Phase 1 Environment Site Assessment

The Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 ESA) is a process that its purpose is to determine the degree of risk that the examined site has been environmentally impacted. In most cases it refers to soil or groundwater contamination; however, it also addresses potential issues such designated substances (i.e. lead, asbestos, etc.).

Ben engineering provides it services in Ontario up to a distance of 500 kilometres from Greater Toronto Area, and in British Columbia, primarily in Greater Vancouver Area and Vancouver Island.

• A site visit to see if there is any physical evidence on the property or adjacent properties that may have impacted the site. This can include evidence of on-site storage tanks, chemicals stored on the property, or any activity that is considered as higher risk (such as auto repair garages, dry cleaners, manufacturing facilities, etc.).
• Reviewing the historical uses of the property and other properties in the area.
• Reviewing recorded related to the subject property and other properties in the surrounding areas.
• Interviewing with persons that are familiar with the property.
• Reviewing various maps and other information about the christianistic of the ground in the area.

In Ontario, the process has two optional versions: one is based on the CSA Standard and the second is based on Ontario Regulation 153/04.

The process includes a few stages, the main of which include:

Phase 2 Environment Site Assessment

A Phase 2 Environment Site Assessment is consequence a process after a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment that typically refers to soil and groundwater testing to confirm or refuse if there is actual contamination on a property due to concerns that were raised in the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment.

It typically includes a few boreholes and monitoring wells at the best possible locational that would most likely been affected on the property. However, this may not always achieve, as there could be limitations due to access issues or undersurface utility lines or pipes that restrict the drilling areas.

The process of the Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment typically takes about five to six weeks to complete. The process has a few stages, which includes public and private locates to identify were the utility lines are and if the drilling locations are safe, drilling and installing monitoring wells as needed, sampling the soil and groundwater, lab testing for the samples, and writing the Phase 2 Environmental Ste Assessment report.

In Ontario, depending on the needs and purpose of the assessment, the process of the Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment can be done either in accordance to the CSA Standard, or based on Ontario Regulation O.Reg. 150/03 (for filing a Records of Site Condition).

Reserve Fund Study in Ontario

A Reserve Fund Study is a budge planning for long-term major repairs and replacement of the common elements of condominium corporations. The law in Ontario requires that every condominium will establish its first Reserve Fund Study within the first year after the condominium was registered, and update the study at least every three years.

The Reserve Fund Study include various types of items, depending on the type of building(s) and the type of condominium. In Standard Condominiums and depending on the type of building it generally includes the building envelope components, roof(s), hallways and stairwells, amenity facilities, site components and various common components. The definition of the common elements is in the Declaration of the condominium.

The various components are estimated for the current condition, expected remaining service life, normal service life, and current replacement or repair cost. Base on these assessments, the repair costs are forecasted for the future cost at the year(s) the due year of each of these commonest, and a calculation is being done for the amount of annual contribution required in each year in order to accumulate sufficient funds, so the money would be available when the time comes for repair or replacement of these components.

At Ben Engineering, these assessments and calculations are done by experienced engineers who have done hundreds of these Reserve Fund Studies over the years.

After the first Reserve Fund Study was established in the first year after the condominium was registered, it should be updated every three years or less. The updates are divided into two types, which should be done alternately. The first Reserve Fund Study is Class 1 (comprehensive), and the following updates are Class 2 and 3, which are updates with or without a site visit, respectively. In the Class 2 Reserve Fund Study the update includes the condition assessment of the various items and estimate their replacement or repair costs, as well as their expected remaining service life based on their condition. The Class 3 Reserve Fund Study on the other hand, includes only updating the numbers based on inflation, the current financial situation of the condominium, and also takes into consideration repairs that may have been done during the past three years.

Property Condition Assessment

A Property Condition Assessment (also known as Building Condition Assessment) is a technical report that describes the overall condition of the various components of the building, site, and its systems. The scope of work for the report is based on the ASTM E2018 Standard, which describes purposes of the assessment, the limitations of the inspections, what in included or not in the report, what to expect from the report, and who can prepare the report.

The Property Condition Assessment (PCA) report is typically prepared for commercial buildings, industrial buildings and apartment buildings. It is often required by banks and other landers as a condition for a commercial mortgage, as the bank wants to know the condition of the property to minimize its risks.

The Property Condition Assessment is typically divided into a few sections, including description of the limitations and the scope of work of the assessment, breaking down of the major components of the building, site and systems, description of their conditions (subject to the limitations), recommendations, and estimated costs for repairs in the short to mid terms (typically up to 10 years).

The Property Condition Assessment is not an audit or a detailed inspection and in general, ignores minor or insignificant items, which their estimated repair costs are under a specific threshold.

At Ben Engineering, these Property Condition Assessments are prepared by a Professional Engineer (P. Eng.), who has experience of over 30 years with this type of assessments, in which hundreds of Property Condition Assessment reports have been completed.

Depreciation Report in British Columbia

Depreciation Report in British Columbia also known as Reserve Fund Study in other provinces in Canada. It is a planning and analysis study of the budget for long-term repair and maintenance program of the common properties of strata corporations in British Columbia. Until the end of 2011, Depreciation Reports were not required at all for strata corporations in British Columbia. The current legislations still allow strata corporations to waive the Depreciation Report if there are fewer than five units or Strata Corporations that hold an annual three-quarter vote to waive this requirement.

The Depreciation Report includes the various elements that comprise the common properties of strata corporations, including building components, site elements, and common systems. These common properties typically include the roof(s), exterior windows and doors, exterior wall finishes, hallways and stairwells, landscaped area, fences, heating and ventilation systems, elevators, and more.

Each of these items is evaluated in the Depreciation Report for its current condition, estimated remaining life until replacement or repair is required, and the current repair or replacement cost. A calculation is then done to estimate the projected cost for the future time it is due to be replaced or repair. A calculation in a separate section of the Depreciation Report estimate the amount of fund that needs to be transferred to the reserve fund, so when the time comes to replace or repair the a specific item of the common properties that was included in the Depreciation Report, the money for that would already be there.

Similar to Reserve Fund Studies in Ontario, Depreciation Reports in British Columbia should be updated every three years. This requirement is because the condition of the various items of the common properties may not be as predicted in the previous study due to various possible reasons, such as improper malignance, poor materials, damages, and more.

At Ben Engineering, we have over 30 years of experience of conducting various types of building-related reports, including Depreciation Reports. These Depreciation Reports are done at Ben Engineering by a licensed and experienced Professional Engineers (P. Eng.).

Record of Site Condition

Filing a Record of Site Condition (RSC) is a process with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), based on Ontario Regulations (O.Reg.) 153/04 that confirms that a specific property has no soil or groundwater contaminations above the levels that were set by the MECP. The levels vary depending on the sensitivity of use of the property; agricultural and residential are more sensitive than commercial or industrial, and therefore, lower levels of contaminations are required.

The process Record of Site Condition is typically required when a zoning of a property is changed from a less sensitive use to a more sensitive, for example, from commercial or industrial use into residential. In addition, many municipalities require the filing the Record of Site Condition as a condition for building permit, or in some cases other types of permits, such as operating a daycare in a commercial or industrial building.

The process has preliminary stages. First a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 ESA) has to be competed. If the conclusions of the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment shows that there are issues with the property or issues with other properties in the area that may affect the subject property, then a Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 2 ESA) is required to refuse or confirm these concerns. It should be noted that both, the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment and the Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment in this process should be conducted based on the Ontario Regulations (O. Reg.) 153/04 and not according the CSA Standard.

Filing the Record of Site Condition is possible only if the there are no contaminations level above the criteria set in the Ontario Regulations 153/04 for the proposed use of the property (i.e. residential). If there are exceedances, then a Risk Assessment process is required.

Filing a Record of Site Condition in Ontario is a long process, which takes moths or even more than a year in some cases. The Record of Site Condition then becomes a public record, which can be accessible to the public on the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

Performance Audit

A Performance Audit is a type of report that is required in Ontario for new condominiums within the first year after the condominium was registered. This Performance Audit report is for preparing a list of deficiencies in the common elements of the condominium and submit to Tarion.

It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to retain a qualified person, typically an engineer or an architect, to prepare the Performance Audit in time, so the findings arrive at Tarion before the end of the first year since the registration.

Depending on the type and size of the condominium, items in the Performance Audit may include the roofs, exterior walls, hallways and stairwells, amenity facilities, parking garage, site component and various building system.

In Ontario, there are three timeframes for the builder warranty for new homes. The first timeframe is for the first year, which basically includes all types of deficiency, including those considered as cosmetic or minors. A First Year Performance Audit covers these items. The second timeframe is for the two years after the registration. The Second Year Performance Audit for this timeframe is limited only to issues related to building systems, building envelope, and health and safety related issues. The last timeframe is for the seven years after the registration, and the Performance Audit for this is limited only to structural issues.

Environmental Site Remediation

Environmental Site Remediation (also called clean-out) on is typically required when contamination levels exceed the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in Ontario, or Ministry of Environment & Climate Change (MECC) in British Columbia). Exceedances could be either for the current zoning of the property or to those if rezoning is required for more sensitive use (i.e. from commercial into residential).

There are various types of remediation options, which depend on the interictal situations. For example, if the property is a vacant lot, the excavating and removing the contaminated soil may be an option. However, this is only limited to the depth of the foundations of the new proposed building as undisturbed soil is required for the foundations. Other options include chemical treatment of the soil or planting of vegetations; however, this procedure typically takes month to years to complete. These techniques are often used when there is an existing building on the property and there is no access to the soil under the building.

At Ben Engineering we provide monitoring services of the remediation process, which includes sampling the soil and groundwater during the remediation process to ensure the remediation has reached the desired level of contaminations and meets the criteria of the use, or the intendent use of the property.

Designated Substances Survey

Designated Substances Survey (DSS) is a service required in Ontario by the Ministry of Labour before renovating, demolishing, or other construction project of an older building. The Designated Substances Survey (DSS) is typically done for buildings that were constructed before the early-1980s.

The purpose of the Designated Substances Survey is to identify if there are dangerous substances in the construction materials that may release into the air while demolishing of the building or removing from the building, which could be harmful and affect the health of the construction workers.

These substances were common in older building and banned in the late-1970s and early-1980s due to their potential impact on humans. These substances commonly include asbestos, lead, silica, mercury, benzene, aacrylonitrile, coke Oven Emissions, isocyanates, ethylene Oxide and vinyl chloride.

In the Designated Substances Survey process, samples of various construction materials are taken from different areas of the building and are tested in a lab to find out is any of these substances are present.