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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is authorized by the Environmental Quality Act to provide immediate response to any environmental problem or emergency incident which threatens human health or the environment. The Emergency Response Section, under the Office of Environmental Compliance, is tasked to meet this obligation. This section began operation with the inception of DEQ in 1984. It was initially formed within the Hazardous Waste Division with four assigned employees. Today, the DEQ has regional offices which are located in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Bayou Lafourche, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, West Monroe and Shreveport. Collectively from these offices, there are specially trained dedicated emergency responders who are on call to work emergencies on a 24 hour, 7 day-a-week basis. Support from other LDEQ personnel are also capable of performing some emergency response duties. The initiative that formed these teams has resulted in an enhanced overall capability of protecting the citizens of Louisiana and its environment. DEQ emergency responders maintain a close working relationship with the Louisiana State Police Transportation and Environmental Safety Section (TESS) in dealing with hazardous material incident responses. LDEQ responders also investigate environmental complaints.