Brownfields Sites

ASTM search distance 0.5 mile

Scope State / Tribal

Properties on a state or tribal list of brownfields sites. The federal inquiry rule names the list as a record to review, and the same rule also applies to people who assess brownfield sites with a federal grant.

What puts a property on this record

Each state keeps its own list under its own program. The inquiry rule prints no definition of a brownfields site and does not say what puts one on a list; a term it uses without defining takes any definition that CERCLA or 40 CFR part 300 gives it (40 CFR 312.10(a)). It names the record once, as an example of "hazardous waste sites identified for investigation or remediation": "tribal- and state-listed brownfields sites" (40 CFR 312.26(c)(1)(iii)). The standard lists local brownfield lists among its additional sources (E1527-21, 8.2.4, Table 3).

Part 312 bears on brownfields work in a second way, which is who must follow the rule. The rule applies to persons seeking the innocent landowner defense, the bona fide prospective purchaser protection or the contiguous property owner protection, and to "persons conducting site characterization and assessments with the use of a grant awarded under CERCLA section 104(k)(2)(B)" (40 CFR 312.1(b)). For those grant recipients the inquiry reaches hazardous substances and, as the terms of the grant or cooperative agreement provide, pollutants and contaminants, the petroleum and petroleum products that the definition of hazardous substance leaves out, and controlled substances (40 CFR 312.1(c)(2)). The standard says the user's tasks in its section 6 must also be done by, or for, those who hold EPA brownfield assessment and characterization grants (E1527-21, 6.1).

What a listing shows, and what it does not

The rule makes a state or tribal brownfields listing a record to review at one-half mile. It does not say what contamination was found, what assessment or cleanup was done, or whether a grant paid for it.

In a Phase I ESA

State and tribal brownfield lists are standard sources with an approximate minimum search distance of 0.5 mile, which the professional may reduce, explaining why in the report (E1527-21, 8.1.2.1, 8.2.2, Table 2). When the subject property or an adjoining property is listed, the pertinent agency file should be reviewed, or the professional reviews alternative sources and gives an opinion on their sufficiency, or explains why no review was warranted (E1527-21, 8.2.3).

For a listing at the subject property, the facts to look for in the file are what assessment was done, what was found, what cleanup the agency accepted, and whether controls were required. The report states those facts with their sources and sets them against the standard's definitions of the recognized environmental condition, the controlled recognized environmental condition, the historical recognized environmental condition and the de minimis condition (E1527-21, 3.2.73, 3.2.17, 3.2.39, 3.2.20). If the file lists controls, the activity and use limitations section of the standard applies (E1527-21, 3.2.2, 5.1).

For a nearby listing, the search distance exists to assess the likelihood of impact from migrating substances (E1527-21, 8.1.2). The report gives the professional's judgment on the significance of each listing within it (E1527-21, 8.1.10). For a known release off the subject property, the factors the standard's nonmandatory appendix lists include where the source lies in relation to the subject property and the topography, geology and hydrogeology of the area (E1527-21, X4.1).

See Agency file review and Activity and use limitations.

What the federal rule says

Records of federally-registered, or state-permitted or registered, hazardous waste sites identified for investigation or remediation, such as sites enrolled in state and tribal voluntary cleanup programs and tribal- and state-listed brownfields sites (one-half mile)

40 CFR 312.26(c)(1)(iii), edition revised as of July 1, 2025

The standard gives 0.5 mile for state and tribal brownfield sites (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). The rule says the procedures of the standard may be used to comply with 312.23 through 312.31 (40 CFR 312.11).

Where the record is kept

State brownfield program databases. EPA's ACRES system tracks federally funded brownfield assessment and cleanup work.

This page is general reference for environmental professionals. It does not classify any property. ASTM E1527-21 is the standard and is not reproduced here; the judgment of the environmental professional on the facts governs.