Important Factors In The Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS)

By Della Monroe


A proposed development, whether it is a factory or other industrial facility, is always the focus of great interest. People are prepared to sink massive sums of money into it and work hard on establishing it. This necessitates large-scale planning and examination of the relevant factors before a sod can be turned. One of the main areas of assessment is Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS), which examines the natural environmental in order to understand whether the site is acceptable for the development, or if not, why not.

The environment needs to be taken into account and assessed. The modern attitude is that it should be recognized as deserving of respect. The opinion that pollution is insignificant or that the environment should be taken for granted is outdated and is not adhered to by modern governments or the community.

As a rule, then, developers should always take cognisance of the environment. They should maintain the approach that the latter needs to be preserved, not damaged or polluted. This is in keeping with the modern philosophy of conservation and respect.

An ESAS examines a variety of environmental aspects in order to determine if the natural environment in the area demarcated for development is safe, and if not, what risks it presents to the developers. These aspects are all part of the natural environment and they relate to health, hygiene and the capacity of the site to support what the developers plan to do there.

The vegetation in the site area is one of these aspects. Plants are of interest to the assessors for two reasons. Firstly, they may be an alien species. Secondly, they may be vectors of environmental toxins or infections.

Another aspect to be examined is the plant matter. This examination may revolve around two factors - whether the plants are desirable, and secondly whether they are healthy.

The plants themselves pose another examination entirely. They need to be assessed on the basis of two properties - their species and their health.

A healthy plant is one which is not poisoned and which has not been infected by any diseases. Alien invasive species are not desirable and they are usually prohibited by law. This is because they do not slot naturally into the local food chain. They either take up too much space or they use excessive amounts of soil nutrients. Some of them also cause the soil to weaken and erode. On the other hand, unhealthy plants are those which have been infected by diseases or which are being poisoned, either by the soil or their water supply. They then transmit the poison into the food chain when animals or insects graze on them.

These are all significant aspects in the environmental assessment. In general, developers should not try to skimp on the assessment or eliminate it from their planning.




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