What is considered a environmental emergency?

An environmental emergency is an immediate and significant threat to public health and/or the environment due to the release of materials to the environment. While an emergency can also constitute a violation, an emergency should be reported immediately to Ohio EPA's 24-hour spill hotline at 1.800.282.9378 or 614.224.0946. Examples of emergencies to be reported include:

• Petroleum spills.
• Chemical spill.
• Fires involving chemicals and/or petroleum.
• Accidents causing the release of pollutants to Ohio's waterways. Industrial chemicals when not properly managed can cause environmental problems; in addition, spills of materials that seem harmless can cause environmental harm if not properly addressed.  For example, large spills of milk and molasses have all caused fish kills in Ohio streams.

Ohio EPA's Office of Emergency Response (ER) is a specialized group of staff stationed throughout Ohio who coordinate with first responders and other Federal, State, and local responders and support entities on environmental emergencies such as train wrecks, facility malfunctions, highway crashes, fish kills, oil and gas releases, natural disasters, etc., to minimize and abate the impact these releases cause to the environment.

ER is capable of responding 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Responders are fully trained in the Incident Command System. On-scene coordinators (OSCs) are available to help first responders address environmental emergencies and pollution incidents, including chemical and petroleum spills.

Statewide, Ohio EPA records more than 5,000 incident reports annually through calls to our emergency response spill hotline from citizens, companies, law enforcement, emergency responders and other agencies.