You can cite Cortese List, EnviroStor, and GeoTracker results
You can carry a Cortese screen into Hazards and Hazardous Materials review when each result keeps its source and limit. Government Code section 65962.5 assigns list duties to several agencies. EnviroStor and GeoTracker publish records from different programs. Perminal checks three named source groups within 402.336 meters of an address or coordinate.
A returned record identifies a source fact for review. You decide whether that fact applies to the project and supports an Initial Study conclusion.
Each source answers a different part of your review
The Barclays Official California Code of Regulations, Appendix G asks whether a project would be located on a site included on a list compiled under Government Code section 65962.5 and, as a result, create a significant hazard. The question requires a list fact and a project-specific hazard analysis.
| Source | Fact you can retain | Review you still perform |
|---|---|---|
| Government Code section 65962.5 | The agency and list category identified by the controlling subsection. | Confirm which subsection and list apply to the project. |
| CalEPA Cortese List: section 65962.5(a) | CalEPA’s June 3, 2026 submission record for the DTSC categories described on that page. | Review the other statutory categories separately when they apply. |
| DTSC EnviroStor Public Data Export | Records returned by FeatureServer layers 0 cleanupsites, 1 hazardouswastesites, and 2 ICEsites. |
Review the record, project footprint, and site conditions. |
| State Water Board GeoTracker Sites CSV | Records in the dated statewide export that fall within the configured search distance. | Review the underlying Water Board record and project relationship. |
| CalEPA 2026 Solid Waste Facilities PDF and 2026 State Cleanup Program PDF | Coordinate-bearing source rows that fall within the configured search distance. | Treat each row as a locality candidate until the source record supports a project relationship. |
Section 65962.5 assigns the list duties
Subdivisions (a) through (d) assign list-compilation duties to DTSC, the State Department of Health Services, the State Water Resources Control Board, and local enforcement agencies. Subdivision (e) directs the Secretary for Environmental Protection to consolidate and distribute the submitted information. Subdivision (f) requires an applicant to consult the lists sent to the appropriate city or county and submit a signed statement before a lead agency accepts a development-project application as complete.
“Cortese List” is shorthand for this statutory framework. Your record should name the subsection, publisher, and source that support the statement you draft.
Perminal accepts an address or coordinates
POST /api/cortese/check accepts a street address or a latitude,longitude pair. Perminal sends an address to the US Census Bureau Geocoding API using the Public_AR_Current benchmark. Perminal uses supplied coordinates directly. APN lookup awaits licensed parcel geometry and returns 422 input_unresolved.
Perminal queries each resolved point with a 402.336-meter radius:
| Source | Current query method | Failure state |
|---|---|---|
| EnviroStor | Perminal queries FeatureServer layers 0, 1, and 2 with the resolved point and the 402.336-meter distance. | A failed request or response returns source_unavailable. |
| GeoTracker | Perminal reads the required geohash shards from a versioned statewide snapshot and applies a 402.336-meter haversine filter. | A missing, malformed, or incomplete pointer, manifest, or required shard returns source_unavailable. |
| Cortese PDFs | Perminal reads hash-verified geohash shards built from the two named 2026 PDFs and applies the same haversine filter. | A missing or hash-mismatched pointer, manifest, or required shard returns source_unavailable. |
Any unavailable source makes the overall outcome source_unavailable. This outcome keeps incomplete source coverage visible.
The verified snapshots show what Perminal reads
| Source artifact | Verified version | Record count | Source boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoTracker Sites statewide snapshot | 2026-09-01-93f63469bdef |
89,377 | The snapshot derives from the September 1, 2026 statewide CSV. |
| Cortese PDF-derived snapshot | 2026-02-03-09ff27156893 |
946 | The snapshot contains 921 State Cleanup Program records and 25 Solid Waste Facilities records. |
| EnviroStor Public Data Export | Layers 0, 1, and 2 queried at request time | Dynamic | The response covers the three named FeatureServer layers for the configured point buffer. |
The API returns each source name, source URL, version, retrieval time, result state, and returned records. The Cortese result also returns both source-document URLs and their SHA-256 values.
A locality candidate sends you to the source record
locality_candidates_returned means at least one available source returned a record within the configured buffer. no_locality_candidates_returned means every available source returned zero records within that buffer. source_unavailable means source coverage was incomplete.
A Cortese PDF row can identify a nearby source record. The PDF snapshot contains source coordinates. Parcel inclusion remains undetermined until an authoritative parcel source establishes the project relationship. A source-specific zero-record response reports the result of that named query. Site conditions and the other section 65962.5 source categories remain separate review questions.
Your source record preserves the facts a reviewer needs
Keep this evidence with the setting draft:
- the submitted address or coordinates and the resolution method
- the named source and direct source URL
- the source version or publisher date shown in the returned record
- the query time and 402.336-meter method
- the returned record or zero-record state
- the locality-candidate or source-unavailable boundary
- the project fact you reviewed before reaching a conclusion.
These fields let a reviewer reopen the same public source and follow the reasoning from returned record to project analysis.
You decide what the result means for the project
Review the project footprint, source-program context, current site conditions, and agency requirements. Add specialist review, consultation, records requests, or field work when the project needs them. Then decide what belongs in the Initial Study and how the cited source supports the significance analysis.
You verify the returned source before drafting
Open the returned public-source link and confirm the record’s project relationship. Carry that verified source record into your Hazards and Hazardous Materials draft.
These sources let you verify every claim
- California Legislature, Government Code section 65962.5, accessed September 9, 2026.
- Barclays Official California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Appendix G, accessed September 9, 2026.
- California Environmental Protection Agency, Cortese List: section 65962.5(a), submitted June 3, 2026, accessed September 9, 2026.
- Department of Toxic Substances Control, EnviroStor Public Data Export FeatureServer, layers 0, 1, and 2, publisher source date unavailable, accessed September 9, 2026.
- State Water Resources Control Board, GeoTracker Sites CSV dated September 1, 2026, accessed September 9, 2026.
- California Environmental Protection Agency, Cortese List - Solid Waste Facilities (2026) and 2026 Cortese List - Site Cleanup Program, accessed September 9, 2026.