The Office of Compliance Fact Sheet Series Updated March 1998 - Doc. No.: 1351

When Do I Report an Oil Spill? To determine if you are required to contact the National Response Center regarding an oil spill at your facility, you need to answer the following questions: Is the spill to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines? Could water quality standards be violated? Could the spill cause a film, "sheen," or discoloration? Could the spill cause a sludge or emulsion? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions and if none of the reporting exemptions (below) apply to you, then you must report the oil spill. If you answered "no" to all of these questions, you do not need to report the spill. What Are the Exemptions for Reporting Oil Spills? Under the Clean Water Act, spills that occur under the following conditions are exempt from reporting:

• Releases from properly functioning vessel engines: Discharges from a properly functioning vessel engine are not deemed to be harmful, and therefore do not need to be reported under the regulations. However, oil accumulated in a vessel's bilge is not exempt.
  

• Research and development releases: The discharge of oil may be allowed on a case-by-case basis in connection with research, demonstration projects, or studies relating to the prevention, control, or abatement of oil pollution. However, the regulations specifically forbid the use of dispersants or emulsifiers to circumvent the discharge requirements.

• NPDES - permitted releases: Three types of oil discharges are exempt from reporting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements:

(1) Discharges in compliance with a permit. The permit must contain either an effluent limitation specifically applicable to oil or an effluent limitation applicable to another parameter that has been designated as an indicator of oil. (2) Discharges resulting from circumstances where the source, nature, and amount of a potential oil discharge were identified, and a treatment system capable of preventing that discharge was made a permit requirement under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act. (3) Continuous or anticipated intermittent discharges from a point source which are caused by events occurring within the scope of relevant operating or treatment systems. Certain discharges beyond the territorial seas also are allowed if they are permitted under international law, such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). How Do I Report an Oil Spill? To report an oil spill, you must contact the 24-hour National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. If possible, you should be ready to report the following information:

• Your name, location, organization, and telephone number

• Name and address of the party responsible for the spill or release

• Date, time, and location of the spill or release

• Source and cause of the spill or release

• Types of materials released or spilled

• Quantity of materials released or spilled

• Danger or threat posed by the release or spill

• Numbers and types of injuries (if any)

• Weather conditions at the spill/release location

• Any other information that may help emergency personnel respond to the incident.

You may also report to the EPA Regional Office if the spill involves a release to inland areas or inland waters, or you may report to the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in the area where the spill occurred for releases to coastal water, the Great Lakes, ports and harbors, or the Mississippi River. EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard will promptly relay release and spill reports to the National Response Center. For Additional Information Contacts: Additional information is available from the following sources:

- Information: http://www.epa.gov/superfnd/oerr/er - Documents: http://www.epa.gov/ERNS/docs
- E-mail: oilinfo@epamail.epa.gov