about az-ri consultants

AZ-RI Consultants

Team-oriented environmental due diligence and HUD Environmental Review services for publicly funded real estate and conservation projects.

  • HUD Environmental Reviews & NEPA documentation
  • Phase I & Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
  • Public funding compliance: HUD, CDBG, HOME & state/local programs
  • Mid-Atlantic coverage (MD, DC, DE, PA, VA, WV)
Contact Us
At a glance
  • 30+ years of environmental due diligence
  • Senior-led oversight on every project
  • Public & nonprofit funding expertise
  • Defensible documentation for reviews & audits

Have a publicly funded project?
We help keep compliance aligned with schedules and funding requirements.

Our Team & Approach

AZ-RI Consultants is a team-oriented environmental consulting practice built around experienced professionals and long-standing partnerships that support publicly funded real estate, housing, and conservation projects across the Mid-Atlantic.

Our work is led by a small core team—anchored by Scott Rifkin and Nathaniel Alper—and supported by a trusted network of analytical laboratories, field technical support providers, and specialized environmental consultants developed over decades of practice in this region. Together, this team delivers environmental due diligence and HUD Environmental Review services that are technically rigorous, responsive, and grounded in practical judgment.

AZ-RI is intentionally small. This allows us to remain closely involved in every project, maintain direct communication with clients and stakeholders, and apply consistent judgment from project initiation through completion. Rather than routing work through layers of staff, our approach emphasizes continuity, accountability, and clear ownership of work products.

Our extended team includes individual practitioners and small, specialized firms—analytical laboratories, field support professionals, and expert consultants—whose work we know well and whose standards align with our own. As a result, clients consistently interact with decision-makers and owners across the project team, ensuring responsiveness, transparency, and defensible outcomes.

Scott Rifkin brings more than 30 years of experience in environmental due diligence and public-sector environmental compliance, with a focus on Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, HUD Environmental Reviews, NEPA documentation, and site-specific risk evaluations for complex properties. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning and Management from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, with a concentration in Environmental Economics, from Bucknell University. His academic training complements decades of hands-on experience across public, nonprofit, and conservation-focused work.

Nathaniel Alper supports all active AZ-RI projects and plays a central role in data analysis, documentation, and project coordination. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Biology from Columbia University, with academic training in ecology, environmental systems, and applied field and laboratory research. His background includes experience in academic, nonprofit, and applied research settings, contributing to technically complex investigations and regulatory documentation.

Together, our team-oriented model allows AZ-RI to scale resources thoughtfully to match project needs while maintaining experienced oversight, rigorous analysis, and consistent technical standards. For our clients, this means responsive service, clear accountability, and environmental documentation that is both defensible and aligned with project schedules and funding requirements.