OVERLOOKED HISTORICAL RESOURCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS

As we enter the 21st century, the environmental site assessment (ESA) field is changing rapidly. Databases are now on the web. Geographic information systems are speeding up the map-making and site-evaluation process. In the constant pursuit of a high quality assessment, are all of the relevant sources of information being utilized to their fullest extent?

Companies and institutions performing environmental site assessments typically follow ASTM standards for reviewing records. This practice may define the history of an area adequately. However, because of either time pressures, desire to cut costs, or difficulty in obtaining certain resources, some important information sources tend to be overlooked. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, local city/street directories, local historical publications, and on-site interviews are sometimes neglected during the ESA process.

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and city directories give the environmental professional a glimpse into the past when modern records and databases were not kept. Information pertaining to sites that were long gone before any lists were constructed may be obtained from these sources. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps also provide additional information, such as underground storage tank locations, that is not available on other more conventional maps. Local historical publications may reveal much of the same information. For example, many communities have a "centennial" publication containing photographs and other historical references of the area. On-site interviews provide yet another window into the past. Often human memory is the only record of a site such as when a local resident remembers when their father filled the family Model A Ford at a corner gasoline station that existed for only a few years during the 1940s. These recollections may reveal sites of concern that may have been overlooked.

Together these resources used in conjunction with the industry-standard government lists and databases should give the environmental professional the most complete picture possible of the environmental history of an area. Many of these resources require a little more research to find, but their ultilization will result in a better quality product.