Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP)

The Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) is run by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) under the Voluntary Remediation Program Act, which became effective on June 1, 2009. EPD says the Act was created to encourage voluntary and timely investigation and remediation of contaminated properties, with the work conducted under the oversight of registered environmental professionals.

In a Phase I ESA

VRP properties are the Georgia form of the state voluntary cleanup records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a voluntary cleanup listing is on the VCP page. Four Georgia details shape how to read one.

• The record is in two places. EPD's table of VRP applications is marked revised June 26, 2019. EPD says that as of July 1, 2019 the table is no longer updated and is kept for access to the existing records. Documents received after that date are uploaded to GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System, and certain earlier documents are there too. A search that stops at the table sees nothing received after that date.
• A VRP property can also be a Hazardous Site Inventory site. The table has a column for the associated HSI number, and it links documents labeled as delisting letters. EPD's Voluntary Remediation Unit takes part in evaluating sites for addition to the inventory or for delisting under the Act. Check the Hazardous Site Inventory as well.
• The Type 5 standard is treated differently. Under the Rules for Hazardous Site Response, a Type 5 standard, which leaves contamination in place behind engineering and institutional controls, is meant for sites where removing or treating the source is impracticable. EPD says the VRP Act provides an alternative to the rules and does not include the impracticability requirement. Check whether a VRP closure rests on controls, and look for an environmental covenant. The standards are on the Risk Reduction Standards page.
• An application is not a cleanup. The table's Application Status column links approvals and comments, and its last column links the latest progress report or compliance status report. Read how far a property got.

EPD states the purposes of the work as reducing human and environmental exposure to safe levels, protecting current and likely future use of groundwater, and ensuring the cost-effective allocation of limited resources. It lists the Act as O.C.G.A. 12-8-100.

What the record shows

The table on EPD's page gives, for each application:

• the county and city;
• the tax parcel ID number and street address;
• the date of the initial application and the applicant;
• the VRP application, linked under a number that begins with VRP;
• the associated HSI number, or not applicable;
• the application status;
• the latest progress report or compliance status report.

The documents it links are labeled as approvals, comments, progress reports, CSRs, CSR approvals and delisting letters, among other labels.

In GEOS, EPD says no account is needed to view VRP documents: select the Public Inquiry Portal icon. The portal is organized by submittal. For a general VRP search, choose Voluntary Remediation Program in the program list. The category list then decides what comes back.

EPD's response documents are on the Issuance tab of the selected submittal record. Since July 1, 2020, EPD no longer accepts physical documents for VRP applications and reporting; they are submitted through GEOS.

Where to look a site up

• The table of applications through mid-2019 is on EPD's Voluntary Remediation page.
• Later documents are in GEOS.
• The Response and Remediation Program is at 404.657.8600.

Getting the file

File reviews at the downtown office, which holds the Voluntary Remediation Program files, are by appointment, requested by email at the address on EPD's Land Branch Open Records Requests page. If files must come from the records center, EPD asks for 7 to 10 days. Requests under the Georgia Open Records Act go through EPD's Open Records Request Portal.

Sources

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 7, 2026:

• Voluntary Remediation, last modified August 14, 2026.
• LPB Program and Units, last modified June 30, 2026.
• Comparison of Existing Contamination to Risk Reduction Standards 391-3-19-.07, last modified September 16, 2026.
• GEOS Training and Technical Assistance, last modified October 5, 2026.
• Existing Rules and Corresponding Laws, last modified September 26, 2024.
• Land Branch Open Records Requests, last modified July 29, 2026.
• File Review Procedures, last modified May 20, 2021.