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If people are in danger or a spill is active, leave immediately, call 911, and then report the environmental emergency to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. For dead or distressed fish, contact your state fish-and-wildlife or natural-resources agency and the state environmental or emergency-response agency. Do not touch carcasses, enter fumes or runoff, take samples, or attempt cleanup.
This guide explains which authority to contact, what information to provide, how to report from a safe location, and how procedures differ for chemical releases, oil sheens, fish kills, pesticide incidents, and suspected illegal discharges.
Decide whether the situation is an emergency
Your first decision is whether the event presents an immediate threat to life, health, property, or the environment. Do not spend time identifying the substance or estimating its volume before getting to safety.
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Call 911 first when there is immediate danger
Call 911 if you see or smell a release that could harm people, including strong or irritating fumes, fire, an explosion risk, rapidly spreading liquid, visible runoff toward homes or waterways, or anyone who is sick, injured, unconscious, or having trouble breathing. Leave the area and move upwind or uphill if you can do so without crossing the release. Keep other people, pets, and livestock away.
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After life-safety concerns are addressed, the emergency should be reported to the National Response Center, the federal intake point for sudden oil and chemical emergencies. The center receives reports from witnesses as well as responsible parties. You do not need to prove that a violation occurred or calculate a reportable quantity before calling.
When a fish kill may be urgent
A fish kill is not automatically a 911 event, but it can indicate a toxic release, oxygen depletion, disease, sewage discharge, or another rapidly changing hazard. Treat it as an emergency if people, pets, livestock, drinking-water intakes, or recreational users could be exposed; if fish are dying in a plume, sheen, or discolored water; if there is a strong chemical or sewage odor; or if the event is expanding quickly. Keep away and use the emergency sequence above.
Do not approach the source
Unknown liquids, drums, tanks, pipes, smoke, foam, sheens, and dead animals can expose you through skin contact, inhalation, or contaminated clothing. Do not open a container, move a carcass, walk through a puddle, taste or smell a substance closely, or enter a restricted area. Rescue of wildlife should be attempted only by trained personnel with the proper equipment and instructions.
Choose the right reporting route
State, tribal, and local procedures differ. If you know the state or tribal jurisdiction, use its fish-and-wildlife, environmental-protection, and emergency-response contacts in addition to any federal report. The following framework helps you select the first non-emergency call.
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| Situation | Primary contact | Urgency and jurisdiction | What to report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active chemical or oil release, fire, dangerous fumes, or threat to people | 911, followed by the National Response Center | Immediate; local emergency responders and federal emergency intake | Location, hazards, people exposed or at risk, visible substance or sheen, and whether the release is continuing |
| Dead or distressed fish or wildlife without an immediate human-safety threat | State fish, game, wildlife, or natural-resources agency; also notify the state environmental or emergency-response agency | Prompt state or tribal investigation; add local authorities where appropriate | Water body, access point, species and approximate numbers, symptoms, visible pollution, timing, and photographs from a safe distance |
| Suspected illegal discharge or pollution discovered after the event | EPA environmental-violation reporting route or the appropriate state or local environmental agency | Non-emergency regulatory referral; many cases are handled by state or local authorities | Discharge location, dates, source indicators, changes over time, and supporting observations |
| Suspected pesticide exposure or pesticide-related wildlife death | State pesticide regulator, product manufacturer, and, when appropriate, EPA | Prompt incident reporting; state pesticide officials generally lead field response | Product name and EPA registration number if known, location, date, affected organisms, symptoms, and circumstances |
For a pesticide incident, EPA accepts reports at report.pesticide.incident@epa.gov and through the National Pesticide Information Center ecological incident portal. Do not handle a container merely to read its label; record a product name or registration number only when it is visible from a safe place or available from a reliable source.
Report from a safe location: a step-by-step procedure
- Move away and assess only from a safe distance. Leave vapors, smoke, runoff, foam, sheens, dead animals, and unstable banks or structures. Do not cross private property, barricades, or contaminated ground to get a closer view.
- Call emergency services when necessary. Give the dispatcher the exact location, immediate hazards, injuries, and safest access route. Tell responders whether the material is moving toward homes, roads, drains, a river, a lake, or a drinking-water intake.
- Write down the observation time. Record when you first noticed the event and whether conditions are changing. If you arrived after it began, distinguish the arrival time from the time the condition may have started.
- Pinpoint the location. Note the water body or facility, nearest street address or landmark, shoreline access point, municipality, county, and state. A phone GPS pin can help, but do not enter a hazardous area to obtain one.
- Describe what you can actually observe. Report color, sheen, foam, smoke, odor, dead or distressed animals, a pipe or outfall, a leaking vehicle, a container, or a suspected source. Use ordinary descriptions rather than guessing a chemical identity.
- Estimate the extent without measuring dangerously. Give an approximate shoreline length or affected area, the number and species of fish or other wildlife, and whether the condition appears upstream, downstream, upwind, or along a current. Say when an estimate is uncertain.
- Record surrounding conditions. Note recent rain, weather, wind, water flow, tide, unusual temperature, and visible changes. These details can help investigators interpret the timing and movement of a release.
- Take photographs or video only from safety. Capture wide views that show the location and closer views obtainable without approaching the substance. Do not enter water, climb over barriers, disturb carcasses, or photograph in a way that puts you or others at risk.
- Make the appropriate agency call. State clearly that you are an observer, provide the facts in chronological order, and explain any immediate exposure risk. Ask which agency will handle the case and whether another state, tribal, local, or federal office should also be notified.
- Provide contact information and preserve your notes. Give your name and a callback number if you can. Ask whether anonymous reporting is available. Keep original photographs, timestamps, call times, case numbers, and any agency instructions; do not edit images in a way that removes their metadata.
Information agencies need from a witness
A concise, factual report is more useful than a confident but unsupported chemical identification. Organize your notes under the following headings before calling, provided doing so does not delay an emergency call.
Location and access
- Water body, drainage ditch, shoreline, facility, road, bridge, or other named place.
- Nearest landmark, address, trail or boat access, municipality, county, and state or tribal jurisdiction.
- GPS pin or coordinates if already available.
- Safe access information, such as a gate, road, bridge, or public viewpoint that responders can use.
Time and progression
- Date and time you first observed the condition.
- Whether it is spreading, shrinking, changing color, producing new odors, or affecting additional wildlife.
- When rain, flooding, a tide change, a discharge, construction activity, or another relevant event occurred, if known.
Visible and sensory observations
- Water color, surface sheen, foam, sediment, smoke, vapor, or unusual deposits.
- Odors described in neutral terms, such as solvent-like, fuel-like, sewage-like, sulfur-like, or no unusual odor.
- Fish behavior, including gasping at the surface, loss of coordination, lesions, or sudden death.
- Containers, drums, tanks, pipes, outfalls, vehicles, disturbed soil, or signs of a recent discharge.
Extent and potentially affected people or animals
- Approximate affected distance along the bank or waterway and the direction of movement.
- Approximate number and species of dead or distressed fish, birds, mammals, or other wildlife.
- Whether people, pets, livestock, crops, recreational users, wells, or drinking-water intakes may be affected.
Source information and evidence
- A product or chemical name only if it is known from a label or reliable source.
- Photographs or video taken from a safe distance, with the original date and time retained.
- Your name and callback contact, plus any preference for anonymous reporting.
Tell the agency what you did not observe as well. For example, say that you did not enter the water, did not touch a carcass, and could not determine the source. Clear limits prevent investigators from treating an assumption as a fact.
How to report a fish kill
Start with the state department responsible for fish, wildlife, game, or natural resources. Notify the state environmental or emergency-response agency as well, especially when you see discoloration, an odor, a sheen, foam, a discharge pipe, or a possible chemical or sewage source. A local health or emergency-management office may also be appropriate when people or drinking water could be exposed.
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Describe the biological pattern
Report which species are affected, whether fish are all the same size or include multiple species, and whether they are floating, stranded, gasping, swimming erratically, or showing visible injuries. Give a cautious count or range and explain how you estimated it. Include live fish that appear distressed, not just carcasses.
Preserve the scene
Do not collect fish, water, sediment, or tissue unless an agency investigator instructs you and provides the equipment and chain-of-custody procedure. Do not move carcasses to make photographs easier. Wildlife may carry contaminants or disease, and disturbance can destroy evidence or expose you.
Explain possible exposure routes
Tell officials whether the site is used for swimming, fishing, irrigation, livestock watering, or drinking-water intake. Mention children, pets, or other people who may have contacted the water. If anyone has symptoms after exposure, seek medical help or call emergency services and tell responders what was observed.
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Pesticide incidents require a specific path because the state pesticide regulator can investigate application records, labels, drift, storage, and misuse. Notify that regulator and the product manufacturer. When appropriate, also email EPA at report.pesticide.incident@epa.gov or use the National Pesticide Information Center ecological incident portal.
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Include the product name and EPA registration number if known, the location and date, the organisms affected, symptoms or mortality observed, weather and wind conditions, and any suspected application or drift event. Do not enter a treated area, handle a container, or rely on odor alone to identify a product. If fumes, fire, or an immediate exposure threat exists, follow the emergency procedure instead of waiting for a pesticide specialist.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Chemical spills, oil sheens, and suspected illegal discharges
What the public should do
You can report a release even when you do not know its cause, ownership, substance, or quantity. A visible oil sheen may be harmful, and hazardous-substance releases at or above federal reportable quantities can trigger notification duties. Your role is to provide timely observations, not to decide whether a legal threshold has been met.
For a non-emergency suspected discharge, use the EPA environmental-violation reporting route or the relevant state or local environmental agency. State and tribal agencies often handle investigations, permits, water-quality complaints, and follow-up inspections within their jurisdictions. Give the same location, timing, source, extent, and safety information described above.
What responsible facilities must do
Federal rules apply differently to regulated facilities and responsible parties than to ordinary observers. Under EPCRA Section 304, a covered facility that releases a reportable amount must immediately notify the applicable State or Tribal Emergency Response Commission and Local or Tribal Emergency Planning Committee. A written follow-up generally must be submitted within 30 days, subject to state deadlines and other requirements.
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Those obligations do not require a witness to calculate a quantity or contact every government office. If you may be responsible for a release, secure people and the site, follow your emergency plan, make the required notifications promptly, and obtain compliance advice specific to the substance, facility, and jurisdiction.
Actions that can make the situation worse
- Do not investigate by getting closer. Wind can carry vapors, and a seemingly calm liquid can be corrosive, flammable, or toxic.
- Do not touch or disturb dead wildlife. Carcasses may be contaminated, and moving them can remove evidence.
- Do not collect samples on your own. Sampling without training can expose you and produce results that agencies cannot use reliably.
- Do not attempt cleanup. Absorbents, pumps, hoses, or improvised barriers can spread contamination or create a fire and exposure hazard.
- Do not post an unverified chemical identification as fact. A color or odor rarely identifies a substance conclusively.
- Do not trespass or bypass barriers. Give responders the safest lawful access point instead.
- Do not delay an emergency call to gather perfect evidence. A short, accurate report made quickly is safer and more useful than a detailed report obtained by entering danger.
What happens after you report
The receiving office may transfer the report to another authority, ask clarifying questions, send emergency responders, or coordinate a site inspection. Keep your case number and the original records you created. If conditions change, report the new facts and identify the earlier call so the agency can connect the updates.
Agencies may not be able to disclose every investigative detail, and response timing depends on danger, jurisdiction, weather, access, staffing, and the evidence available. If you believe the event is still active or has become more dangerous, make a new emergency notification rather than assuming the first report was enough.
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Practical examples
Example: a sheen below an industrial outfall
From a public road, you see a rainbow-colored sheen moving downstream and smell fuel. Do not walk to the outfall or touch the water. Move away from the bank, call emergency services if anyone is at risk, then provide the location, direction of movement, time, photographs from the road, and any nearby access point to the emergency and environmental authorities.
Example: dead fish after heavy rain
You find dozens of dead fish along a stream after a storm, but there is no odor, visible sheen, or immediate human exposure. Photograph the scene from the bank, estimate species and numbers, note the storm and observation time, and contact the state fish-and-wildlife or natural-resources agency and the state environmental agency. Do not collect fish or water unless instructed.
Example: suspected pesticide drift
Several fish and amphibians are distressed near a treated field, and wind was blowing toward the waterway during an application. Stay out of the treated area, document the location, date, weather, affected species, and visible symptoms, then notify the state pesticide regulator and the product manufacturer. Include the product name or registration number only if reliably known. Use the EPA pesticide incident channel when appropriate.
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