NFRAP / SEMS-ARCHIVE
NFRAP marks sites for which no further remedial action under CERCLA is planned (E1527-21, 3.3.16). These are sites that EPA's Superfund program evaluated and then removed from its active inventory. The regulation calls them archived sites (40 CFR 300.5). The inquiry rule lists records of "former CERCLIS sites with no further remedial action notices" (40 CFR 312.26(c)(2)(iii)), and the standard's table has a row for federal CERCLA sites with no further remedial action planned (E1527-21, Table 2).
What puts a property on this record
A site is first evaluated. One purpose of the preliminary assessment is to screen out sites that are no danger to people or the environment, and one purpose of the site inspection is to screen out releases that are no significant danger (40 CFR 300.420(b)(1), (c)(1)). Each ends in a report that recommends whether further action should follow (40 CFR 300.420(b)(4), (c)(5)). A removal site evaluation is likewise ended when the on-scene coordinator or lead agency determines, among other things, that there is no release or that the amount released does not warrant federal response (40 CFR 300.410(f)).
The regulation sets out no separate step that archives a site. The definition of SEMS says which sites are archived:
Archived sites include non-NPL sites that were formerly in the active site inventory which have no further site assessment, removal, remedial, enforcement, cost recovery or oversight needed under the Federal Superfund program based on available information.
40 CFR 300.5, edition revised as of July 1, 2025
What a listing shows, and what it does not
A listing shows that, on available information, a non-NPL site left the active inventory because no further federal Superfund activity of those kinds was needed. The conclusion is tied to that information, and new information may return the site to the active inventory (40 CFR 300.5).
The same definition says: "Inclusion of a specific site or area in SEMS does not represent a determination of any party's liability, nor does it represent a finding that any response action is necessary" (40 CFR 300.5).
The regulation does not say why a particular site was set aside: whether nothing was found, a release was addressed, or the release fell short of what the evaluation looks for. The site's evaluation reports are where to look for the reason (40 CFR 300.420(b)(4), (c)(5)). It is also silent on whether contamination remains and on anything a state agency required.
In a Phase I ESA
The standard's Table 2 has a row for federal CERCLA sites with no further remedial action planned, with an approximate minimum search distance of 0.5 mile (0.8 km) (E1527-21, 8.2.2, Table 2). A note to the row describes such sites as ones where an initial investigation found no contamination, or contamination was removed quickly without listing the site, or it was not serious enough for federal Superfund action. The note cautions against reading the status as meaning that the site is free of contamination, or that no other regulator, a state agency for one, has required more. It adds that such sites may turn up in other record sources (E1527-21, Table 2, note B).
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).
The answer turns on the reason the evaluation reports give for setting the site aside, what they say was found and where, and whether a state program or another record source lists the same site (E1527-21, Table 2, note B). The site inspection report, where one was written, covers known contaminants, pathways of migration and the human and environmental targets (40 CFR 300.420(c)(5)).
At the subject property, the report states what the evaluation found and did not find, with the professional's opinion on which class of condition, if any, applies (see REC, CREC, HREC or de minimis condition). For a nearby listing, the facts that bear on a release and on likely presence at the subject property are the pathways and targets in those reports and in any state file. See likely release and likely presence and adjoining or nearby property. See also SEMS.
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 former CERCLIS sites with no further remedial action notices (one-half mile).
40 CFR 312.26(c)(2)(iii), 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 SEMS public data includes archived sites. State agency records fill in what happened after the federal file closed.
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: