Courtesy Notifications: These types of notifications are reserved for below Reportable Quantity (RQ) events that do not cause an emergency condition. These types of notifications can be made to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) by phone or online via LDEQ's website utilizing the Online Incident Reporting - Spill Incident/Release form. The web address is https://deq.louisiana.gov/form/online-incident-reporting-spill-incident-release. Notification to the LDEQ does not absolve the submitter of the responsibility to notify the Louisiana State Police and/or the local emergency planning committee. Courtesy Notification updates (where the initial notification is made via LDEQ's online form): Often initial notifications are made to ensure compliance with notification timeline requirements and often before all pertinent facts such as spill/release amount calculations are complete. To provide an opportunity for submitters to update previously submitted notifications without submitting another notification, the LDEQ has provided a mechanism to provide new/updated information via our website. The same online form can now be utilized to update the LDEQ on the status of a previously reported event. Upon filling out the initial notification utilizing the online form, the submitter will receive a confirmation email with a special link and instructions on how to return to the originally submitted form. The submitter will then have the ability to update the original form to include updated or other relevant information as appropriate. In order to provide the LDEQ with enough information to complete a substantive report and close the courtesy notification, in the update, the submitter must: Identify the material discharged. Provide an estimate of the amount of material discharged. Describe the actions taken, or to be taken, to stop the unauthorized discharge and recover the material discharged. Describe how any recovered material was properly managed and disposed of. Unless otherwise notified by the LDEQ, no additional action or follow-up written report under LAC 33:I.3925 is required to close this matter with the LDEQ. The submittal of the updated online report shall be deemed a certification that the discharge did not exceed an RQ and did not cause an emergency condition as provided in LAC 33:I.3915.

Complaint Procedures

LDEQ Complaint Policy
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) receives approximately 10,000 environmental incident notifications annually. Of these notification, over 4000 are citizen complaints. LDEQ's executive staff has authorized the creation of this Environmental Complaint Policy set forth guidelines and procedures to best manage departmental resources while maintaining effective customer service to the citizens of the state regarding environmental complaints. LDEQ shall protect public health and the environment by evaluating each environmental complaint and bring about statutory and regulatory compliance through a consistent and structured process. This policy shall be adhered to barring unusual or unforeseen circumstances which may occur where all or part of this policy cannot be followed: To read the entire document click LDEQ Complaint Policy

Required Information to Process Environmental Complaint
Location of Complaint/Spill - Complainants must be as specific and detailed as possible with respect to location of the complaint. Please include landmarks when possible.

Nature, details of Complaint/Spill - Complainants need to provide specific details of all relevant entities involved in the complaint issue(s). All names, phone numbers and/or descriptions given in detail will assist in the investigation.

Contact Information
Online Notification Form - Complainants can use this web-based format to submit a complaint electronically to SPOC personnel: Online Incident Reporting

Contact SPOC for notifications and complaints:

By phone, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, Monday - Friday

(225) 219-3640 or (888) 763-5424

Hotline: (225) 342-1234

By Fax: (225) 219-4044