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Tennessee

Brownfield Voluntary Cleanup Oversight and Assistance Program (VOAP)

Agency Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
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Tennessee Brownfield Voluntary Cleanup Oversight and Assistance Program (VOAP)

The Brownfield Voluntary Cleanup Oversight and Assistance Program (VOAP) is the voluntary cleanup and brownfields program of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), run by its Remediation Branch. TDEC says the program was established in 1994 to encourage prospective purchasers to redevelop brownfield properties by limiting the liability of new owners and providing oversight of investigation and cleanup.

In a Phase I ESA

VOAP sites are the Tennessee 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. The pages read name no separate Tennessee brownfields list, so this is also the program to check for the state brownfields records the standard lists, described on the Brownfields page.

Which document a party holds matters more than the fact of enrollment.

Document Who it is for What TDEC says of it
Brownfield Voluntary Agreement A party that did not release, generate or transport the contamination It documents the party's responsibilities and what is needed to obtain closure.
Consent Order A liable party: one that did release, generate or transport the contamination The State works with the liable party through it.
No Additional Action Letter A prospective purchaser that did not release, generate or transport the contamination, where an Agreement is not needed but review of site conditions is wanted Technical documents are submitted for the division's review and concurrence. The State provides no liability protection.
No Further Action Letter A participant that has completed all agreed actions and paid all fees TDEC calls it extremely important for showing buyers or lenders that the contamination was addressed to its satisfaction.

Three more details shape the reading.

  • Protection follows the site characterization. TDEC quotes the statute as allowing it to limit the liability of the participant in any voluntary agreement or consent order. It says liability protection under the brownfield law is supported by site characterization, and that a participant may be held potentially liable for contamination it fails to discover or disclose. It says the protection may be extended to successors in interest or in title, contractors conducting response actions, developers, future owners, tenants, and lenders, fiduciaries or insurers. Compare what was characterized with the property in front of you.
  • Agreed actions can include a restriction. TDEC's examples of agreed actions are reimbursement of past costs to the remedial action fund, a Soil Management Plan to guide redevelopment, a Notice of Land Use Restriction, and further investigation or remediation. Ask for the Agreement and read what it required.
  • Neighbors and local governments were told. Once an Agreement is negotiated, notice goes by certified mail to all local governments with jurisdiction over any part of the property and to all owners of adjoining properties. A participant that wants third party contribution protection must also publish a newspaper notice and allow a 30 day comment period.

TDEC says the program covers properties contaminated by hazardous substances, solid waste or any other pollutant, including petroleum, and that it is fee based. The statute is TCA 68-212-224. Projects awarded investigation or remediation money under the Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant must enroll in the VOAP.

Where to look a site up

The VOAP pages read name no list of VOAP sites of their own. They link TDEC's Data and Map Viewers page and the Remediation Branch's Record Requests and Data Viewers page, whose Site Viewer returns the branch's sites. See Division of Remediation sites.

Getting the file

The VOAP page's "Request a File" link is to the TDEC Public Records Request form. TDEC's Public Records Request page is the department's records request page. The Remediation Branch's central office is at (615) 532-0900. The program's regional coordinators are listed on its VOAP page.

Sources

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation pages, read October 7, 2026:

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