VCP

ASTM search distance 0.5 mile

Scope State / Tribal

Properties enrolled in a state or tribal voluntary cleanup program. The federal inquiry rule names these enrollments as one of the records to review, and says little else about them.

What puts a property on this record

Each state keeps its own list under its own program. The inquiry rule does not define a voluntary cleanup program, set its terms, or say what enrollment or completion requires. The one place the inquiry rule names the record is in its list of "hazardous waste sites identified for investigation or remediation, such as sites enrolled in state and tribal voluntary cleanup programs" (40 CFR 312.26(c)(1)(iii)). It gives enrollment as an example of such a record and does not describe how a site enters or leaves the program.

What a listing shows, and what it does not

The rule names records of sites enrolled in these programs. It does not say what a state's or tribe's list records about a site. The regulations do not say what was found at the site, what was cleaned up, to what level, or whether the program ended in a closure document. They do not say what a closure document restricts. Those are questions for the program file and any recorded instrument.

In a Phase I ESA

State and tribal voluntary cleanup lists are standard sources with an approximate minimum search distance of 0.5 mile, which the professional may reduce, explaining why in the report, and the standard's table asks for sites that are active now and sites that were active before, so a former enrollment should be researched as an active one is (E1527-21, 8.1.2.1, 8.2.2, Table 2, footnote A). 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, these are the facts to look for in the file:

What was released and in which media, and the cleanup standard the agency applied.
Whether the agency accepted the work, and whether the closure document allows unrestricted use or leaves hazardous substances in place subject to controls. The standard's definitions turn on that difference. The historical definition covers a previous release addressed to the authority's satisfaction that meets unrestricted use criteria with no control on the subject property (E1527-21, 3.2.39). The controlled definition covers a recognized environmental condition addressed to the authority's satisfaction with hazardous substances or petroleum products left in place under required controls (E1527-21, 3.2.17). Under either, a release that once qualified may no longer qualify on new conditions or information (E1527-21, 3.2.17.1, 3.2.39.1).
Whether the enrollment was withdrawn or never completed. A file that shows an enrollment but no closure document is a fact to report, with the sources consulted.

The report states each fact with its source in the Findings and gives the reasoning on the definitions in the Opinions (E1527-21, 3.2.17.1, 3.2.39.1, 12.2, 12.5, 12.6). Where the file shows closure without controls, the Opinions set the facts against the historical definition. Where it shows controls, they set them against the controlled definition. Where it shows a release and neither a closure nor a restriction, they set the facts against the definitions of the recognized environmental condition and the de minimis condition, and the report says what the file does not contain (E1527-21, 3.2.20, 3.2.73).

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 the same record (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 VCP databases and program files. The closure certificate and any recorded restrictions are the controlling documents.

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:

In each state

The state programs this handbook covers under this record type: