The Environmental Professional

The SBA has recently proposed to change what defines a company as a small business for 29 industries and one sub-industry. These industries belong to two NAICS categories: “Real Estate and Rental and Leasing” and “Educational Services.” Typically the size for these industries is defined by the total revenue that they generate over the span of three years. Should the amount exceed the current standard then the company no longer qualifies as a small business. The SBA has proposed to increase the amount which qualifies these industries as small businesses due to the changing economy. The current standard was first issued 25 years ago and it has not changed since then, regardless of the ever-changing economy.

By increasing the standard it, would allow for small companies to maintain their small business status while allowing new businesses to qualify and have access to SBA loans. Should this proposal be accepted, it could show to be highly beneficial for the affected industries and also fur the businesses which aid with SBA loans, such as CDCs, banks, and environmental professionals.

Below is a table provided by the SBA’s newsroom posting on this subject. The table displays the two categories and their industries which are proposed to be changed. This proposal is currently posted for commentary on their website.

NAICS Sector 53 – Real Estate and Rental and Leasing:

NAICS Sector 61 – Educational Services:

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, ERS is thankful for your business with us. Whether it has been the RecCheck, LenderCheck, City Directory Abstracts, or any of our other quality reports, we hope we have met or exceeded your standards. We would also like to thank you for the on-going support of our blog and for the referrals to your clients and colleagues.

We hope you have a relaxing and memorable weekend that will allow you to briefly leave the stress of work behind. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you in the near and distant future.

Sincerely,
ERS Staff

In honor of our involvement with an IPhone App we are offering our Environmental Risk Summary Report!

We are offering the report only today to anyone who would like to try our revolutionizing report. We are the only company to ever offer this type of report.

The following is a description of the report:

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK SUMMARY REPORT

The Environmental Risk Summary Report is a quick environmental risk assessment tool. It is a one-page report providing the environmental risk for your specific property location and the surrounding properties in the area. This report displays a map with your site location and the surrounding site locations within a ¼ mile radius that have been identified on environmental databases. The map has colored triangles representing the level of environmental risk associated with the specific locations.

The key for the Triangles:

Red: This location has a current known environmental contamination.

Yellow: This location has been listed by a governmental agency/historical records; it does not always represent an environmental risk and/or concern.

Green: This location may have an active environmental permit or has had contamination and/or handled hazardous materials on-site in the past.

Your property location

The report provides the results of searching through thousands of records in order to locate and map any listings for your property location site or any nearby properties in the surrounding area. These records are contained in numerous lists and databases of various regulatory agencies nationwide. Upon ordering this report, it will be sent to you electronically via e-mail–a quick and efficient way to receive the information you need!

Upon receiving your one-page Environmental Risk Summary Report, if the results indicate your property or nearby property has a RED or YELLOW TRIANGLE, you may want to consider ordering a LenderCheck Report or a Records Search with Risk Assessment Report.

Uses: Environmental Risk Assessment Screening Tool for collateral property for loan

Pros: Quick, Easy to interpret, Cost Effective

Cons: No Details

The BP oil spill was not only one of the most defining incidents in 2010, it was also the largest offshore spill in history.  Recently Congress met with the Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (the Commission) to discuss what should be done to prevent such events from happening again.  The discussion was centered on the Commission’s 380-page report, recommending a plan to overhaul the U.S. offshore oil and natural gas drilling practices and regulations.  Co-Chairmen for the commission are William K. Riley, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Bob Graham, former U.S. Democratic Senator from Florida.  Three major points to consider were brought up throughout the discussion:

Is it necessary to change an industry due to one mistake?

Republican Senator of Alaska,  Lisa Murkowski, raised into question the fact that there would be a large reform in the oil and gas drilling industry due to the fault of the three companies involved in the incident.  She believes it is an unjust action towards those companies who have not caused such a spill.  She went on to compare the three oil companies involved with the spill as if they were two doctors in a hospital who made fatal errors with a patient:  “… somehow, do you hold the entire hospital staff responsible?  Is that a fair assessment of the report’s conclusion?  And if that is the case, have we just basically been lucky for the past few decades…?”

Co-Chairman Riley responded to Senator Murkowski that they had been lucky in the past years that a catastrophe had not actually occurred.  From 1996-2009 there had been at least 79 incidents where there was a loss in well control and it  did not result in an explosion or spill.  The fact that they did not result in blowouts or spills doesn’t mean that there weren’t mistakes, because the loss of control over a well shouldn’t be occurring in the first place.

Co-Chairman Riley  went on to add that since the drilling is moving into deeper waters, the risk of spills/explosions will be increasing.  In earlier days, drilling was performed  in waters that were much shallower in comparison to the current drilling  occurring in waters that are miles deep.

Is the plan and the commission credible?

The plan and commission were questioned by the Republican Senator of Wyoming, John Barrasso.  He did not agree with having to retrain an entire industry based on the mistakes of the three companies.  Senator Barraso did question the make-up of the commission due to the fact that there was a lack of engineers on the panel, and  the panel contained an environmental leader  This proved to be off-balance.

Democratic Senator of Louisiana, Mary L. Landrieu ,  was also uncomfortable with the membership of the commission.   Her state was directly affected by the spill and stated that she was initially “uncomfortable” with the membership of the commission as well, but the membership aggravated both the White House and the Environmentalists, which was in a sense some type of balance since both parties were not satisfied.

As a side note, Co-chairman Bob Graham, former U.S. Democratic Senator from Florida, added that at least an estimated $500 million per year for over 30 years would be needed to restore the resources that had been degraded by federal activities along with oil and gas drilling.  He stated that this is a chance they may never have again to restore these resources.

What needs to be done?

Due to the degradation of the Gulf’s resources, many senators suggested for the commission to engage the science community for better regulatory oversight.  Democratic Senator of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen, along with Democratic Senator of Colorado, Mark Udall and Democratic Senator of Washington, Maria E. Cantwel, intend to introduce legislation to increase the Gulf Research.

Co-Chairman Bob Graham stated that new research should be preventative instead of “crisis research.”  By performing preventative research, it shows how ill-prepared the industry actually was.  Preventative research would identify the errors in the way the industry was running prior to the spill.  “Crisis research” will not be necessary given that the accident response would be improved by the establishment of an independent, industry-funded oversight Institute.  This Institute would be recommended by another commission to conduct cleanup activities. They would also oversee the drilling practices that are being used.

Democratic Senator of New Mexico, Jeff Bingaman Jr. , asked if the American Petroleum Institute (API) could fill this position (the oversight Institute).  Co-Chairman Riley responded, indicating that while the API has many technical resources to perform the necessary tasks, they are also an advocate of the industry.  Consequently, it is inappropriate for the API to run an independent oversight institute.

Co-Chairman Reilly also indicated there needed to be an increase in the oversight funding due to the fact that funding has been decreasing since 1984, while the Gulf oil production has nearly doubled.  For example, in California there are 6 rigs per inspector; where in the Gulf waters, there are 55 rigs per inspector.

In the meanwhile, drilling can take place if the industry maintains good drilling safety and accident response.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/89/8906gov2.html

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has recently released a list that shows the Top Ten Most Endangered Places for the year 2011, ranging from the Southern Appalachians to the South Atlantic. These places are in danger of potentially obtaining irreversible threats should projects in 2011 continue.

This does not include the coal-mining project that will occur in a couple of months in the Appalachian Mountains.

The majority of the places that are in danger can still be saved as long as certain construction projects are stopped.

• Alabama’s Coast – Months after the BP blow out the Alabama Coast has yet to recover and there is a current effort to try and prevent another event like BP blow out from repeating itself
• Georgia’s Cypress Forests – The Georgia wetland is in danger because timber companies have been using the trees from these wetlands which are not only home to endangered species but the trees also help in storing floodwaters.
• Oconee River, GA – There has been a proposal from a coal-power plant 30 miles away from the Oconee River for permission to siphon an average of 13.5 million gallons of water a day From the river.  This is dangerous due to the river’s tendencies to have a dangerously low water-level during droughts, l affect the aquatic wildlife.
• Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, NC – This refuge is highly regarded for the different types of birds and other species that inhabit Pea Island.  While a new bridge has been needed for a long time, the construction of a new bridge creates a threat to the water-level and damage to the terrain of this island.  A prolonged construction time can also be detrimental to the animals’ inhabiting this refuge. 
• Snowbird Mountains, NC –A highway that has just been approved to be expanded would require a large amount of drilling under the Snowbird Mountains, adding the equivalent of four lanes of asphalt into the Nantahala National Forest.
• Cape Fear Basin, NC – There is a proposed cement plant that is to be built in North Carolina.  The plant poses a threat of emitting pollutants such as benzene, lead, and hydrochloric acid, along with increasing the levels of mercury, into the northeast part of the Cape Fear River.
• Santee River Basin, SC – There was a series of hydroelectric dams that were done in 1942 that caused a large amount of damage to the environment by adjusting the habitats of certain migratory fish.  This originally caused a dramatic decrease in the number of fish in the river.  To continue the use of these dams would mean that there would have to be another half-century of environmental degradation.
• Cumberland Plateau, TN – Mining practices for coal in other states has caused great damage to the mountain terrain.  Tennessee is trying to avoid the same thing from happening to the Cumberland that is usually used for recreational purposes.
• George Washington National Forest, VA – Natural gas extraction practices may be the cause for pollution of the water supply in the George Washington National Forest which is the Southeast’s large public forest. The Forest Service will soon decide if a portion of the forest will be used for oil and gas drilling.
• The Chesapeake Bay – Due to overfishing, pollution, and other factors, the EPA has decided to step in and help states get this once-lively bay back into shape.  There has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of blue crabs and other species.  The SELC will be helping in the remediation of this area.

http://www.southernenvironment.org/newsroom/press_releases/01_18_11_top_ten_endangered_places/

ERS has now added historical information to its RecCheck reports with no additional cost. As you know, EDR charges extra for historical information in their Radius Map Report. The new historical information in the ERS RecCheck report provides environmental professionals beneficial information to determine if there is a possibility of a high environmental risk for their specific property.

ERS has added millions of historical records to its databases; the RecCheck report has now more historical information that ever! With our new historical records we are able to give you more information about a property’s past site use, and there is no extra cost to you for this additional historical information. Some of the information provided dates back to the 1800s. These new records include information about properties’ past uses such as printers, mortuaries, service stations, RV and Truck stations, and much more. With this past site use information, you are able to determine if there was any possible past hazardous materials usage on the property. The information provided to you in ERS’s RecCheck report is extensive.

The next time you consider running a Radius Map Report from EDR simply remember that ERS’s RecCheck Report gives you more historical information for a lower price!

For more information or to order your report today please visit www.RecCheck.com. A sample report is available once you have registered on the website. The registration is absolutely FREE.

ANNOUNCEMENT

(Dated 2/8/2010)

Environmental Professional Squad LAUNCHES!

 Environmental Professional Squad (EPS, www.youreps.com) launches the week of February 8, 2010.  After years of development and programming EPS launches its revolutionary Environmental Professional business networking website.  This is the first of a family of revolutionary websites all under the banner of Property Transaction Services (www.yourpts.com).   These websites are designed ultimately to provide full service commercial property transaction due diligence utilizing Local Professionals throughout the United States.  Thereby, PTS’s goal is to provide opportunities and professional business networking to the property transactional community.

What is the goal of EPS ?

EPS is designed to promote LOCAL certified environmental professionals thereby, benefiting them in the following ways:

1. Differentiating them from large National Environmental Firms that are not “local to the work” (within their respective counties).
2. By gaining access to work from National Financial institutions, commercial brokers, and commercial property purchasers as a pre-qualified and “local to the work” Environmental Professional.
3. By working for National Environmental Firms, as a pre-qualified and “local to the work” Environmental Professional to perform soil sampling, site inspections, writing Phase I or Phase II environmental site assessment reports, or providing necessary  local expertise as a registered environmental engineer and/or geologist.
4. Providing access to a professional business network of other pre-qualified environmental professionals that can help you tackle projects outside of your area of expertise or geography.

CHECK THE WEBSITE OUT TODAY!

www.youreps.com

(Let us know how we can make it better and gain YOUR support!)

“The ONLYpre-qualified environmental professional business network”

ERS is trying to benefit Environmental Professional members in the following ways:

1. The Environmental Professional (who is currently unemployed, working for themselves, own their own company, moonlighting for extra income and/or just want to help their current company become more billable) is exposed to new bidding opportunities and new potential clients.
2. Members gain access to Vendors that will supply services and supplies to at discounted rates that increase profitability or the profit of their company pool is intended to increase all members
3. Members can gain credibility towards potential clients in your area of expertise through being certified and verified by your peers and EPS.
4. All members have access to a forum, webinar and other tools to get answers on technical questions and ideas from other environmental professionals thereby assisting members in performing at a higher level of expertise.
5.  Other members get access to pre-qualified Environmental Professionals outside of your areas of expertise allowing you to bid on projects that you are not normally able to complete.
6. Members gain exposure to larger National firms increasing your odds of finding that perfect full-time position.

Look at EPS NOW!

www.youreps.com

(What benefits as a member of EPS would you like to see in the future?)

 “The ONLYpre-qualified environmental professional business network”

What does it take to join EPS and become CERTIFIED?

1. First of all, it does not cost anything to join EPS other than the following:
   1. Your time to fill out the form to be certified.  Unfortunately, this takes 20-30 minutes of filling out forms for EPS to obtain enough information to legitimately certify you.
   2. Providing references to verify your professional credentials.
   3. Uploading your certificates and licenses for verification.
   4. Second, your references have to be legitimate environmental professional peers that know you and your work.  You have to make sure that they respond to your request of being your reference.
   5. Third, your information has to be honest and professional without embellishment of your expertise and/or experience (factual).
   6. Finally, you must promise to abide by the rules and acknowledge that, if and when you win a quote, you will pay EPS its small commission of 1.5% or $1.50 of each $100 of the gross total project.

Help us NOW!

www.youreps.com

(Let US at EPS know what you think!)

“The ONLYpre-qualified environmental professional business network”

What is the GOAL of PTS ?

PTS, Property Transaction Services was designed to provide jobs and projects to local property due diligence professionals throughout the United States through the promotion of a one stop location for ALL certified property transactions services provided locally.   Thereby, a company can enter a single property into the system and request any or all due diligence services from local certified companies and/or professionals.  “One Stop Shopping!”  This promotes using local services, in the local area, of the site thereby, feeding the local economy instead of feeding the large National conglomerates.

At least CHECK IT OUT!

Go to www.youreps.com or www.yourpts.com  NOW!

WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!

 Let’s make this successful for all of us in the commercial property transaction due diligence marketplace!

Lately, several of our clients have asked about the Small Business Administration’s recent and upcoming changes related to the environmental requirements in the SBA’s SOP 50 10 (5). As a result, we wanted to present an overview of these new requirements. Continue reading »

With the launch of our new blog, our goal is to provide Environmental Professionals with industry information as well as information about our reports that can eliminate/reduce your  research time and  provide you with more time to be the expert, not the grunt.  Environmental Professionals are more valuable to their clients in the interpretation of  the data rather than gathering it.  We can  help you gain that extra time as an expert!