For the most part shopping center tenants are retail, non-environmentally-impacting businesses. The major environmental concern would be dry cleaners, especially those which use Chlorinated Solvents. Prior to recent hazardous waste regulations, waste dry cleaning solvents were routinely dumped onto the ground or disposed down a septic tank. Chlorinated Solvents are particularly pervasive. These compounds are heavier than water and, unlike petroleum, tend to sink into the aquifer. Also, even with state-of-the art containment equipment, vapors released in spray water wash will settle to the ground and enter soil and groundwater by dissolving asphalt or getting washed into cracks in concrete.

Cleanup of soil and groundwater contaminated with Chlorinated Solvents is much more difficult and expensive than petroleum cleanup. The ability to migrate downward through the aquifer means that a significant amount of contaminated soil would need to removed and managed as a hazardous waste. Soil remediation would involve treatment at a specialized hazardous waste facility or disposal of the soil in a hazardous waste landfill. Also, Chlorinated Solvents, which are detected in groundwater at greater depths, would involve more extensive and complex remediation measures. The most effective groundwater treatment is “pump & treat” using stripping towers and carbon filters and scrubbers. This is a very long-term and expensive solution. Excavation, transport, and treatment and/or disposal costs can far exceed the value of the property.

There are some remedies.

The state of Florida administers a state-funded program called the Dry Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program, which is designed to absorb the substantial costs of cleanup of discharges of dry cleaning solvents. Eligibility in this program ended in the late 1990's. This program ranks eligible facilities in order of priority. All assessment and cleanup tasks will be paid for by the state of Florida with the exception of a deductible ranging from $1,000.00 to $10,000.00. Application for Eligibility in this program was initially intended to last until 2008; however, the legislature passed a law requiring the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to stop accepting applications at the end of 1998; so, any contaminated dry cleaning facilities that had not submitted a complete application by that time will not be eligible for state-funding. There are also other exceptions including uniform rental businesses and federally-owned dry cleaning facilities (i.e. dry cleaning facility run by a federal prison).

The same statute also provided some tax breaks for eligible facilities to conduct cleanup on their own, and absolved off-site property owners from any liability from contamination on their property caused by a discharge from an eligible dry cleaner. As with the state-funded petroleum cleanup programs, the Dry Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program would absolve a buyer or lender from liability and the responsibility of cleanup of discharges from eligible facilities, but the presence of contamination could still affect the value of the asset.

The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment would provide the necessary information on whether a discharge has been reported, whether the facility is eligible for state-funded cleanup, and whether deductibles are still owed.

Another environmental concern associated with shopping centers is the presence of an adjacent gas station on an out-parcel. Any discharge from a gas station would be a cause for concern.

Lastly, supermarkets usually have emergency generators. Fuel tanks for generators are usually self-contained within the generator or above-ground on a concrete pad. Some are underground. If the generator fuel tank is underground, the same concerns of Gas Stations and underground tanks associated with industrial businesses would apply.

If contamination issues are unknown or unresolved, a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment on the shopping center involving soil and groundwater testing should be conducted.