Voluntary Response Actions (VRA)

Voluntary Response Actions (VRA) are actions a property owner, prospective owner or other third party takes to address contamination at a property, under a process the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) follows. DEQ says section 23.1-10-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, on voluntary response actions, liability protections and procedures, describes the process DEQ must follow regarding the actions and requirements for a property owner to obtain liability protection with regards to contaminated properties.

In a Phase I ESA

VRA sites are the North Dakota 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 North Dakota details shape how to read one.

• Who undertakes them. DEQ says Voluntary Response Actions are undertaken by a private citizen, which it describes as a property owner, prospective owner or other third party, to address environmental contamination at a property. They are intended to reduce the health and environmental impacts of contamination at the property and return it to a useable state.
• They are voluntary. DEQ says these actions are not required by DEQ, but are often undertaken to reduce risk and liability at properties being considered for future development.
• The pages read do not describe the end of the process. They do not say what document DEQ issues when a response action is complete, or what the protection covers. DEQ says the statute describes the process, and the program page links DEQ's Voluntary Response Action Guidance (January 2022). Ask for the file.
• The old controls list was retired. DEQ's Open Records page labels its archived list of institutional controls "Retired 12/31/2023, now Environmental Covenants and VRA". For controls on a property, check all three lists.

The program page links, beside the guidance and the application form (SFN62131, January 2022), the spill records before and after January 2021, the Leaking Underground Storage Tank list and DEQ's Open Records page.

Where to look a site up

• DEQ's Open Records page links a Voluntary Response Actions (VRA) thru June 2026 list, labelled last updated periodically. Check its date.
• The same page links an Environmental Covenants thru June 2026 list and the Archived Institutional Controls list. The pages read do not describe what either list holds.
• DEQ says applications can be submitted to: Attn: Voluntary Response Application, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Office of the Director, 4201 Normandy Street, Bismarck, ND 58503-1324. The page prints the mailbox deq-vra@nd.gov.

Getting the file

DEQ takes open records requests at DEQOpenRecords@nd.gov, on its General Request Form for general records. What to put in a request is on the Open Records Requests page.

Sources

North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown:

• Waste Management - North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality
• Open Records Requests - North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality