ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION Each environmental service provided by the Engineer shall have a deliverable. Deliverables shall summarize the methods used for the environmental services and shall summarize the results achieved. The summary of results shall be sufficiently detailed to provide satisfactory basis for thorough review by the State, the County, The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and (where applicable) agencies with regulatory oversight. All deliverables shall meet regulatory requirements for legal sufficiency and shall adhere to the requirements for reports enumerated in the State’s NEPA MOU.
a. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Review The Engineer shall perform quality assurance quality control (QA/QC) reviews of environmental documents and on other supporting environmental documentation to determine whether documents conform with:
1. Current Environmental Compliance Toolkit guidance published by the State’s Environmental Affairs Division and in effect as of the date of receipt of the documents or documentation to be reviewed;
2. Current state and federal laws, regulations, policies, guidance, agreements, and memoranda of understanding between the State and other state or federal agencies; and
3. FHWA and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines contained in “Improving the Quality of Environmental Documents, A Report of the Joint AASHTO and American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Committee in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration” (May 2006) for:
i. Readability, and ii. Use of evidence and data in documents to support conclusions. Upon request by the State or the County, the Engineer shall provide documentation that the QA/QC reviews were performed by qualified staff.
a. Deliverables shall contain all data acquired during the environmental service. All deliverables shall be written to be understood by the public and must be in accordance with the State’s Environmental Toolkit guidance, documentation standards, current guidelines, policies and procedures.
b. Electronic versions of each deliverable must be written in software which is compatible to the State and must be provided in a changeable format for future use by the County. The Engineer shall supplement all hard copy deliverables with electronic copies in searchable Adobe Acrobat™ (.pdf) format, unless another format is specified. Each deliverable shall be a single, searchable .pdf file that mirrors the layout and appearance of the physical deliverable. The Engineer shall deliver the electronic files on CD-R, CD-RW media in Microsoft Windows format, or through the ftp site.
Environmental Monitoring (a) Borrower shall give prompt written notice to Lender of (i) any proceeding or inquiry by any party (including any Governmental Authority) with respect to the presence of any Hazardous Substance on, under, from or about the Property, (ii) all claims made or threatened by any third party (including any Governmental Authority) against Borrower or the Property or any party occupying the Property relating to any loss or injury resulting from any Hazardous Substance, and (iii) Borrower’s discovery of any occurrence or condition on any real property adjoining or in the vicinity of the Property that could cause the Property to be subject to any investigation or cleanup pursuant to any Environmental Law. Upon becoming aware of the presence of mold or fungus at the Property, Borrower shall (i) undertake an investigation to identify the source(s) of such mold or fungus and, to the extent required by applicable law, shall develop and implement an appropriate remediation plan to eliminate the presence of any Toxic Mold, (ii) perform or cause to be performed all acts reasonably necessary for the remediation of any Toxic Mold (including taking any action necessary to clean and disinfect any portions of the Property affected by Toxic Mold, including providing any necessary moisture control systems at the Property), and (iii) provide evidence reasonably satisfactory to Lender of the foregoing. Borrower shall permit Lender to join and participate in, as a party if it so elects, any legal or administrative proceedings or other actions initiated with respect to the Property in connection with any Environmental Law or Hazardous Substance, and Borrower shall pay all reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements incurred by Lender in connection therewith.
(b) If Lender, on its good faith judgment, determines that reasonable cause exists for the performance of an environmental inspection or audit of the Property, at any time and from time to time upon Lender’s request, Borrower shall provide such inspection or audit of the Property prepared by a licensed hydrogeologist, licensed environmental engineer or qualified environmental consulting firm approved by Lender assessing the presence or absence of Hazardous Substances on, in or near the Property, and if Lender in its good faith judgment determines that reasonable cause exists for the performance of such environmental inspection or audit, then the cost and expense of such audit or inspection shall be paid by Borrower. Such inspections and audit may include soil borings and ground water monitoring. If Borrower fails to provide any such inspection or audit within thirty (30) days after such request, Lender may order same, and Borrower hereby grants to Lender and its employees and agents access to the Property and a license to undertake such inspection or audit.
(c) If any environmental site assessment report prepared in connection with such inspection or audit recommends that an operations and maintenance plan be implemented for any Hazardous Substance, whether such Hazardous Substance existed prior to the ownership of the Property by Borrower, or presently exists or is reasonably suspected of existing, Borrower shall cause such operations and maintenance plan to be prepared and implemented at its expense upon request of Lender, to the extent required by applicable law, and with respect to any Toxic Mold, Borrower shall, to the extent required by applicable law, take all action necessary to clean and disinfect any portions of the Improvements affected by Toxic Mold in or about the Improvements, including providing any necessary moisture control systems at the Property. If any investigation, site monitoring, containment, cleanup, removal, restoration or other work of any kind is reasonably necessary under an applicable Environmental Law (“Remedial Work”), Borrower shall commence all such Remedial Work within thirty (30) days after written demand by Lender and thereafter diligently prosecute to completion all such Remedial Work within such period of time as may be required under applicable law. All Remedial Work shall be performed by licensed contractors approved in advance by Lender and under the supervision of a consulting engineer approved by Lender which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. All costs of such Remedial Work shall be paid by Borrower, including Lender’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements incurred in connection with the monitoring or review of such Remedial Work. If Borrower does not timely commence and diligently prosecute to completion the Remedial Work, Lender may (but shall not be obligated to) cause such Remedial Work to be performed at Borrower’s expense. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Borrower shall not be required to commence such Remedial Work within the above specified time period: (x) if prevented from doing so by any Governmental Authority, (y) if commencing such Remedial Work within such time period would result in Borrower or such Remedial Work violating any Environmental Law, or (z) if Borrower, at its expense and after prior written notice to Lender, is contesting by appropriate legal, administrative or other proceedings, conducted in good faith and with due diligence, the need to perform Remedial Work. Borrower shall have the right to contest the need to perform such Remedial Work, provided that, (1) Borrower is permitted by the applicable Environmental Laws to delay performance of the Remedial Work pending such proceedings, (2) neither the Property nor any part thereof or interest therein will be sold, forfeited or lost if Borrower fails to promptly perform the Remedial Work being contested, and if Borrower fails to prevail in contest, Borrower would thereafter have the opportunity to perform such Remedial Work, (3) Lender would not, by virtue of such permitted contest, be exposed to any risk of any civil liability for which Borrower has not furnished additional security as provided in clause (4) below, or to any risk of criminal liability, and neither the Property nor any interest therein would be subject to the imposition of any Lien for which Borrower has not furnished additional security as provided in clause (4) below, as a result of the failure to perform such Remedial Work and (4) Borrower shall have furnished to Lender additional security in respect of the Remedial Work being contested and the loss or damage that may result from Borrower’s failure to prevail in such contest in such amount as may be reasonably requested by Lender but in no event less than the cost of such Remedial Work as estimated by Lender and Borrower or Lender’s Consultant and any loss or damage that may result from Borrower’s failure to prevail in such contest.
(d) Borrower shall not install or permit to be installed on the Property any underground storage tank.