Vermont

Contaminated sites

Agency Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

The Sites Management Section of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provides state oversight for the investigation and cleanup of properties where a release of a hazardous material has contaminated the environment, including soils, groundwater, surface water and indoor air. It sits in the Waste Management and Prevention Division, which says it manages cleanup at hazardous sites under state and federal authorities, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and CERCLA. DEC says a list of the properties managed under this program is in its two main online databases, the Environmental Research Tool (ERT) and the ANR Atlas.

In a Phase I ESA

This handbook reads the properties the Sites Management Section manages as the Vermont form of the state equivalent to the federal Superfund lists, which ASTM E1527-21 names as a standard source. The pages read call no Vermont list a state Superfund list; the pairing is the handbook's reading. The general reading of a state Superfund listing is on the state Superfund equivalent page.

The same section is where DEC points for contamination found during an underground tank removal, and it receives claims to the Petroleum Cleanup Fund (PCF). Liability relief for a brownfield is a separate program, BRELLA.

The rule for this work is the Investigation and Remediation of Contaminated Properties Rule. DEC says the revised rule went into effect on February 23, 2024, supersedes all previous versions, and should be applied to all site work conducted at contaminated sites moving forward.

How a site closes

DEC's Brownfields Resources for Citizens page describes the steps and the two kinds of closing document.

Corrective action. If a Phase II shows that corrective action is necessary, a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) must be developed in accordance with the rule. After DEC's review and draft approval of a CAP, a 30-day public comment period is held.
Sites Management Activities Completed (SMAC). DEC calls a SMAC designation the typical form of site closure it provides after all required activities are completed at a hazardous waste site. It indicates that no additional work related to the identified release or releases is required at the time it is issued. It does not guarantee the site will stay closed if environmental media standards change, if new or emerging contaminants of concern require more response, or if new information or a change in site conditions shows sensitive receptors are at risk. It does not release the potentially responsible party or parties from past or future liability associated with the release, or from any contamination discovered after the designation. A SMAC is granted for a specific release that has been assessed, and does not typically pertain to an entire property.
Certificate of Completion (COC). A COC is a different document, issued under the state brownfield program, BRELLA, after all recognized environmental conditions are identified, characterized and, if necessary, remediated. DEC says it is recorded in the land records of the property and may include land use restrictions.

Read a SMAC designation for the release it covers, and compare that release with the property in front of you. Among its forms, DEC's guidance page links a Land Use Restriction annual inspection checklist, an Administrative Use Control petition form, a historical fill exemption request form and a management of contaminated soil request form. This handbook did not open them.

Where to look a site up

DEC's Waste Topics page links a page it labels Contaminated Sites, which this handbook did not open, and the Contaminated Sites page links the Environmental Research Tool (ERT) and the ANR Atlas.
DEC says the ERT includes electronic copies of important site information, such as the initial site investigation report, for many sites, but does not generally represent all information in a site file.
The Waste Management and Prevention Division is at 802-828-1138 during office hours.

Getting the file

The Contaminated Sites page gives the route. For reports you are interested in, contact the DEC project manager; locate the site on the ERT to find who that is. To review the entire site file, the page says to email the division staff it names to complete a public records request. DEC's pages also link, in their footer, Request public information and Department of Environmental Conservation Records Liaisons, both on the Agency of Natural Resources' public records page, which this handbook did not read.

Sources

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: