic tools used to develop a useful CSM are (a) an understanding of the relationship between the physical processes present in the subsurface, the nature of the constituents of concern, and the appropriate methods to assess both in situ, and (b) knowledge of the methods and technologies applied to properly remediate a release.

Over time, we have acquired the experience to begin conceptualizing the model using data gathered during an ESA.

We then apply our experience and the results of targeted soil and groundwater sampling to build a CSM that demonstrates how contaminants released to the environment move and spread.

On the basis of the CSM, we can work with the property owner or responsible party to craft a remedial strategy that saves time, money, and the environment, and supports long-term site usage goals.

Water is for swimming pools, not construction site excavations. Let us help you keep your crew and equipment out of the pool and your project budget out of the red.

If you are preparing an RFP or preparing to respond to an RFP, we can help you figure out if your project site is likely to need dewatering and if the groundwater to be dewatered is likely to need treatment before discharge to keep you out of the hot seat with oversight agencies.

We can get the permits. We can install the dewatering equipment so that the project schedule suffers minimal or no delays. We can monitor the dewatering for compliance purposes and document and report the results. If the dewatering requires treatment, we can set up the treatment equipment, manage treatment, document treatment, and help you keep your project on schedule.

Before you dig, call USA. Before you dig deep, call HirschGibney.

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Regulatory agencies are charged with enforcing environmental regulations and protecting human health and environment.

Working with the appropriate agencies early, respectfully, and resourcefully helps keep a project on schedule and on budget, and generally produces projects that enjoy support from the local community.

We can work with project stakeholders, including oversight agencies, to negotiate a quality approach, solve problems, secure permits, and communicate the project approach and benefits so that the projects run smoothly, without delays or cost overruns associated with permitting and regulatory oversight.

One of the major keys to the success of HirschGibney is the reputation we enjoy with oversight agencies for working effectively with them and our clients to seek workable solutions that satisfy stakeholder expectations.

Before hazardous wastes are encountered at a site, let us help you formulate a plan that will keep your project moving forward.

We can work with you to prepare a Materials Management Plan (MMP) that will provide the criteria for assessing if materials are hazardous. The Plan also will guide how hazardous materials are managed if encountered, including procedures to be followed in separating affected materials from unaffected and compositing samples for landfill profiling.

We can also help prepare a Site Health and Safety Plan to describe procedures to ensure that construction workers' health is protected when work occurs in areas of contaminated materials.

We also routinely oversee loading and hauling of contaminated materials, including manifesting and outlining procedures to be followed so that contaminated materials are properly profiled, and the most cost-effective disposal facility is identified to minimize truck turn-around-times.

We also have established relationship with landfills and recycling facilities to help our clients with the selected disposal option.

Soil and groundwater are "contaminated" when naturally occurring elements (e.g., radon gas, arsenic) or man-made compounds (e.g., solvents, hydrocarbons) have a complete exposure pathway to human or ecological receptors at concentrations that meet the criteria established to cause adverse effects.

The function of risk screening is to evaluate if complete exposure pathways exist and if constituents of concern exist at concentrations of concern. The basis of a risk-based corrective action is to demonstrate that exposure pathways are incomplete or that constituents of concern do not exist at concentrations of concern.

We have applied risk screening and risk-based corrective actions at brownfield properties being redeveloped for residential, commercial and public-sector reuse because the approach helps distinguish real concerns from perceived concerns. This distinction helps move projects forward on budget and on time while protecting potentially affected human and ecological receptors.

We begin service by listening to our clients. We strive to fully understand the long-term objectives for the project and how best we can integrate our services into a plan that supports those objectives. We bring our experience and established relationships with the regulatory and construction community into the mix so that we craft effective scopes of work that will meet both our client's goals and integrate regulatory requirements and construction constraints.

We work hard to develop realistic budgets and schedules so that we can avoid cost overruns and meet client deadlines while minimizing change order requests. In addition, we strive to provide our clients with value by matching the appropriate skill level with the given task rather than building budget bloat into our billings. And when needed, we have established relationships with qualified subcontractors that we can call on to strengthen our project teams.

We use weekly timesheets to document labor hours and provide documentation of reimbursable expenses. Our project managers routinely reconcile labor hours expended with budget and schedule milestones so that we deliver on-budget, on-time service.

Live in a nice home in a rural area and treasure the quiet atmosphere? Do you rely on your domestic water well for potable water? Are oil/gas exploration activities heating up in your neighborhood?

There is too much angst whether proposed oil/gas exploration and development activities will affect groundwater in your domestic water well. Why not, the groundwater beneath your property is a limited resource and your rural property is a significant investment.

How can you protect your property investment? Whether you do not own the mineral rights beneath your property or you intend to lease your mineral rights, let
HirschGibney collect, analyze and document baseline groundwater samples from your well in a legally defensible manner - using a suite of analyses - all designed to look for constituents normally associated with oil/gas activities.

Following receipt of the laboratory analyses we will document the pre-development monitoring activities in a letter report so that you can establish a water quality benchmark for current groundwater conditions beneath your property. We promise not to just dump the data in your lap, but instead we will present the results in a understandable manner, with reference to standards, so that you are comfortable with the results.

Before things start rolling on development call HirschGibney.

When assessment and investigation lead to remediation and implementation of an engineered solution, we are ready to meet a client's needs. We can develop the plans and specifications, write the operations and maintenance manuals, perform system startup, and complete compliance monitoring. Our systems include groundwater extraction and treatment, free-phase removal, vapor extraction and air sparging, oxidant injection and recirculation for in-situ remediation, and sub-slab depressurization.

We also can prepare RFPs for subcontractor bidding and provide oversight of in-field operations. We are experienced at integrating our work with other disciplines to achieve seamless success. Our in-field personnel maintain complete field notes so that any disputes can be resolved efficiently because documentation is complete and real time.

We can use our expertise and experience to help litigation teams fully understand the environmental circumstances driving a legal action. We can fill in data gaps and help identify when data interpretation has been designed to further a legal strategy. We develop the complete the picture and then work with the legal team to protect their clients' best interests.

We save on discovery cost by being efficient in data cataloging, documentation, evaluation and interpretation. Our experienced eyes focus on the significant, while tracking the insignificant. We are methodical and follow standards that can be adapted to meet particular case needs.

We have experience giving deposition testimony and can work with the legal team to prepare to depose technical experts. We can do the leg work to make a technical expert look good, or not so good.

Our areas of expertise include water rights disputes; groundwater modeling; surface and groundwater regulation; environmental due diligence; soil, bedrock and groundwater assessment; groundwater hydraulics; well design; soil, bedrock, and groundwater remediation; and brownfield development.

A Voluntary Cleanup Plan (VCP) is administered at the state level. The philosophy behind a VCP is to promote cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites on a fast track basis. States encourage these cleanups by allowing accelerated documentation of the characterization, risk evaluation, and development of a remedial cleanup plan.

Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) may be mandated at the federal or state level and generally required more measured documentation and thus a somewhat slower pace for project activities.

In essence, the CAP is one step in a process, whereas the VCP allows several steps to be rolled into one, including a plan to achieve corrective action.

Successful development and implementation of a CAP requires (a) knowledge of the regulatory framework and remedial methods and technologies and (b) experience applying them.

Successful implementation of a VCP often relies heavily on the reputation of the environmental consultant and that entity's capabilities to develop and secure oversight approval for reasonable, workable solutions to environmental challenges.

We have been successful in gaining approval for and implementing VCPs and CAPs for rail yards, iron foundries, mine tailings, manufacturing facilities, hospitals, shopping centers and fuel service stations.

In addition to satisfying the requirements of the VCP or CAP programs, we have contributed to our clients reaching their goals and achieving their objectives with regard to their investment in real property.