If you require an environmental site assessment (ESA), here are some helpful steps for selecting a Qualified Person (QP) who will help you bring your site into compliance.

• Does the consultant understand your goals? Ensure you have discussed your plans for the site with your consultant and discuss if a record of site condition (RSC) may be required. A good consultant will consider and be able to discuss multiple solutions to your problem while still satisfying the regulatory requirements, and is happy to keep you involved and informed about the process.
• Make sure your consultant is a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by O. Reg. 153/04.
• Ensure that the consultant is able to complete any investigations in accordance with applicable regulations and standards and will provide you with confirmation of this.
• Have they filed RSCs successfully in the past?
• Be certain your consultant has the ability to undertake a full complement of risk assessment (RA) approaches under the regulation including Modified Generic Risk Assessments (MRGA) Tier 2 and 3. While not always required, RAs greatly expand the flexibility of site approaches allowed under the regulation and therefore it is best to keep this option open at the start of a project in case it is required during a later stage.
• Does the consultant communicate well? You should be provided with direct contact information for a project manager, who you can easily contact with concerns and who will stay with the project until completion. They should be easy to reach and responsive to your calls/emails in a reasonable time frame.
• Ask about the technology that the consultant will use to assess or remediate your property. Their explanation will indicate if your consultant is interested in using creative approaches to problem-solving and is staying on top of new ideas and industry approaches. Access to innovative technologies can decrease time on site and lower the cost of your client’s site assessments or remedial activities. For example, on-site X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) can detect metal contamination in soil in a matter of minutes, while significantly lowering laboratory costs for your client and expediting fieldwork.
• Be sure that the consultant has adequate experience. A consultant who has been in the industry for a long period of time will know how to navigate the regulations effectively and efficiently. Experienced consultants will also know what remedial strategies work best on which contaminants, bringing contaminated sites up to the required standards.