Prepare to address your dry cleaning business’s environmental liabilities

We get it. Navigating the environmental due diligence process can be challenging.

Whether you’re refinancing your property, looking to sell your business and/or property, or preparing your business to pass down to your children, due diligence will be required for all sales and property transactions. With the rate of urban renewal and redevelopment in the United States, it is likely your dry cleaning operations will be scrutinized during an environmental due diligence assessment at some point. Will a problem be identified?

What’s your situation?

1. You’re selling your business or property
   If you want to sell your business or property, due diligence is required during business and property transactions to determine if the operating business and/or property carries any potential environmental liability including hazardous waste contamination, lack of permits, permit violations, and compliance deficiencies. Understanding these conditions allows the buyer to evaluate potential limitations, liabilities, and risk associated with the property. Often times, due diligence at a dry cleaner is going to uncover environmental problems. Due Diligence will start with a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) to identify if there’s any likelihood of contamination. For most dry cleaners, a Phase II ESA will be required, which includes collecting samples of soil, groundwater or building materials to analyze for various contaminants
2. You’re refinancing your property
   If you’re refinancing your property, your bank is going to require a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), which is the formal process that assesses real estate for potential risk of environmental contamination. Again, for most dry cleaners, a Phase II ESA will be required.
3. You’re retiring with plans to hand off your business to your children or grandchildren
   If you want to retire and hand off your business to your children or grandchildren, there’s a high probability that contamination may lurking beneath your building due to decades of dry cleaning operations. Since you’re passing the business onto family, you’ll want to conduct environmental due diligence to make sure they are protected from liability.
4. Your neighbor is selling or refinancing their property
   If your neighbor is selling or refinancing their property, they’ll conduct real estate due diligence. Their environmental investigation may uncover a commingled plume which may lead to you. This will lead to the need to conduct your own environmental due diligence process.  
5. You purchased a property at tax sale
   If you bought a property at a tax sale, which used to house a dry cleaner, and you didn’t conduct real estate due diligence, before you can redevelopment or sell it, you’re going to have to conduct real estate due diligence if you want to avoid taking on the environmental liability.

No matter your situation, we’re ready to help you find the most cost effective solution. Contact us today.