Report an environmental incident

What to do when a pollution incident occurs at or near your business. Covers when and how to report to the Environment Agency or devolved regulators, what information to provide, and the consequences of not reporting.

UK-wide
Guide summary

If pollution happens at your business, call 0800 80 70 60 immediately. Report spills, leaks, or illegal dumping that could harm water, land, or air. You could face prison or unlimited fines if you do not report. Call 999 first if there is danger to life.

  • Call 0800 80 70 60 immediately for pollution incidents
  • Report spills reaching water, drains, or land
  • Call 999 first if danger to life or fire risk
  • Provide location, pollutant type, and actions taken
  • Permit holders must report breaches within 24 hours
  • Fines are unlimited and prison up to 5 years
  • Use spill kits to contain if safe to do so
  • Follow up with written report after calling
  • Report dead fish or illegal waste dumping
  • Online reporting available in England and Scotland
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UK-wide

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If a pollution incident occurs at or near your business - a chemical spill, an oil leak reaching a drain, contaminated run-off entering a watercourse - you must act immediately. Delay can turn a containable spill into a serious environmental crime.

Reporting is not optional. Causing pollution to controlled waters is a criminal offence carrying up to 5 years in prison and an unlimited fine. Failing to report an incident you are aware of can be treated as an aggravating factor, significantly increasing any penalty.

If there is immediate danger to life or risk of fire or explosion, always call 999 first.

When you must report

Report immediately if any of the following has happened or is about to happen:

  • Water pollution: Oil, chemicals, or other pollutants have entered or are about to enter a river, stream, ditch, lake, pond, canal, groundwater, or coastal waters
  • Drain contamination: Pollutants have entered a surface water drain (which discharges to a watercourse, not a sewage works)
  • Fish kill: You can see dead or distressed fish in a watercourse near your premises
  • Significant land contamination: A large spill has soaked into the ground, potentially reaching groundwater
  • Air pollution: Significant emissions, smoke, or odour affecting the surrounding area beyond your site boundary
  • Illegal waste dumping: You discover waste has been illegally deposited on or near your land
  • Permit breach: Any condition of your environmental permit has been breached

When in doubt, report. The regulator would far rather receive a report that turns out to be minor than discover a serious incident that was not reported.

Step-by-step: what to do during an incident

The following sequence applies when a pollution incident occurs at your premises. Speed matters - the faster you act, the less damage results and the more favourably the regulator will view your response.

  1. 1

    1. Call 999 if there is danger to life

    If anyone is injured, there is a risk of fire or explosion, or hazardous fumes are present, call the emergency services first. Do not attempt to contain a spill if doing so would put you or others at risk.

  2. 2

    2. Call the incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60

    This free 24-hour number connects you to the Environment Agency (England), SEPA (Scotland), NRW (Wales), or NIEA (Northern Ireland) depending on where you are calling from. Tell them what has happened, where, and what you are doing about it.

  3. 3

    3. Contain the spill if it is safe to do so

    Use your spill kit to absorb or contain the material. Block surface water drains with drain mats or covers. Build temporary bunds with sandbags or absorbent booms. Do not wash the material down a drain - this spreads the contamination.

  4. 4

    4. Gather information for the regulator

    Note down the details the regulator will need: what material has been released, approximate quantity, when it happened, whether it has reached water, what containment actions you have taken, and whether the release is ongoing. If possible, take photographs.

  5. 5

    5. Follow up in writing

    After the initial phone report, follow up with a written account to your regulator. In England, you can submit this via the GOV.UK online reporting service. Include all the information from step 4 plus any additional details that emerged during the response.

If you hold an environmental permit

Permit holders have additional notification obligations beyond calling the incident hotline. If any condition of your environmental permit has been breached, you must:

  • Notify the regulator immediately by phone (using the hotline or your designated contact)
  • Submit a written notification within the timeframe specified in your permit conditions (typically 24 hours for significant breaches)
  • Investigate the cause and document what happened, why, and what steps you are taking to prevent recurrence
  • Implement corrective action as directed by the regulator

Check your permit conditions for specific notification requirements. Some permits require immediate notification of any abnormal operation, not just actual pollution events.

What happens after you report

After receiving your report, the regulator will typically:

  1. Assess the severity: They will categorise the incident (category 1 is the most serious, category 4 the least) to determine the response level
  2. Attend the scene if necessary: For serious incidents, an Environment Officer may visit to assess the damage and oversee the response
  3. Direct clean-up: They may instruct you on what clean-up measures are required and by when
  4. Investigate: For significant incidents, the regulator will investigate to determine the cause and whether enforcement action is appropriate
  5. Take enforcement action if warranted: This can range from advice and guidance for minor incidents to prosecution for serious or deliberate pollution

Prompt reporting and genuine efforts to contain the damage are always taken into account when regulators decide on enforcement. Businesses that report quickly, cooperate fully, and take immediate remedial action are treated more favourably than those that try to conceal an incident.

Penalties for not reporting

Causing pollution to controlled waters is a criminal offence under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Penalties include:

  • Up to 5 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine on indictment for causing or knowingly permitting pollution
  • Remediation costs: You can be required to pay for the full cost of cleaning up the pollution, which can run to tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds for water pollution incidents
  • Director liability: Individual directors and managers can be personally prosecuted if the offence was committed with their consent or connivance
  • Permit revocation: Your environmental permit may be varied, suspended, or revoked

Failure to report an incident you are aware of is not a separate offence in itself in most cases, but regulators treat it as a serious aggravating factor. A business that causes accidental pollution but reports and responds immediately will be treated very differently from one that tries to cover it up.

Official reporting services