Arkansas
Spills and emergency response
When petroleum products, hazardous materials or gases are spilled, leaked or released, or a geohazard event occurs, and an immediate emergency response is needed, the Division of Environmental Quality's (DEQ's) pages say to call the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) at 501-683-6705 (some DEQ pages call it the Department of Emergency Management) and after that to reach the Department of Energy and Environment, for example through E&E Emergency Management at 501-682-0716. The emergency page says E&E gives state and federally coordinated support in responding to releases of oil and hazardous materials from transportation incidents, fixed facilities, natural disasters and intentional or terrorist acts, and that its Emergency Management Services coordinates the department's emergency response work.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name state spill lists among its standard record sources. The federal counterpart of a state spill list is the emergency response record described on the ERNS page. An Arkansas spill report still matters, because it can be the only state record of a release that never became a cleanup case.
Three Arkansas details bear on a spill record.
- The spill registry is not online. DEQ's Records Management page lists the registry of petroleum and chemical spills from transportation and facilities among the records not found on its website. The pages read do not say how to search the registry; the routes they give for DEQ records are a Freedom of Information Act request and a visit to review files (below).
- Tank releases have their own clock. DEQ's tank FAQ gives the owner 24 hours from discovery to report a suspected release from a regulated storage tank to DEQ. Outside business hours an owner may email or leave a voice message for the district tank inspector, or report to ADEM, which tells DEQ's Emergency Response Section, which passes the report to the Regulated Storage Tanks office. A spoken report must be followed by a written one within three business days. DEQ's tank compliance page says each reported suspected release is entered in its LUST database; see Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) cases.
- Inspectors respond to tank spills. The same page says its inspectors take turns on a 24-hour rotation to respond after hours to spills, releases or upset conditions, to monitor whether the spiller's response is needed and adequate.
Where to look a site up
- DEQ's emergency page links an Emergency Response Incident Summary Search, which DEQ's Databases page labels Emergency Response Incident Summaries. This handbook did not open it, and the pages read do not say what it holds or how far back it reaches.
- DEQ's Pollution Complaints page gives ee.help.rst@arkansas.gov and 501-682-0744 for crude oil and petroleum product spills, geohazards and releases. DEQ's FAQ links a complaint form for petroleum product spills or releases.
- E&E Emergency Management is at 501-682-0716; after hours, the emergency page says to leave a message and the call will be returned.
Getting the file
DEQ takes Freedom of Information Act requests by email at EE.FOIA@arkansas.gov, and its Records Management Section arranges visits to review files. See Records Management and FOIA requests.
Sources
Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: