Frequently Asked Questions

ERIS is owned by Glacier Media, a publisher of newspapers and trade magazines specific to the energy markets based out of Vancouver, Canada. ERIS falls under the “Business Information” sector of Glacier and has been in business since 1999 providing Canadian environmental professionals with government records and historical products used to complete ESAs in Canada. In 2013, ERIS launched coverage in the US and has grown exponentially since.

ERIS provides a wide array of historical products including aerial photographs, topographical maps, fire insurance maps, inspection reports, site plans, city directories, lien and chain of title searches, both historical and current. ERIS partners with OPTA to ensure its customers have access to the largest collection of fire insurance products in Canada.

Customer service, all-inclusive sources and data – we are a one-stop shop, and we have been in the business for over 16 years. We can provide fast delivery of these products that could take weeks to aggregate. We utilize GIS to provide a wider perspective rather than only receiving text information.

No, a search is required to determine the availability of coverage for the particular site selected. The fee is nominal and covers searches of FIMs, Inspection Reports and Site Plans for the same address (if selected). An email is sent with a URL link. The link takes the user to a list of available insurance products and their years from which to select.

City Directories are always provided in abstract format.

Currently we only provide the current aerial with property boundaries that are drawn by the client in our order form. We are looking at undertaking a project to geo-reference and overlay all aerials over current topography and street layers.

This all depends on the area and when first flight took place. ERIS aerials are organized as decade packages. Our aerial collections are deep, of excellent quality. We are continually looking for new regional collections to improve the overall aerial coverage that ERIS can offer the market place. In some areas of the country, aerial coverage dates back to the 1920s.

Currently, we only provide the current aerial with property boundaries that are drawn by the client in our order form. We are looking at undertaking a project to geo-reference and overlay all aerials over current topography and street layers.

GIS aerials are scaled to a uniform size and seamed together so that they can be easily manipulated and overlaid on a base map for further use by the customer.

ERIS provides two options. We can provide the current land title that includes background information on the current property owner only; or, we can provide a historical land title search based on your search requirements. Please contact your Regional Account Manager if you have any questions.

The best thing to do is to reach out to your Regional Account Manager.

Generally speaking, an aerial photo at 1"= 500 ft. will cover 1 mile ‘up and down’ and about 3/4 mile ‘across’ if you are looking at an 11 x 8 print out.

Conservatively, use the above method. But, generally a sheet of a topo covers a larger area than an aerial photo.

Yes, we can. Please reach out to your Regional Account Manager.

We are in the process of looking at options to create this on our order form.

An Environmental Site Assessment is the report that provides details about the environmental condition of a property to determine the presence, location, and concentration of toxins, contaminants, physical risk factors, or other potential issues with a property or site. The Environmental Site Assessment is essentially the end result of gathering environmental risk information.

The objective of a Phase I ESA is to establish whether there is evidence of potential or actual sources of environmental contamination on the site. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment brings together all available important details regarding a property including both current and past (historical) information about the land, water, nearby structures, ownership, and usage history.

While the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is essentially the bringing together of existing information from a variety of databases and searches, the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment involves “onsite” and laboratory research such as taking photographs or testing soil samples. The Phase II Environmental Site Assessment is generally the second step in assessing a property’s safety or risk profile, once the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment has been completed or the property has essentially “passed” the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment.

Environmental Site Assessments are typically conducted during the due diligence phase of property purchasing, the financing of a property purchase, or divestiture of properties. They are also often conducted when planning for development or physical change, or by property owners who have reason to suspect an issue of toxicity or risk and would like to understand the site’s environmental status.

Historical property information refers to a set of different types of information about a site or property that is from the past or that includes records over time. This includes aerial maps, fire insurance maps, environmental liens, chain of title reports, city directory information, and physical setting reports.

ERIS Xplorer is a powerful, interactive tool for overlaying and analyzing data and map layers. This platform allows the user to visualize and analyze environmental risk information about a study area – in one place, with built-in tools for analysis and customization. ERIS Xplorer can be ordered as an add-on product to any Database Report, Topographic Maps, the ON RSC Report and our new Physical Setting Report (if ordered).