For property owners, due diligence is a critical aspect of successful asset management. Environmental risk must be well managed in order to maintain your property value and remain in regulatory compliance. At AEL environment, we understand the importance of environmental compliance and liability protection. Our dedicated team can explain regulations in plain, everyday language and help you to develop an individualized plan of attack. It all comes down to your distinct property needs and site-specific goals. But what exactly does ‘due diligence’ and ‘regulatory compliance’ look like for property owners? And how can you manage environmental risk with AEL?

What Is Due Diligence?

Environmental due diligence is a broad idea that relates to the acceptable standard of care for tasks completed to reduce liability and risk. This requires adherence to applicable regulations. Owners must also ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent any environmental issues from migrating off-site. In Canada, environmental standards are governed at both a federal and provincial level.

What Is Regulatory Compliance?

Regulatory compliance as it relates to property owners, this term generally refers to following the applicable environmental regulations. Impacts can occur when chemicals are present in the soil or groundwater above acceptable standards, potentially posing a risk to building occupants, drinking water services, and neighbouring sites. This can result in high liability for site owners. Other areas of compliance can include reporting, testing, site assessment or clean-up, change of site use, and more.

How Can You Manage Environmental Risk?

The key to environmental risk management begins with understanding the specifics of your site. As a Canadian site owner, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards outline environmental site assessments, and  in Ontario, the guiding environmental regulation is Ontario Regulation 153/04. This regulation is Ontario’s provincial standard for the assessment and cleanup of potential environmental impacts and prescribes the appropriate ways in which to manage environmental risk. 

At AEL environment, we can provide skilled support to help you understand environmental risks, ensuring that your site is well managed at all times. Our regulatory expertise in the environmental consulting industry can assist you in the following areas of compliance:

  • Personalized Risk Assessment – With more than 25 years servicing the industry, we know how to apply crucial information to your specific site and guide you through the process. Based on your unique property and site-specific goals, we can help identify the requirements that apply directly to you and assess environmental risk on your site.
  • Site-Specific Risk Management – Trying to navigate the ins and outs of environmental regulations can feel overwhelming. Allow us to cut through the noise and isolate key details and relevant information. Our team of professionals can help you stay on track with continued support to help manage requirements, deadlines, and ongoing monitoring, or assisting you in response to audits.
  • Personalized Data Visualization – Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer to take things one step at a time? We break down all information into manageable, understandable data visualization to create a clear picture of your site’s condition. 
  • Correspondence Assistance – In some cases, it may be necessary for site owners to correspond and negotiate with governing bodies, lenders and others. We can assist you with client representation and MECP correspondence.

Ready to manage the environmental risk on your property? Environmental due diligence and compliance will save you time, mitigate legal issues, support property transactions and protect and restore the value of your land. Contact us today and let us know how we can help with your project.