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Delaware

HSCA State Lead and Enforcement Programs

Agency Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
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Delaware's Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA), 7 Del.C. Chapter 91, gives the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) the authority to take enforcement actions against responsible parties to ensure cleanup at sites with a release, or imminent threat of release, of hazardous substances. DNREC's page on the programs, last modified December 16, 2020, says a large portion of the sites DNREC has identified as hazardous substance release sites are being addressed under its Brownfields and Voluntary Cleanup programs, and the remaining sites under the HSCA Fund Lead and Enforcement programs and federal programs.

In a Phase I ESA

This handbook reads the HSCA programs as the Delaware form of the state Superfund equivalent records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. That pairing is the handbook's reading: the pages read link no list of HSCA sites. The general reading of a state Superfund equivalent listing is on the state Superfund equivalent page. DNREC's Remediation Section page, last modified September 1, 2026, says over 1,100 hazardous substance release sites are managed by the section.

Four Delaware details shape how to read a site's history.

  • A site moves through set steps. The Remediation Section performs initial investigation and facility evaluations (FEs) to determine whether enough information is available to determine if a release, or imminent threat of one, has occurred, and to confirm the release using sampling data. The site is then placed on a priority list using DNREC's hazard ranking model, and DNREC screens the FE data to determine whether the release poses a potential risk to human health, welfare or the environment above acceptable site-specific risks.
  • Enforcement may follow a refusal. DNREC may send the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) a notice letter to investigate and clean up the release and invite it to join the Voluntary Cleanup Program. If the PRP refuses, DNREC may begin enforcement actions. DNREC may also do the cleanup itself and seek to recover its costs from the PRP. If a viable PRP cannot be found, the cleanup may be financed by the HSCA fund.
  • An initial assessment can end in two kinds of no further action. DNREC's cleanup standards page says an initial assessment compares the highest concentrations found at a site with the HSCA Screening Levels. The possible outcomes it lists are no further action regardless of future use, no further action if specific conditions are met, or a more comprehensive study, usually a Remedial Investigation. DNREC also publishes Conditional "No Further Action" Guidance (December 2021). When a file shows a no further action determination, check which kind it is.
  • Some cleanups are federal. DNREC's Federal Programs page, last modified November 16, 2020, says EPA is the lead regulatory agency on National Priorities List sites, which EPA carries out with DNREC involvement and assistance, and that Preliminary Assessments and Site Inspections under EPA's Superfund program examine all locations reported to DNREC as potential hazardous substance release sites.

DNREC says quantitative cleanup goals shall be based on cumulative carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of 1E-5 or a hazard index of one respectively, except for lead, and shall also consider impacts to the environment and ecological effects. All consultants doing work under HSCA must be certified by DNREC, and analytical work must be done by DNREC-approved laboratories. The rules are the Regulations Governing Hazardous Substance Cleanup, 7 DE Admin. Code 1375.

Where to look a site up

  • DNREC's general search is the Delaware Environmental Navigator, which it describes as allowing search by location, permit type and more.
  • The DNREC Well Viewer finds DNREC permits and remediation projects near a well, searched by well permit number, address or parcel number; its datasets include site remediation projects.
  • The Remediation Section's page lists its recent public notices, such as proposed plans of remedial action, and links All DNREC Public Notices. The recent notices listed on the Remediation Section's page each give the site a number beginning DE-.
  • The Remediation Section is at 391 Lukens Drive, New Castle, Delaware 19720, at 302-395-2600 and DNREC_WHS_REMEDIATIONINBOX@delaware.gov.

Getting the file

The HSCA pages read do not give a records route of their own. DNREC's FOIA page says the Delaware Freedom of Information Act ensures public access to public records held by DNREC; the route is on the DNREC FOIA Requests page.

Sources

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pages, read October 13, 2026:

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