FAQ
Everything you need to know about VetMyAddress reports and data.
The overall grade is the worst grade across all five categories. If air quality is A, water is A, PFAS is B, flood risk is C, and pollution is B — the overall grade is C. This ensures nothing important gets averaged away.
Each category uses its own grading logic based on federal thresholds. Air quality: A means AQI averaging under 50. Water: A means zero violations in 5 years. Flood: A means Zone X (minimal hazard). Pollution: A means no Superfund sites within 3 miles. PFAS: A means no compounds detected in the matched water system's UCMR 5 results. Each category is graded independently — a strong result in one area doesn't offset a weak result in another.
EPA's water system boundary database doesn't cover every address — some rural or unincorporated areas aren't mapped. If we can't match your address to a public water system, the water section will say so and give you a direct link to search manually on EPA's site.
A Superfund site is a location the EPA has identified as significantly contaminated with hazardous substances. Being near a Superfund site doesn't automatically mean your home is affected — it depends on the specific contaminants, cleanup stage, and groundwater flow. The report shows proximity and links to the site's EPA record so you can investigate further.
Most sources are queried live at report time. Air quality is current to within hours. Water compliance and Superfund records update as EPA receives filings — typically quarterly. PFAS data (UCMR 5, TRI, DoD installations) is pre-loaded from federal bulk downloads and refreshed when EPA and DoD publish updates, typically quarterly or annually. Flood maps update as FEMA revises panels, which can lag local development.
The free preview shows your overall A-F environmental grade, the grade for each category, and a short signal summary. The paid profile unlocks full findings, official source links, plain-English explanations, and next verification steps for every section. You can view a sample full profile before paying.
The bundle unlocks your current report immediately and adds one report credit to your account tied to your email address. Use that credit any time on a future report — there's no expiration.
No. Bundle credits are tied to your email address and never expire.
Yes. Your report has a unique URL you can share with a spouse, agent, or anyone else involved in the decision. Anyone with the link can see the full report if it's been unlocked.
Yes. We source from the same federal databases — EPA UCMR 5, EPA ECHO, EPA SDWIS, EPA SEMS/Superfund, EPA TRI, DoD PFAS installation data, FEMA NFHL, FEMA NRI, and EPA AirNow — that professionals reference. The difference is we make it readable in plain English without the consulting fee.
Use it as a first screen, not a final answer. VetMyAddress is excellent for quickly identifying whether a property has flags worth investigating before you spend money on a site visit or a professional assessment. For serious concerns — especially NPL Superfund sites or repeated health-based water violations — we recommend consulting a licensed environmental professional.
The EPA AirNow network covers the country with fixed monitoring stations. For most addresses, the nearest station is within a few miles and provides a reasonable estimate of local conditions. Hyperlocal air quality can vary due to traffic, industrial sources, and wind patterns — the station reading is an approximation, not an address-level measurement.
Yes. If your address matches a public water system in EPA's SDWIS database, we check that system's UCMR 5 results — the most comprehensive federal PFAS testing program ever conducted on public water supplies. We also flag nearby DoD military installations with known PFAS use and any PFAS-confirmed Superfund sites within 3 miles.
UCMR 5 (Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5) was EPA's 2023–2025 nationwide testing program covering 29 PFAS compounds. It required all public water systems serving more than 3,300 people to test. If your matched water system was covered, we show the specific compounds detected and whether any exceeded the 2024 EPA maximum contaminant level of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS. Systems serving fewer than 3,300 people were not required to test — a blank result there does not mean the water is clean.
A detection below the EPA maximum contaminant level (4 ppt for PFOA/PFOS) means the compound was found, but at a level regulators have not yet required action on at the federal level. EPA's 2024 rule will require water systems to reduce levels that exceed the MCL. A detection above the MCL means the system is required to notify customers and take corrective action. We show the compound name, concentration, and comparison to the MCL so you can evaluate the specific finding.
Private wells are not regulated by EPA and are not covered by UCMR 5 testing. VetMyAddress cannot report PFAS levels in a private well — that requires on-site sampling. If a property is served by a private well and there are nearby military installations, PFAS-confirmed Superfund sites, or PFAS-reporting industrial facilities within 3 miles, we flag those proximity signals so you know to ask about well testing before closing.
The Department of Defense tracks military installations where aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) — a firefighting agent containing PFAS — was historically used. DoD publishes this list as part of its PFAS remediation disclosure. VetMyAddress checks whether any of these installations fall within 3 miles of an address and uses that proximity as a risk signal in the PFAS grade, particularly when combined with detections in the local water system.