Finding that perfect rural parcel can be such an exciting event that it almost feels like falling in love. The trees! The terrain! Perhaps it has a lake or a view; rural-land-dump.jpgperhaps it’s full of deer or it has a vineyard slope; but whatever it has, it is all that you’d hoped for. And the price is even right!
Before you fall too completely in love, though, make sure that you know everything that there is to know about your great rural parcel. Is the zoning perfect? Power in? Great road access? No problem building the house of your dreams? So far, so good! But before you sign the purchase and sale agreement – or at least before you go to the closing – there is one more thing that you’ve got to do: the all-important pollution inspection. You will want to test surface and subsurface water, and if at all possible you should walk the land yourself.
Most rural land has had some use, and some of it has been so badly abused that it is literally poisonous; and if you buy such land, not only will you be out most of what you paid for it, but you may even be required by law to clean up whatever mess you find. Prior use may not be obvious! Amazingly quickly, materials break down and vegetation grows, so unless you are looking for specific signs, on a casual walk you might not see a thing. So before you sign on the dotted line, spend a day or two really walking your land almost literally yard-by-yard, just to make sure there won’t be future surprises. Here is what to look for:
- • Old foundations. Finding an old fallen-in stone cottage can be a lovely land-buyer’s moment. Look around for a garden now grown up and wild, and see if you can find a woodshed or privy. But if you should find a newer-looking cement foundation that seems to be bigger than house-size, then you have found a warning that something industrial or military likely happened there at some point.
- • Old household dumps. Most larger pieces of rural land have some sort of household dump on them somewhere. Look for little hillocks, look for broken glass and rusty bits of old tin cans; and if you find them, pace around and try to figure out how big the dump site is. If it isn’t more than a few yards across, and if it is obviously associated with an old house or an old house foundation, then you and your family can look forward to some cheery digging for antique bottles. But if it seems to be enormous, or if it shows the warning signs of industrial dumping given below, then beware! At the least, it poses a threat to livestock; but at worst, it might be a source of big pollution.
- • Old industrial or chemical dumps. Look for sickly or dead vegetation, especially when growth nearby is green. When you find water, look for unnatural colors or oil spots or any evidence that the water won’t support normal life. Look for barrels, look for motors, look for wooden pallets and pieces of old vehicles or machinery. Anything like this indicates that pollution has been seeping into the ground, so it should be taken as a big warning sign! Just one old Model-T won’t be a problem, but if you find even one spot of what seems to be significant pollution, then take soil samples and water samples and investigate the rest of the land much more carefully. You might even want to just walk away.
- • Old firing ranges. Even a single artillery shell found on the land is a guaranteed red flag. Not only are old shells dangerous since some of them might still be live, but they are the source of some especially nasty carcinogens and other forms of pollution. Don’t worry about old shotgun shells or other incidental evidence of hunting. But if you find any evidence that your land has been used as an artillery firing range, then the soil and the water must be tested extensively. Again, you might want to just walk away.
- • Old agricultural land. Land that has been farmed for years might have accumulated chemicals, so it makes sense to do some soil and water testing. Chances are, though, that if it has lain fallow, the land has largely cleansed itself.
- • Old grazing land. Of all the former intensive uses, hunting and grazing are the ones you hope to find. Try to figure out where the fences were, and make sure that you locate any dumps; you can test the soil and water, too, but grazing land is likely to be fine.
- • Old roads. As you make your way through the trackless forest, if you find an old overgrown road, beware. It might be just a wide animal trail, but it also might be a public road that has fallen to disuse; and sometimes abutters will have the right to use your old abandoned road for access. Finding any evidence that people ever have crossed your land habitually should send you to the local planning office for more information.
- • Illicit agriculture. Before you start your walk, you should learn the distinctive color and leaf-shape of marijuana plants. In some states, owning land that is being used for illegal activities can mean that you literally might forfeit your property, even if you yourself are innocent; and if you do find pot, of course, you must report it.
Checking out your chosen parcel is essential, and sometimes it also pays to check out the neighbors. If all the surrounding land is also rural, then you might take a walk through some of the nearby woods and fields to see if you can spot any of the worst pollution warning signs. Remember that their water also is your water!
Doing a pollution inspection can be fun. It can feel like archaeology, and by the end of it you will know your land thoroughly. Most pollution inspections find little more than a homesteader’s cabin or a kitchen midden, so look forward to this necessary chore as a chance to really come to know the land that you already love.
