How to check California's Cortese List for a property
A practical way to identify the statutory Cortese List source categories, find the official sources, and make a first-pass property match before documenting the evidence.
Use the source categories named in Government Code section 65962.5, open the official record for each category that applies, and make a first-pass comparison with the property boundary and project footprint. The next step is to preserve the search inputs, dates, returned record, and unresolved questions in How should you document a Cortese List screen in an Initial Study?. A Cortese List result identifies a record to review. It does not by itself establish property inclusion, site condition, or project significance.
For an Initial Study, 2018 CEQA Guidelines Appendix G asks whether the project would be located on a site included on a list compiled under section 65962.5 and, as a result, create a significant hazard to the public or the environment. This page supplies the source selection and first-pass location fact. The companion documentation page preserves the evidence and carries verified facts forward.
Start with the statute
Section 65962.5 assigns list-compilation duties across several agencies and local enforcement agencies. It also directs the Secretary for Environmental Protection to consolidate and distribute submitted information. Read the applicable subdivision before treating any database or PDF as the complete list for a property.
Identify the source categories that apply
Use Cortese List Data Resources to locate CalEPA's public data resources. Match each source to the statutory category you are checking. Do not assume that one source represents every category in the statute.
On smaller screens, this table may scroll horizontally; the first column stays in view.
| Check | What to do | First-pass output |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory category | Read the applicable subdivision of section 65962.5 and identify the agency or local source with the list duty. | Subdivision, agency or local enforcement agency, and why the category applies to the property review. |
| CalEPA section 65962.5(a) record | Review Cortese List section 65962.5(a) when the DTSC categories described there are relevant. | Official page or report and the category it covers. |
| DTSC record | Check EnviroStor Public Data Export FeatureServer when its listed program records are relevant. | Official record returned and the method used for the first-pass location comparison. |
| Water Board record | Check GeoTracker Sites CSV when the dated statewide export is relevant. | Official record returned and the method used for the first-pass location comparison. |
| Other statutory category | Locate the responsible agency or local enforcement source identified by the statute and preserve its official record. | Official source and whether the first-pass comparison is direct, nearby, ambiguous, or no record returned. |
Compare the record with the property
Open the official record rather than relying only on a search result or copied address. Compare its address, location, program context, and status with the property boundary and project footprint. Record whether the source shows a direct match, a nearby record, an ambiguous match, or no record returned from that named source.
This is the first-pass match. Preserve the source date separately from the query date, retain the returned evidence, and record any unresolved location question in How should you document a Cortese List screen in an Initial Study?.
A nearby record may justify further review. It does not establish parcel inclusion. An address match may need confirmation when the property has changed, spans several parcels, or differs from the address used by the source. A result from one agency does not answer the categories maintained by another agency or local enforcement agency.
Move from checking to documentation
Once the applicable sources have been checked and the first-pass property comparison is complete, use How should you document a Cortese List screen in an Initial Study? to create one evidence record for each source and statutory category. That page covers the copyable record, source date and query date, retained evidence, unresolved questions, and the next Initial Study handoff.
Keep the first-pass result in proportion
A returned record, nearby record, or no-record result is only the outcome of this source check and first-pass location comparison. It does not by itself establish site conditions or project significance. Use How should you document a Cortese List screen in an Initial Study? to preserve the result, distinguish unavailable from negative outcomes, and carry verified facts into the Initial Study.
Sources
- California Legislature, Government Code section 65962.5.
- California Environmental Protection Agency, Cortese List Data Resources and Cortese List section 65962.5(a).
- Department of Toxic Substances Control, EnviroStor Public Data Export FeatureServer.
- State Water Resources Control Board, GeoTracker Sites CSV.
- California Natural Resources Agency, 2018 CEQA Guidelines Appendix G.