SEMS Search User Guide

SEMS is the official repository for site and non-site specific Superfund data in support of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). It contains information on hazardous waste site assessment and remediation from 1983 to the present.

This is a brief user's guide to the SEMS Search. Select from a variety of different search options and output options as detailed below. Contact us if you have any suggestions for improvements to these pages.

Select more than one search option at a time to speed up the search and make the retrieval more focused. Only those facilities matching all specified criteria will be retrieved.

Facility Identification Search Option

Facility Name

Enter the complete or partial site name to retrieve all facilities with that name. Select the "Containing" option when entering a partial name for a better retrieval the first time you access the data. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for a facility name, only facilities that exactly match the name as entered will be retrieved.

SEMS EPA ID

Enter the complete or partial SEMS EPA ID (typically the same as the Facility ID) to retrieve all facilities with that ID. Select the "Containing" option when entering a partial ID for a better retrieval the first time you access the data. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for a Site EPA ID, only facilities that exactly match the ID as entered will be retrieved.

Geography Search Option

Select from the following geographical search options: ZIP Code, Address, City, County, and State.

ZIP Code

The entry can be one or more digits. It allows you to enter the zip plus-4 extension as well.

Address

Enter a complete or partial street address.

City

Enter a complete or partial city name. Entering the two-character state postal abbreviation will help to narrow the search.

County

Enter a complete or partial county name and a two-character state postal abbreviation. Entering the two-character state postal abbreviation will help to narrow the search

State

Enter a two-character state postal abbreviation. A list of the postal abbreviations and the state names is provided below:

Postal Abbreviations and State Names
AK = Alaska	AL = Alabama	AR = Arkansas
AS = American Samoa	AZ = Arizona	CA = California
CN = Canada	CO = Colorado	CT = Connecticut
DC = District of Columbia	DE = Delaware	FL = Florida
FM = Federated States of Micronesia	GA = Georgia	GU = Guam
HI = Hawaii	IA = Iowa	ID = Idaho
IL = Illinois	IN = Indiana	KS = Kansas
KY = Kentucky	LA = Louisiana	MA = Massachusetts
MD = Maryland	ME = Maine	MH = Marshall Island
MI = Michigan	MN = Minnesota	MO = Missouri
MP = Northern Mariana Islands	MS = Mississippi	MT = Montana
NC = North Carolina	ND = North Dakota	NE = Nebraska
NH = New Hampshire	NJ = New Jersey	NM = New Mexico
NV = Nevada	NY = New York	OH = Ohio
OK = Oklahoma	OR = Oregon	PA = Pennsylvania
PR = Puerto Rico	PW = Palau, Republic of	RI = Rhode Island
SC = South Carolina	SD = South Dakota	TN = Tennessee
TX = Texas	UT = Utah	VA = Virginia
VI = Virgin Islands	VT = Vermont	WA = Washington
WI = Wisconsin	WV = West Virginia	WY = Wyoming

Note: We strongly recommend that you enter a small geographical area to begin the search since Envirofacts contains a large number of facilities.

National Priority List (NPL) Sites Only

Check this option to retrieve only those sites which are proposed, currently, or previously on the NPL.

Search Values Option

Click on "Use Multisystem facility information to perform facility search" to identify facilities, using facility information from all program systems. Click on "Use SEMS facility information to perform facility search" to identify facilities, using only SEMS facility information.

Output Selection Search Option

The output, organized by facility, shows the facility information first in a tabular format, with additional information available by clicking the View Facility Information link.

Basic Facility Information

The Basic Facility Information that you will receive with this search consists of the following variables:

• SEMS EPA ID
• Facility Information: Click on the "View Facility Information" link to view EPA Facility information for the facility.
• Site Name
• Address: The Facility Address is a combination of the following individual attributes in the SEMS system:
  • STREET
  • CITY
  • STATE
  • ZIP CODE
• County Name
• Site SMSA: Code for the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area.
• Federal Facility
• NPL Status
• Corporate Link: Indicates whether the facility record is linked to environmental information on that organization's website.
• Mapping Info: Provides facility latitude and longitude coordinates, and the ability to generate maps using Envirofacts mapping applications.
• Record of Decision (ROD) Information: Click on the RECORD OF DECISION value for a RODS Site Report.
• EPA Regional Link: Indicates whether the facility record is linked to factsheets maintained by an EPA Regional office.
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Ownership

Facility Detail Information

The Facility Detail Information that you will receive with this search consists of the following variables:

• SEMS EPA ID
• Site Name
• Street Address
• Facility Information: Click on the "View Facility Information" link to view EPA Facility information for the facility.
• City Name
• State Abbreviation
• County Name
• ZIP Code
• Site SMSA: Code for the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area.
• Federal Facility
• NPL Status
• Corporate Link: Indicates whether the facility record is linked to environmental information on that organization's website.
• Record of Decision (ROD) Information: Click on the RECORD OF DECISION value for a RODS Site Report.
• Mapping Info:Provides facility latitude and longitude coordinates, and the ability to generate maps using Envirofacts mapping applications.
• EPA Regional Link: Indicates whether the facility record is linked to factsheets maintained by an EPA Regional office.
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Enforcement and Cleanup Actions
  • Action
  • Action ID
  • Actual Start Date
  • Actual End Date
  • Responsibility
  • Planned Outcome
  • Urgency
• Site Description
  • Description Text

Usage Constraints

Information in the SEMS database can be freely accessed through the use of this search. The complexity of the search is up to the user. Searches that return a large volume of data may terminate prematurely due to system limitations. Develop searches that return small batches of data and terminate the session as soon as the searches have been executed, so that others can access the database.