Federal IC/EC Registries

Registries of institutional controls (legal and administrative restrictions: deed notices, groundwater use prohibitions, land use restrictions) and engineering controls (physical measures: caps, vapor mitigation systems, slurry walls) recorded at sites where contamination was addressed by leaving something in place under CERCLA, RCRA, or other federal programs.

In a Phase I ESA

The ASTM E1527-21 search scope is subject property only. A control on the subject property is central to the controlled recognized environmental condition (CREC) analysis: a past release, addressed to regulatory satisfaction, with residual contamination managed through the control. The Phase I should identify what the control requires and whether the current property condition and use are consistent with it. A paved cap with excavation restrictions matters when the buyer's plan is to dig.

Controls also matter to the user directly: they bind future owners, can constrain redevelopment, and their maintenance obligations transfer with the property.

Where the data lives

EPA tracks institutional controls at Superfund sites in site documents and IC-tracking data. RCRA controls appear in RCRAInfo and permit files. State registries (a separate ASTM row) cover state-program controls and are often the more complete source.