| One of the main reasons it is difficult to obtain | | | | Correction Action Program (CAP) or some |
| gas station financing is the notion that gas stations | | | | cleanup, they generally will fall into three phases: 1) |
| and convenience stores pose a greater | | | | Remediation (or cleanup); 2) Monitoring and 3) No |
| environmental risk than other types of | | | | Further Action status (NFA). Often the seller will |
| commercial properties. While it is true that it is | | | | confuse when a site is in the remediation phase or |
| much less likely to get leakage or spillage at a | | | | the monitoring phase that it is "clean" or has a |
| multi-family, office building, golf course and other | | | | "clean bill of health." While it is true that if it is in |
| commercial buildings, the laws enacted and | | | | the monitoring stage that the property has been |
| equipment used at newer gas stations drop the | | | | cleaned or remediated, the site still has an open |
| probability significantly. | | | | file with the State that can remain open for years |
| Frequently when a gas station or convenience | | | | and can make financing problematic especially if a |
| store has had environmental issues, the current | | | | lender discovers this further into the process. |
| seller might not have been the owner at the time | | | | One of the ways you can make sure you can |
| of the release and they may or may not be | | | | find out if this is the case is simply to contact |
| aware of the true environmental status. | | | | your State's DEP or DEQ and find out if the site |
| Environmental issues are broken down into three | | | | has an open file. You normally can just give them |
| main categories, 1) Leakage; 2) Spillage and 3) | | | | an address and they will tell you if there has been |
| Migration. Leakage is when there is leakage from | | | | any remediation done on the site or if there is an |
| either the Underground Storage Tank (UST) or | | | | open file. Statistically, sites with steel UST's will |
| from the lines running from the UST's to the | | | | have a greater likelihood of having leakage than |
| MPD's (dispensers / pumps). Spillage is when the | | | | those that are fiberglass, even though there |
| Stage I or Stage II recovery system isn't | | | | might not have been a release at the site. Many |
| functioning properly and there is overspill from | | | | States are also enacting laws that require steel |
| either the tanker filling the Underground Storage | | | | tanks to be replaced by fiberglass so you will |
| Tanks or a customer overfilling the tank of their | | | | want to investigate if this is the case in your |
| automobile. Migration is when fuel leaks from | | | | State. |
| another facility on to the property in question. | | | | A traditional lender is always going to have a |
| Migration can be close by or from miles away. | | | | Phase I or a Phase II done to assess the |
| This is why when doing a Phase I or Phase II, | | | | environmental viability of a site. With a Phase I, |
| they check within a five mile radius. | | | | the environmental company will typically find if the |
| Many times when a seller is selling a gas station or | | | | site has an open file and will make a site |
| convenience store, they will represent to a | | | | inspection to look for telltale signs of leakage or |
| potential buyer that a site is "clean" or has a | | | | spillage. You can save yourself time and money |
| "clean bill of health." If a site has had | | | | trying to get gas station financing by finding out |
| environmental problems, even problems that do | | | | the accurate environmental state of a site and |
| not require action, there may be an open file with | | | | save yourself future headaches. |
| the State DEP or DEQ. If a site requires a | | | | |