 Environmental
audits, whether for property transfer or compliance, are now
an essential means of reducing liability. Environmental lawsuits
and surface landowner scrutiny will inevitably increase, especially
considering the possibilities of retroactive environmental
regulation. Prudent operators should be aware of the environmental
issues in their area and have documentation to prove the condition
of the property when they begin and complete operations.
It is essential to appraise associated environmental risks
when bidding for a property. Satellite imagery provides hard
independant evidence and can be acquired without intrusive
activity.
Satellite imagery can in many ways aid the reconnaissance
of a phase 1 environmental audit. Particularly in large or
remote regions, the infra-red images provide valuable evidence
on the condition of a property and, combined with field data,
can dramatically reduce costs in identifying likely concerns.
The imagery also provides a useful base for planning the
implementation of a phase 2 audit.
 For example, satellite imagery can assist in identifying:
- Areas of environmentally sensitive ecosystems
- Stressed
/ dying vegetation
- Water bodies & drainage
- General soil types (such
as resistive sandy soils)
- Detection of oil & smoke
staining (in arid areas)
- Historic environmental problems
and change detection
The planning of a soil survey, needed to monitor possible
pollutant migration, can be aided using detailed elevation
data derived from high resolution imagery.
The TNTmips software supplied by NPA is ideally suited to
the compilation and analysis of imagery and field data aquired
under an environmental audit.
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