Dealing with a pollution incident

Call the 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 (free). This single number connects you to the correct regulator for your location: the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, or NIEA in Northern Ireland. Do not wait until you have all the details. Report what you know and update them later.

While you wait for the regulator to respond, take every safe step to stop the pollution spreading. Block surface water drains with drain mats or covers. Use your spill kit to absorb material. Build temporary barriers with sandbags or absorbent booms. Never wash pollutants down a drain - this turns a containable spill into a watercourse contamination.

Permit holders have additional obligations beyond calling the hotline. If any permit condition has been breached, you must notify your regulator within the timeframe specified in your permit - typically 24 hours for significant breaches. Submit a written incident report as soon as practicable, documenting what happened, why, and what corrective action you are taking.

The regulator will categorise the incident by severity and may attend your site. You can be required to pay for the full cost of environmental clean-up, which can reach tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds for water pollution. Causing pollution carries penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Prompt reporting and genuine containment efforts are always taken into account. Businesses that report quickly and cooperate fully are treated more favourably than those that delay or attempt to conceal an incident.

Once the immediate incident is resolved, review what went wrong and put measures in place to prevent recurrence. The regulator may require this as a condition of not pursuing formal enforcement action. A written pollution incident response plan, reviewed annually, is your best defence against future incidents.