Texas environmental records for a Phase I ESA
A Phase I records review in Texas draws on two state agencies. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) keeps most of the records: tanks, cleanups, waste, landfills and groundwater. The Railroad Commission of Texas keeps the records of contamination from oil and gas activity. This page maps each kind of record ASTM E1527-21 asks for to the Texas program that holds it, and links a page on each program.
The standard record types, in Texas
| ASTM record type | Texas program | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| State Superfund equivalent | Texas Superfund Registry | TCEQ |
| Landfills and solid waste sites | Municipal Solid Waste facilities and the Closed Landfill Inventory | TCEQ |
| Leaking storage tanks | Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank cases | TCEQ |
| Registered storage tanks | Petroleum Storage Tank registrations | TCEQ |
| State hazardous waste facilities | No single Texas list is paired here. The Texas records that bear on it are Industrial and Hazardous Waste registrations and Industrial and Hazardous Waste Corrective Action. | TCEQ |
| Institutional and engineering controls | Municipal Setting Designations, which are groundwater-use restrictions: one kind of control, not a full registry | TCEQ |
| Voluntary cleanup sites | Voluntary Cleanup Program and the Railroad Commission Voluntary Cleanup Program | TCEQ and Railroad Commission |
| Brownfields sites | Brownfields Site Assessments and the Railroad Commission Brownfields Response Program | TCEQ and Railroad Commission |
How far each search reaches is on the ASTM search distances page.
Other Texas records worth reading
These are not on ASTM's standard list, but each answers a question a Texas Phase I runs into.
- Innocent Owner/Operator Program: certificates for owners whose property was contaminated from an off-site source.
- Dry cleaner registrations and the Dry Cleaner Remediation Program: who operated a dry cleaner, and which sites applied for a state-led cleanup.
- Spill reports: the 30-day follow-up report and where it is filed.
- Notices of violation and enforcement: how to tell a notice from an order.
- Groundwater contamination cases: the yearly report that crosses agencies.
- Underground injection wells: which agency regulates which class.
- Tier II chemical reporting: chemical storage reports and their thresholds.
- Edwards Aquifer protection plans: approvals required to build over the regulated zones.
- Railroad Commission Operator Cleanup Program: oil and gas cleanups overseen by the Railroad Commission.
The rule most of these cleanups are measured against is the Texas Risk Reduction Program.
Two agencies, and sometimes more
Oil and gas is the usual dividing line. The Railroad Commission's cleanup, voluntary cleanup and brownfields programs cover contamination from oil and gas activity, and it regulates the injection wells related to energy byproducts. A search that stops at one agency leaves the other agency's records unread.
The Railroad Commission's Site Remediation section also runs a State Managed Cleanup Program and grant cleanup programs. The Commission says the section cleans up abandoned oilfield sites and oversees operator cleanups of oilfield sites.
Spills add more agencies. TCEQ says that depending on what is spilled and where, jurisdiction may lie with the General Land Office, the Railroad Commission, the Department of State Health Services, the Parks and Wildlife Department or the Department of Public Safety.
One search that crosses TCEQ's programs
TCEQ's Central Registry query searches basic information on many of the facilities, organizations and people TCEQ regulates. TCEQ points to it for current and historic information on tanks and known leaking tank sites, industrial and hazardous waste registrations and permits, municipal solid waste facilities, injection well permits, and corrective action facilities. Start there when you have a facility name or number.
TCEQ's Remediation Documents Search Portal shows receipt and submittal data for the last five years of incoming and outgoing documents for five cleanup programs: Industrial and Hazardous Waste Corrective Action, Innocent Owner/Operator, Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank, Municipal Setting Designation and Voluntary Cleanup.
Getting a file from TCEQ
A listing says a record exists. The reports and letters are in the file. TCEQ offers three routes:
- TCEQ Records Online, for records already scanned.
- An email to the Central File Room, cfrreq@tceq.texas.gov, to view or copy paper, microform and optical disc records. TCEQ arranges an appointment to view records that do not contain confidential information.
- A Public Information Request, for records that are not available through the file room or that contain confidential information.
TCEQ asks that you not send the same request through both the file room and a Public Information Request. It charges for copying, certifying and supplying electronic records. The Central File Room is at 512-239-0223.
Railroad Commission records are requested from the Railroad Commission. Each of its program pages gives a contact, and its Public Information Act page covers records requests.
Sources
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality pages, read September 30, 2026:
- Remediation Program Descriptions, last modified July 17, 2026.
- Remediation: Cleaning up Contaminated Sites, last modified March 18, 2026.
- Central Registry, last modified April 30, 2026.
- Look Up Data and Records Online, last modified September 9, 2026.
- Waste Management Permit Applications, Permits, Registrations, and Facilities, last modified July 17, 2026.
- Access Records from our Central File Room, last modified July 17, 2026.
- Spills: Which State Agency Has Jurisdiction?, last modified May 1, 2026.
- Injection Wells: Am I Regulated?, last modified March 6, 2026.
Railroad Commission of Texas pages, read September 30, 2026. The Commission's pages do not show a last-modified date.