who should you call first if you have an oil
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When are You Required to Report an Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release?
When are you required to report a spill or release? | What information is needed when reporting a spill or release?
Any person or organization responsible for a release or spill is required to notify the federal government when the amount reaches a federally-determined limit. Separate reporting requirements exist for:
- Oil spills
- Hazardous substance releases
States also may have separate reporting requirements. However, anyone who discovers a hazardous substance release or oil spill is encouraged to contact the federal government, regardless of whether they are the responsible party. All it takes is a single telephone call to the National Response Center at (800) 424-8802.
Oil Spills
EPA has established requirements to report spills to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. EPA has determined that discharges of oil in quantities that may be harmful to public health or the environment include those that:
- Violate applicable water quality standards;
- Cause a film or “sheen” upon, or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines; or
- Cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines.
Any person in charge of vessels or facilities that discharge oil in such quantities is required to report the spill to the federal government. EPA provides several exemptions from the oil spill reporting requirements.
The requirement for reporting oil spills stems from the Discharge of Oil Regulation, known as the “sheen rule.” Under this regulation, oil spill reporting does not depend on the specific amount of oil spilled, but on the presence of a visible sheen created by the spilled oil. Reporting an oil discharges may also be required under the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule. For more information on reporting oil discharges, please see: Oil Discharge Reporting Requirements: How to Report to the National Response Center and EPA
Hazardous Substances
For releases of hazardous substances, the federal government has established Superfund Reportable Quantities (RQs). If a hazardous substance is released to the environment in an amount that equals or exceeds its RQ, the release must be reported to federal authorities, unless certain reporting exemptions for hazardous substance releases also apply.
Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986, the federal government has designated several hundred substances as “extremely hazardous substances” based on their acute lethal toxicity. Under the law, releases of these extremely hazardous substances trigger reporting requirements to state and local authorities, as well as the federal authorities. The owner or operator of a facility that releases an extremely hazardous substance in an amount greater than its established RQ must follow requirements on how to report to the appropriate authorities (in many cases, the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and the Local Emergency Planning
Committee (LEPC)) for the location where the incident occurs.
How to Report Spills and Environmental Violations
Are you concerned about an environmental situation within your community but don’t know where to go for answers? Learn more:
- Reporting:
- On this page:
- Who do I call to report an oil or chemical spill, or other environmental emergency that poses a sudden threat to public health?
- Where do I report the illegal use of a pesticide, or another possible violation of environmental laws or regulations?
- On other pages:
- When am I required to report an oil spill or hazardous substance release?
- On this page:
- Getting help:
- Resources in the event of pesticide poisoning, non-emergency pesticide spills, and chemical spills
- Learn about:
- What’s an environmental violation versus an emergency?
- Where can I find information on spills that have already happened?
Who do I call to report an oil or chemical spill or other environmental emergency that poses a sudden threat to public health?
- For emergencies and other sudden threats to public health, such as:
- oil and/or chemical spills,
- radiation emergencies, and
- biological discharges,
call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.
- Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know (EPCRA), certain facilities also need to report hazardous substance releases to state/local officials.
- Report dumping incidents in international ocean waters
- Report complaints, tips, and violations that have to do with lead-based paint
- For non-emergency, non-sudden-threat spills, see the section below.
Where do I report the illegal use of a pesticide, or another possible violation of environmental laws or regulations?
- View more information related to reporting incidents related to harm from pesticides when these groups may have been exposed:
- People
- Fish, wildlife and the environment
- Bees and other pollinators
- Pets and domestic animals
- Report dumping incidents in international ocean waters.
- Report complaints, tips, and violations that have to do with lead-based paint
- For all other incidents, fill out the form at epa.gov/tips. If you don’t have Internet access, call the EPA office in your area of the country (see the phone numbers in the “Want to Report a Spill or Violation…” box on this page).
Many issues are handled at the local level. You may first want to try contacting your local government office for concerns about trash, litter, strange odors, recycling pickup, and household chemical disposal, including paints, pesticides, oil, antifreeze, etc. You can find information about your local government in the blue pages of your telephone book or by contacting your public library.
For concerns that may not be handled at the local level, the next step is to contact your state environmental agency. Information about state agencies can be found in the blue pages of your telephone book as well.
Resources in the event of pesticide poisoning, non-emergency pesticide spills, and chemical spills
- For pesticide poisoning, call 911 if the person is unconscious, has trouble breathing, or has convulsions. Otherwise, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.
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For information about cleaning up or otherwise dealing with non-emergency pesticide spills, you can contact:
- the National Pesticide Information CenterEXITEXIT EPA WEBSITE at (800) 858-7378
- the pesticide manufacturer. Their contact information is on the product label.
- For chemical spills, CHEMTRECEXITEXIT EPA WEBSITE provides access to technical experts on chemical products and hazardous materials, and maintains a large database of Material Safety Data Sheets. CHEMTREC can be reached at (800) 424-9300.
What’s an environmental violation versus an emergency?
- smoke or other emissions from local industrial facilities;
- tampering with emission control or air conditioning systems in automobiles;
- improper treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous wastes;
- exceedances of pollutant limits at publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants;
- unpermitted dredging or filling of waters and wetlands;
- any unpermitted industrial activity; or
- late-night dumping or any criminal activity including falsifying reports or other documents.
- oil and chemical spills,
- radiological and biological discharges, and
- accidents causing releases of pollutants
These emergencies may occur from transportation accidents, events at chemical or other facilities using or manufacturing chemicals, or as a result of natural or man-made disaster events. If you are involved in or witness an environmental emergency that presents a sudden threat to public health, you must call the National Response Center at: 1-800-424-8802.
Where can I find information on spills that have already happened?
You can view reports of previous incidents reported to the National Response Center. Data received via the National Railroad Hotline (1-800-424-0201) are also available, as are reports taken during drills or spill exercises.
Dealing with oil spills
Prepare to deal with an oil spill
If you are responsible for any oil storage you should be prepared for an accident, oil leak or spill. You need to know what to do.
Being prepared will reduce the chances of you having an incident that could cause pollution and damage your property. Keep an oil spill kit with sorbent materials (products that will soak up oil but not water) and leak sealing putty near your oil store so you can get to it quickly if you need it. Commercial and industrial spill kits may contain additional items, for example drain blockers, and large amounts of sorbents.
Dealing with an oil spill
If you discover an oil leak, or have a spill, you need to deal with it immediately. If you don’t you could cause a serious pollution incident and may have enforcement action taken against you.
Take action:
- If you can safely stop the flow of oil do. If there’s room, and you won’t get oil on your skin, put a bucket under the leak and close valves or taps.
- Use the contents of your spill kit, sandbags or earth to soak up the oil if it’s on a hard surface and stop it entering a river, stream, watercourse, and drains or soaking into the ground.
- Never wash any spilt oil away into drains, a gully or into the ground. Most drains connect to the nearest watercourse and oil can cause serious pollution of rivers, streams and groundwater.
- Never use detergents to clean up spilt oil; you could cause a worse pollution incident. The detergent itself is a pollutant and mixes oil into the water.
If you need help:
Don’t put yourself at risk to clean-up an oil spill. If you can’t clean-up the spill yourself or want some advice about a spill call the national incident/pollution hotline 0800 80 70 60, the line is open 24 hours, calls are free from land lines but there may be a change if you’re using a mobile.
Protect yourself and your property
If spilt oil has spread into a river, stream or drains or you don’t know where it’s gone you’re likely to need help to clean up the spill.
If the oil has soaked into the soil/ground, you’ll need to take action quickly to prevent it soaking further into the ground and reaching building foundations or groundwater supplies. You’ll need a professional company with training and accreditation to clean up oil that’s soaked into the ground. Removal and disposal of soil contaminated with oil can be very expensive; we recommend you contact your insurance company as soon as possible.
Don’t risk leaving an oil spill; it can damage the foundations of a building and kill plants and wildlife.
Leaking tanks
If you find a leak from your tank try to put a container under the leak to stop more oil spreading. Use leak sealing putty from your spill kit to cover the leaking area, wear rubber or vinyl gloves to protect your skin.
For plastic tanks you may be able to temporarily stop the leak by rubbing a bar of soft soap across the leak – make sure you protect yourself by wearing rubber or vinyl gloves.
Phone for help; putty or soap are only short term answers to a leak. Your tank may need to be emptied to stop your oil causing pollution. Your fuel supply company or insurance provider may be able to help.
Report an oil spill
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In England, Northern Ireland and Scotland call the incident hotline telephone 0800 80 70 60 (24-hour service), free from land lines there may be a fee from mobile numbers.
You can use this number to report an oil spill, or other environmental incident, across the United Kingdom.
In Wales call 0300 065 3000 (24-hour service).