ERNS

ASTM search distance Subject property only

Scope Federal

ERNS is the Emergency Response Notification System. The standard describes its list as one of reported releases or spills, kept at the National Response Center (E1527-21, 3.2.32). The National Contingency Plan, the regulation behind those reports, does not name the system. It makes that center the point of contact for pollution incident reports, and it sets out who must report and what a report generally carries (40 CFR 300.125(a), 300.405(b), (d)). A report is a notice of a release, and nothing in the sections cited makes it a finding that one occurred.

What puts a property on this record

The National Response Center is the single point of contact for pollution incident reporting, and notice is made by telephone (40 CFR 300.125(a)). The regulation says: "Notice of an oil discharge or release of a hazardous substance in an amount equal to or greater than the reportable quantity must be made immediately" (40 CFR 300.125(c)). The notice is made as the two other regulations that paragraph names require, one for oil and one for hazardous substances (40 CFR 300.125(c)). "Any person in charge of a vessel or a facility" must report releases of reportable quantities to the center; if direct reporting is not practicable, the report may go to the Coast Guard on-scene coordinator, who relays it (40 CFR 300.405(b)). Other reports of releases are made to the center as appropriate, except reports made to EPA under CERCLA section 103(c) and citizen petitions for a preliminary assessment (40 CFR 300.405(a), (c)).

The center generally needs information that includes the location, the material, an estimated quantity, the possible source, and the date and time. Reporting is not to be delayed because that information is incomplete (40 CFR 300.405(d)).

What a listing shows, and what it does not

The standard defines the ERNS list as EPA's list of reported releases or spills of CERCLA hazardous substances in amounts above the reportable quantity, kept at the National Response Center (E1527-21, 3.2.32). The regulation's duty to notify covers amounts at or above the reportable quantity (40 CFR 300.125(c)).

An entry rests on a notice someone gave. After the center receives one, it notifies the on-scene coordinator, who notifies the governor of the affected state or a designee (40 CFR 300.405(e)). If a removal response may be needed, a removal site evaluation is undertaken promptly as appropriate, and otherwise a remedial site evaluation is undertaken if appropriate (40 CFR 300.405(f)). A notice may therefore lead to an evaluation, and the regulation does not make one follow every notice. A removal site evaluation ends when the on-scene coordinator or lead agency determines, among other things, that there is no release (40 CFR 300.410(f)).

Notifying the center does not relieve a facility owner or operator of obligations under SARA Title III or state law (40 CFR 300.405(g)).

The sections cited are silent on whether a notified release was confirmed, cleaned up or reached the environment, and on how a notice's location is tied to a particular property.

In a Phase I ESA

The ERNS list is a standard government record source with a search scope of the subject property only (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). If the subject 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).

The answer turns on whether the entry belongs to the subject property; what was reported (material, quantity, possible source, date and time); and what any removal or remedial site evaluation, or any other agency file, records about what followed. See agency file review.

If those records show the material and where it went, the report states what they establish and the professional gives an opinion on which class of condition, if any, applies (see REC, CREC, HREC or de minimis condition) and on likely release and likely presence. If the entry cannot be tied to the subject property, or the follow-up records cannot be had, the report says what was looked for and what was found. An interview with a knowledgeable regulatory official is one of the alternatives the standard names (E1527-21, 8.2.3.2).

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 rule lists, among records of the subject property that the review should include (40 CFR 312.26(b)):

Emergency Response Notification System records;

40 CFR 312.26(b)(5), edition revised as of July 1, 2025

The rule and the standard both place this review at the subject property. The rule's list of nearby properties in 40 CFR 312.26(c) has no row for this record.

Where the record is kept

National Response Center incident data is public. Data vendors compile and geocode it as ERNS.

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: