Kentucky
State Superfund List
The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) links a Kentucky State Superfund List, which it describes as a list of sites where a release or threatened release of hazardous substances has occurred and the state provided oversight for the investigation and remediation of the sites. The state Superfund program is run by the Superfund Branch of DEP's Division of Waste Management. The branch's State Section oversees all non-federal superfund projects in Kentucky, and its page says there are over 200 state Superfund sites.
In a Phase I ESA
The list is the Kentucky form of the state equivalent to the federal Superfund lists, which ASTM E1527-21 names as a standard source. The general reading of a state Superfund listing is on the state Superfund equivalent page.
Four Kentucky details shape how to read one.
- A name on the list is not a finding of fault. DEP notes that the sites on the list are for identification purposes only, and should not be taken to represent responsibility or culpability of the businesses or individuals associated with the name.
- Not every site is a brownfield. DEP says so of the list. The state's brownfield list is a separate record, the Brownfield Inventory.
- The description does not say open or closed. DEP describes the listed sites as ones where the state provided oversight. The pages read do not say whether the list shows a site's status, so read the file before treating a listed site as active or finished.
- Some sites close with controls in place. Sites closed as managed under 401 KAR 100:030 must keep use restrictions and send the division regular certifications and reviews. Those sites are described on the Managed Sites page.
Who runs the cleanup
The Superfund Branch manages sites with known or suspected releases of hazardous substances, petroleum pollutants or contaminants that are not specifically regulated by other branches. It oversees responsible parties, and in some cases takes a state-lead role.
- Responsible party lead. Parties found responsible for contamination under the Kentucky Superfund statutes are required to investigate its extent and to remediate or manage it according to regulatory guidance, with the State Section's oversight.
- State lead. Sites that need action and are not associated with a financially viable responsible party are eligible to become state-lead sites. Project managers collect environmental samples and use them to develop a strategy to remediate or manage the contaminants.
The branch also works with EPA on National Priority List sites and federal-state cooperative assessment programs, through its Federal Section. The Superfund Branch's Regulations page lists, under State Superfund Regulations and Statutes, KRS 224.1-400 and 401 KAR 100:030 among others. DEP's voluntary cleanup page says environmental cleanup standards are established in 401 KAR 100:030.
Where to look a site up
- DEP's Kentucky Brownfield Inventory page links the Kentucky State Superfund List to the Available Reports search of the Cabinet's eSearch. A link on the same page says an open records request is no longer needed to search these properties.
- The items the Superfund Branch accepts through its electronic submittals include Phase I and Phase II reports, site investigation, corrective action and monitoring reports, and environmental covenants. Ask for these by name when requesting a site's file.
- The Division of Waste Management takes general questions at waste@ky.gov or 502-564-6716. The branch's contact page gives only named staff contacts.
Getting the file
The Cabinet takes open records requests by email to EEC.KORA@ky.gov, with as much detail as possible about the records sought. Any file is reviewed for exempt material before it is inspected, and non-disclosable material is kept in a separate file. Only residents of the Commonwealth, as the Open Records page defines them, may request to inspect public records.
Sources
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet pages, read October 12, 2026, no modified date shown: