Single Point of Contact

The following are the procedures used for reporting any spills or releases to the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at the LDEQ.

Requirements for Emergency Notification: (LAC 33:I.3915)
For Emergency incidents, as defined in (LAC 33:I.3915), call the Louisiana State Police (LSP) Hazardous Material Hotline at (225) 925-6595 as soon as possible within the first hour of the emergency.  A call to the LDEQ does not qualify as Emergency incident notification. However, a written notification report by the facility to the LDEQ is still required within seven calendar days after the initial reporting to the Louisiana State Police.

Requirements for Non-Emergency Notification: (LAC 33:I.3917)
In the event of an unauthorized discharge that exceeds a reportable quantity specified in Subchapter E of LAC 33:I. Chapter 39 but does not cause an emergency condition, call the LSP Hazardous Material Hotline at (225) 925-6595 within 24  hours after learning of the discharge.

Requirements for Notifying the Department: (LAC 33:I.3923)
Permit excursions, exceedances, and any other conditions that do not fall under one of the two conditions above may be reported to the LDEQ Single Point of Contact (SPOC) by one of the three ways below:

1. A verbal notification may be made by calling the LDEQ SPOC at (225) 219-3640 or (225) 342-1234. The LDEQ SPOC phone lines are manned during working hours (M - F, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM). If calls are made after hours, leave a voice mail.
2. Reports may also be made by use of the Online Incident Reporting system available on the LDEQ website at https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/page/file-a-complaint-report-an-incident. Simply follow the onscreen instructions and complete the necessary fields.  The onscreen user will receive a summary of the notification along with a confirmation tracking number which can be printed as a record of the notification.
3. Reporters may also use a direct email to contact the LDEQ at the following address with the necessary information to submit a notification: spoc@LA.GOV.  (This option does not produce a confirmation.)

Written Notification Procedures: (LAC 33:I.3925)

Written reports  (LAC 33:I.3925) should be mailed to:

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Post Office Box 4312
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4312
ATTENTION: Office of Environmental Compliance - SPOC
"UNAUTHORIZED DISCHARGE NOTIFICATION REPORT"

The Written Notification Report may be emailed to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Compliance, Single Point of Contact at: writtennotificationLDEQ@la.gov

Information Needed for Reporting Releases

When contacting SPOC about releases, please have the following information available:

• Your name and the name of your company
• The mailing address of your company
• The telephone number(s) where you can be reached
• The parish where the incident occurred
• The name of the responsible party
• The LSP Hazardous Material Hotline Incident Number
• The physical address/location of the incident
• The date that the release occurred
• The times when the release began and ended
• The product released and an estimated amount
• Description of how the product was released, along with any information on remedial actions
• Directions on how to reach the incident location

Information Needed for Permit Excursions

When contacting SPOC about permit excursions, please have the following information available:

• Your name and the name of your company
• The permit number
• The physical address/location of the excursion
• The mailing address of your company.
• The name of the responsible party
• The telephone number(s) where you can be reached
• The name of the receiving water(s)
• The parish where the incident occurred
• The date of the excursion
• The outfall number (ex. 001, 002, etc.)
• The parameter exceeded
• The permitted limit on the exceeded parameter
• The reported value of the parameter
• Reason for the excursion
• Steps taken to prevent future occurrences

Closing "Courtesy Notifications" to the LDEQ (LAC 33:I.3917, 3919, 3923, and 3925)

If a reporting entity calls the LSP Hazardous Materials Hotline at (225) 925-6595 to report an unauthorized discharge that may exceed a reportable quantity (RQ) but which does not cause an emergency condition, the LSP will notify the LDEQ. Where the reporting entity subsequently confirms that the discharge did not exceed an RQ (and thus non-emergency notification to the LDEQ was not required under LAC 33:I.3917), the reporting entity may close this matter with the LDEQ¹ by providing an online SPOC incident report (see, LAC 33:I.3923.A.1). In the online incident report, the reporting entity must:

• Provide the LSP Hazardous Material Hotline Incident Number.
• Identify the material discharged.
• Provide an estimate of the amount of material discharged.
• Describe the actions taken, or being taken, to stop the unauthorized discharge and recover the material discharged.
• Describe how any recovered material was properly managed and disposed of.

¹ Provided that the unauthorized discharge was not otherwise reportable to the LDEQ under LAC 33:I. Chapter 39            (e.g., unauthorized discharge caused an emergency condition, resulted in groundwater contamination, etc.).

Unless otherwise notified by the LDEQ, no additional action or followup written report under LAC 33:I.3925 is required to close this matter with the LDEQ. The submittal of the online report shall be deemed a certification that the release did not exceed the RQ and did not cause an emergency condition as provided in LAC 33:I.3915.

Any questions should be directed to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Compliance, Single Point of Contact Section at (225) 219-3640.