A development project breaking ground on a former industrial parcel. A Phase Two investigation after a Phase One identified a Recognized Environmental Condition. A known spill or release requiring assessment. A property with a history of heavy agricultural use. These are the situations that bring owners, developers, lenders, and environmental counsel to soil inspection. Enviro Consulting Services provides soil inspection in Spokane, WA under the oversight of a Geologist and Aqueous Geochemist.
Assessment and reporting only. When contamination is identified, cleanup goes to a separately retained environmental contractor. Keeping assessment independent from cleanup is what makes the data defensible in regulatory and transactional scenarios.
Soil inspection scopes vary by trigger. The scope, sampling plan, and analytical suite are built from the situation rather than from a template.
Pre-construction soil investigation on development sites, particularly parcels with prior industrial, commercial, or agricultural use. Soil data informs foundation design, excavation planning, and compliance with disposal regulations for any soils that must be hauled off site.
Phase Two investigations that include soil sampling, triggered by Recognized Environmental Conditions identified during Phase One ESA work. Soil data characterizes whether contamination is present, where, and at what concentration.
Following a known release (fuel spill, chemical release, underground storage tank leak), soil sampling defines the extent of impact. Data supports regulatory reporting and informs cleanup scope.
Properties with histories of dry cleaning, auto service, fuel storage, manufacturing, or intensive agricultural use have elevated likelihood of legacy contamination. Soil sampling identifies what is present so the buyer, lender, or developer knows what they are dealing with.
Washington Department of Ecology cleanup program participation, voluntary cleanup programs, and MTCA (Model Toxics Control Act) compliance scopes often require defined soil sampling protocols and data quality objectives.
Pre-purchase soil testing on rural properties, properties near known historical releases, or situations where the buyer specifically wants documented soil data.
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) as gasoline, diesel, and oil ranges. Common contaminant class on sites with historical fuel storage, fueling operations, or auto service.
Lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and other RCRA and site-specific metals. Common on former industrial sites, properties near historical smelters, and sites with certain agricultural histories.
Organochlorine, organophosphate, and carbamate pesticides; chlorophenoxy and other herbicides. Relevant on properties with historical orchard, crop, or intensive landscaping use.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) including common dry cleaning and degreasing solvents (TCE, PCE, and breakdown products). Semi-volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) where applicable.
Emerging contaminant class subject to increasing regulatory focus. Relevant on sites with historical firefighting foam use, certain industrial processes, or proximity to airports and military installations.
Where the scope calls for it, physical characterization including grain size distribution, compaction, and permeability. Relevant for development planning and for informing groundwater pathway analysis.
Subsurface investigation is a geologist's discipline. Paul VanMiddlesworth holds a B.S. in Geology and an M.S. in Aqueous Geochemistry with 30+ years of field and lab experience. The conceptual site model, the sampling program design, and the interpretation of results are what separates defensible soil data from a report a regulator or opposing expert can dismiss.
Both principals are 40-Hour HAZWOPER certified, which is the regulatory prerequisite for fieldwork on sites with known or suspected contamination. That training matters not just for worker protection but for the credibility of the data collected from the site.
We perform assessment, sampling, and testing only. We do not perform soil remediation, excavation, disposal, or cleanup. That separation is what makes our soil data defensible in regulated scenarios; a firm that also bids on the cleanup work has an incentive to produce findings that support the follow-on scope.
Samples go to accredited environmental laboratories with method-specific certifications for the analytical suites we run. Accreditation is the difference between a defensible result and a result opposing counsel or a regulator can challenge.
The written report includes sampling rationale, field methods, chain of custody, laboratory results in context of applicable screening levels (MTCA, federal RSLs), and a conceptual interpretation. Formatted to be shared directly with Washington Department of Ecology, a lender, a buyer's counsel, or an environmental contractor.
Predictable. Transparent. Designed for people making decisions with real money on the line.
We talk through the property, the trigger (development, Phase Two, spill, due diligence, regulatory), the media and contaminants of concern, and the timeline. You receive a flat quote.
A geologist-designed sampling plan defines locations, depths, analytical suite, and data quality objectives. The plan is driven by the conceptual site model and the regulatory framework, not by a template.
Soil samples collected by HAZWOPER-trained personnel using appropriate methods (direct push, hand auger, test pit, split spoon). Chain of custody documented; samples preserved and shipped to the lab.
Accredited laboratory performs the analytical suite scoped in the sampling plan. Standard turnaround varies by analyte; rush turnaround available on most scopes.
We deliver a report including sampling rationale, field methods, sample locations, chain of custody, laboratory results, comparison to applicable screening levels, and a conceptual interpretation. Formatted for the audience that needs it.
If a regulator, lender, attorney, or environmental contractor has questions about the data, we respond. For sites where Phase Three (remedial investigation and feasibility) or cleanup follows, we can coordinate with the cleanup contractor without performing the work ourselves.
Soil sampling is one of the more technical scopes in environmental consulting. A number on a lab report is meaningless without the sampling rationale, the field methods, the conceptual site model, and the applicable regulatory framework to compare it against. Spokane, WA sits above the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, a federally designated Sole Source Aquifer, which means soil data here often connects directly to groundwater pathway analysis.
An under-scoped sampling plan misses contamination that is present. An over-scoped plan wastes money and generates data that does not answer the question. A defensible sampling plan is built from a conceptual site model of how contamination, if present, would likely occur given the site's history and physical setting. That is geologist work, not checklist work.
In Washington State, soil data is typically compared to MTCA (Model Toxics Control Act) cleanup levels, which are both media-specific and use-specific (residential, industrial). Federal Regional Screening Levels (RSLs) apply in some contexts. A lab result of X milligrams per kilogram has a different regulatory meaning in residential soil than in industrial soil. The report interprets results against the applicable framework.
Where the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is the pathway of concern, soil data often needs to be paired with groundwater sampling or with a pathway analysis that connects soil concentrations to expected groundwater conditions. That analysis is what informs whether a given soil result is a cleanup issue, a monitoring issue, or a non-issue.
No. Enviro Consulting Services performs assessment, sampling, and testing only. Soil cleanup, excavation, and disposal are handled by a separately retained environmental contractor. Keeping assessment independent from cleanup is what makes our soil data defensible in regulatory and transactional scenarios.
Field sampling typically takes a half day to two days depending on sample count and site conditions. Lab turnaround varies by analyte: 5-10 business days for common suites, longer for specialized analyses like PFAS. Rush turnaround is available on most scopes.
Cost varies by scope, sample count, analytical suite, and field access. A small targeted scope (3-5 samples, one analytical class) is relatively inexpensive; a full Phase Two investigation on a larger property runs considerably more. We quote a flat fee based on the scoping conversation.
For CERCLA defensibility and for most lender-driven scenarios, yes. The Phase One documents the environmental history and identifies Recognized Environmental Conditions, which is what scopes a defensible Phase Two. Some scopes (post-spill assessment, known-release characterization) proceed directly to sampling without a preceding Phase One.
The report documents what was found, at what concentrations, and how those concentrations compare to applicable screening levels. The report does not direct cleanup; that scope goes to a separately retained environmental contractor. We can support the owner or buyer through the Washington Department of Ecology process, coordinate with a cleanup contractor without performing the work ourselves, and respond to questions from regulators or counsel.
Yes. PFAS is an emerging analytical class with method-specific requirements for both sample collection and lab analysis. We coordinate with laboratories that maintain current PFAS certifications and follow current EPA guidance on sample collection to avoid cross-contamination.
Call (509) 202-6919 to talk through your situation with a Geologist and Aqueous Geochemist. We will scope the right sampling plan for the right question and quote a flat fee.