Spill Release Reporting | California Governor's Office Of Emergency ...

HAZMAT SPILL NOTIFICATIONS CALL THE STATE WARNING CENTER 1-800-852-7550

In California, any significant release or threatened release of a hazardous material requires immediate reporting by the responsible person to the Cal OES State Warning Center (800) 852-7550, and either the Unified Program Agency (UPA) or 911. The UPA may designate a call to 911 as meeting the requirement to call them.

View contact information for your jurisdiction’s UPA by searching the entire Directory or UPA Listing sorted by County.

Notifying the State Warning Center (800) 852-7550 and the UPA or 911 constitutes compliance with the requirements of section 11004 of title 42 of the United States Code regarding verbal notification of the SERC and LEPC (California Code of Regulations, Title 19 Section 2631 (e).

Introduction

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensations, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and California law require responsible parties to report hazardous material releases if certain criteria is met.

CERCLA requires that all releases of hazardous substances (including radionuclides) exceeding reportable quantities be reported by the responsible party to the National Response Center (800) 424-8802. Additionally, CERCLA provides a reduced reporting requirement for continuous releases of hazardous substances that exceed the Reportable Quantity (RQ). Notification of continuous releases that equal or exceed the RQ need only be given once, with one follow-up report on the first anniversary of the initial report, following the continuous release reporting process. Thereafter only “statistically significant increases” need be reported. The purpose of the continuous release mechanism is to reduce unnecessary release notifications for releases of hazardous substances.

If an accidental chemical release exceeds the EPCRA applicable minimal reportable quantity, the facility must notify State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) for any area likely to be affected by the release and the National Response Center (800) 424-8802, and provide a detailed written follow-up as soon as practicable.  Information about accidental chemical releases must be made available to the public.

​Spill Release / Reporting Essential Documents

Listed below are various guidance documents available for download that will enhance your knowledge regarding spill notification and the types of releases that are reportable.View the Spill Reporting DatabaseView the Historical Spill Reporting Database

HazMat – Spill Release Reporting

Written Reporting of Emergency Releases (304 Form)Written Reporting of Emergency Release Follow-Up Form (Section 304). Also includes basic instructions and where to send it once completed – April 2017

Cal OES Spill Release Reporting Notification GuidancePublication created by Cal OES summarizing pertinent emergency notification requirements for significant or threatened releases of hazardous materials – February 2014

Petroleum Fact SheetInformation about reporting Petroleum Spills/Releases. Updated December 2018.

Release Reporting MatrixThis matrix summarizes pertinent emergency notification requirements. Updated December 2018

Sewage Fact Sheet

Information about reporting Sewage Spills/Releases. Updated December 2018.

Summary of Spill Release Laws and RegulationsConsolidation of legal requirements for the immediate verbal notification and written follow-up reporting of hazardous material spills/releases within California (as related to Health and Safety Code 25510. Updated February 2014

Spill Release Archive Files

This section contains spreadsheet files that list all spills called in to the Cal OES Warning Center for a specific year. For greatest compatibility, these files have been saved in Microsoft Excel “97-2003 (xls)” format.

HazMat – Spill Release Reporting Archive

• Spill Release Reports 2025 to Present
• Spill Release Reports 2010 To 2024
• Spill Release Reports 1993 To 2009

Effective 12/31/2024 Spill Releases in the State of California will be shown on this dashboard.

Bookmark this link: https://p.veoci.com/SpillReleases 

• 2024 – HazMat Spill Reports Data Through 12/30/2024
• 2023 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2022 – Hazmat Spill Reports 
• 2021 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2020 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2019 – Hazmat Spill Reports
• 2018 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2017 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2016 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2015 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2014 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2013 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2012 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2011 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2010 – HazMat Spill Reports

• 2009 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2008 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2007 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2006 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2005 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2004 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2003 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2002 – Hazmat Spill Reports
• 2001 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 2000 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1999 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1998 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1997 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1996 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1995 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1994 – HazMat Spill Reports
• 1993 – HazMat Spill Reports

​Laws and Regulations

Listed below are the State and Federal Laws and Regulations that affect Spill Release / Reporting:

State Statute: Health and Safety Code Section 25510

State Regulation: Title 19, California Code of Regulations, Division 2, Chapter 4, Article 2

Federal Statute: United States Code, Title 42, Section 9602, 9603, and 11004

Federal Regulation: Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 302 and 355