What do we mean by BASE-COST?

By base-cost we mean the lowest cost that we can conduct a particular environmental service. Generally, our base-costs are subject to the following conditions and assumptions:

1) The facility or subject property is located within a 150 mile radius of Ashland, Kentucky, which is our home base.

2) For Phase I ESAs, Wetland Assessments, Groundwater Protection Plans, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans and other similar base-cost projects, the site reconnaissance and other project site location tasks can be accomplished in a single site visit and in 1 day without an overnight stay.

3) As a general rule, the base cost applies to properties that are less than 100 acres, however sometimes projects on more extensive properties can be conducted for the base-cost, depending on the nature of the site. (This stipulation does not apply to training courses).

4) For Phase I ESAs, Environmental data collection and/or verification does not require extensive FOIA requests, especially when such requests require reviews at public information offices.

5) The environmental data collection process for a given project is typical of a "normal" inquiry. For Phase I ESAs this would mean that protracted or multiple interviews to obtain an acceptable level of information are not required.

6) The kinds of services provided are standard for the type of project. In the case of Phase I ESAs, the evaluation of additional concerns such as wetlands, lead-based paint, asbestos, etc., would usually be an additional cost.

Important:

The majority of base-cost projects can be completed for the base-cost. Usually when this is not the case, these conditions are evident beforehand, and are addressed and reflected in the cost proposal prior to final client approval.

However, because there are certain unknowns associated with base-cost projects, we sometimes will provide a not-to-exceed cost in addition to our proposed cost (base-cost plus adjustments per the conditions described above, if any), to protect our clients from excessive potential costs, and to protect PHASE Environmental from potential losses. When a not-to-exceed cost is not provided, the proposed cost is the not-to-exceed cost.