Kentucky
Voluntary Environmental Remediation Program (VERP)
Kentucky's voluntary cleanup program is the Voluntary Environmental Remediation Program (VERP) of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP), offered through the state's Brownfield Program. DEP says owners of contaminated properties can enter VERP and work in partnership with its staff to facilitate cleanup and reduce liability. The program's own page is headed Voluntary Environmental Cleanup Program.
In a Phase I ESA
VERP sites are the Kentucky form of the state voluntary cleanup records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The pages read link no list of VERP sites; pairing the program with this record type is the handbook's reading. The general reading of a voluntary cleanup listing is on the VCP page. Three Kentucky details shape how to read one.
- A cleanup can cover part of a site. DEP says owners or developers can choose to clean up all, or a portion of, a site. Check which part of the property a VERP cleanup covered.
- The cleanup standards are the Superfund rule's. DEP says environmental cleanup standards are established in the Kentucky Superfund regulation, 401 KAR 100:030. That is the same rule under which sites can be closed as managed, with use restrictions; see Managed Sites.
- The pages read do not describe the end of a VERP cleanup. They name no certificate, letter or other closing document. Ask what document the file holds at the end, and what it covers.
What the program offers
DEP says owners or developers choose to clean up voluntarily for many reasons, from development goals to stewardship to the financial or tax incentives available, and that those who do are often unfamiliar with the technical requirements involved. Technical questions, such as sampling protocol, cleanup levels for different contaminants, best practices and available incentives, go to brownfields@ky.gov.
The page links a VERP application, DEP's guidance on ambient background assessment and on groundwater assessment, and EPA's Regional Screening Levels.
VERP is one of the services of Kentucky's Brownfield Program, beside the Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program, the Brownfield Redevelopment and Reuse Program (415 Program), and funding and grant writing help.
Where to look a site up
The pages read link no list of VERP sites. The state's brownfield list is described on the Brownfield Inventory page. The Brownfield Help Desk is at 502-564-6716 and brownfields@ky.gov.
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. 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: