Delisted NPL
A delisted NPL site is a release that EPA deleted from the National Priorities List because it found no further response appropriate (40 CFR 300.425(e)). Deletion follows state consultation and public notice, and the regulation provides for a deleted release to return to the list.
What puts a property on this record
EPA may delete a release where no further response is appropriate. In deciding, it considers, in consultation with the state, whether any one of three things is true (40 CFR 300.425(e)(1)):
- Responsible parties or others have carried out all appropriate response actions required.
- All appropriate Fund-financed response is done and no further response by responsible parties is appropriate.
- The remedial investigation found the release is no significant danger to people or the environment, so remedial measures are not appropriate.
The state must concur before deletion, and EPA gives it 30 working days to review the notice before publication (40 CFR 300.425(e)(2)). EPA then publishes, in the Federal Register, notice that it intends to delete the release, takes comment for at least 30 calendar days, notifies the nearby community, puts the supporting information in the local information repository and answers each significant comment (40 CFR 300.425(e)(4)). The final deletion package goes into the repository once the notice of final deletion is published (40 CFR 300.425(e)(5)).
What a listing shows, and what it does not
It shows that EPA determined that no further response was appropriate, having weighed the three criteria above in consultation with the state, and after notice and comment (40 CFR 300.425(e)). The information supporting a proposed deletion is placed in the information repository near the release (40 CFR 300.425(e)(4)).
The regulation says what deletion does not end:
All releases deleted from the NPL are eligible for further Fund-financed remedial actions should future conditions warrant such action. Whenever there is a significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site shall be restored to the NPL without application of the HRS.
40 CFR 300.425(e)(3), edition revised as of July 1, 2025
Paragraph (e) also lets a release be recategorized on the list where no further response is appropriate, and the regulation does not say what a category means (40 CFR 300.425(d)(6), (e)). The deletion paragraph says nothing about whether anything was left in place at a deleted release, whether controls apply, or what its present condition is.
In a Phase I ESA
Delisted NPL records are a standard government record source with an approximate minimum search distance of 0.5 mile (0.8 km) (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). The standard allows that distance to be reduced at the environmental professional's discretion, with the justification and the distance actually used explained in the report (E1527-21, 8.1.2.1, 8.2.2).
If the subject property or an adjoining property is listed, the standard says the agency's file on the listing should be reviewed, to help the environmental professional judge whether the listing means a recognized environmental condition, a controlled or historical one, or a de minimis condition at the subject property. If the professional skips that review, the report must say why. Other records, or interviews with regulatory officials, may stand in, with a summary and an opinion on whether they suffice (E1527-21, 8.2.3.1, 8.2.3.2).
At the subject property, the answer turns on what the deletion documents give as the ground for deletion, whether the remedy left contamination in place, and whether controls were part of it. Among the expectations EPA generally considers in developing remedial alternatives, institutional controls supplement engineering controls as appropriate and may be part of a completed remedy where necessary (40 CFR 300.430(a)(1)(iii)(D)). The record of decision says whether hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants are to stay at the site so that a review at least every five years is required (40 CFR 300.430(f)(5)(iii)(C)). For controls, see activity and use limitations and the federal institutional and engineering control registries. What has happened since deletion also matters, because a significant release after deletion returns the site to the list (40 CFR 300.425(e)(3)).
For a nearby delisted release, the facts that bear on a release and on likely presence at the subject property are in the file: what was released, the pathways, and what reached or did not reach the subject property. See likely release and likely presence and adjoining or nearby property. The report states what the file establishes, with the professional's opinion on which class of condition, if any, applies (see REC, CREC, HREC or de minimis condition).
For every listing of the subject property or of another site inside the search distance, the report must give the professional's judgment on what the listing means for the analysis of recognized environmental conditions at the subject property, and one statement may cover several sites (E1527-21, 8.1.10).
What the federal rule says
The inquiry rule groups this record with properties previously identified or regulated by a government entity because of environmental concerns (40 CFR 312.26(c)(2)):
Records of delisted NPL sites (one-half mile);
40 CFR 312.26(c)(2)(i), edition revised as of July 1, 2025
The rule and the standard give the same distance. The rule also lets the environmental professional modify a search distance, with the rationale documented (40 CFR 312.26(d)).
Where the record is kept
EPA's Superfund site search flags deleted sites and links deletion dockets and five-year review reports.
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.
Classifying a finding
Situations in which this record type bears on the answer: