9.5.1 General Responsibilities

A. The Department assumes greater risk any time a Firm Commitment is issued on a contaminated site, which risk is even greater when a loan is on a site where complete removal of contamination is not possible, requiring monitoring possibly with continuous remediation techniques such as MNA/EPR. Therefore, HUD staff must exercise great care in the review process to assure that all reasonable measures are taken to mitigate HUD’s risk exposure and that an accurate determination is made of any remediation costs that are included in the HUD-insured mortgage. Any special site assessment reports, Phase II or Phase III ESAs should be reviewed so that the extent of the contamination is fully understood. Although the Lender is responsible for assuring that environmental remediation contractors are qualified and experienced, field staff must still review references and qualifications and are strongly encouraged to consult with an REO/FEO at the start of any remediation discussion.