The Challenges of Training Others to Conduct Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
On my first day on the job as an environmental consultant, my boss brought me the current ASTM Phase I ESA standard and a stack of Phase I ESAs that our firm had conducted and told me to read them. I didn’t have much exposure to Phase I ESAs in my coursework for my geology degree. With my interest in maps, geology, and history, the reports were interesting. The ASTM standard was…let’s just say it was not “light reading.” I was learning, but it was slow-going and not engaging. On my second day on the job, I was sent out to assist with groundwater sampling. Then I spent a couple hours the next day shadowing a colleague on a Phase I ESA site visit.
A few days later I sat with another colleague as they reviewed regulatory databases for a different Phase I ESA. And so it went for months, where I would learn pieces of the Phase I ESA puzzle – while my colleagues with more experience had to spend extra time on projects training me.
Eventually, I became the environmental professional training others on our staff to
conduct Phase I ESAs. Over my career I’ve trained numerous staff persons on the
principles and methods of conducting Phase I ESAs. I’ve seen the challenges of
training staff firsthand – often both trainer and trainee spend hours of non-billable time, the training is not always standardized, and new staff may be trained by less-experienced people out of necessity.
My aim with creating EnviroLearn, LLC and this first course, Performing a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, is to provide an engaging educational tool to remedy those challenges. Newer environmental consultants now have another option when it comes to learning research, site reconnaissance, and reporting for Phase I ESAs!
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