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Idaho

Spill reports and environmental concerns

Agency Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

Idaho spill reports and environmental concerns

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) takes release reports from the parties responsible and concerns from the public. DEQ says IDAPA 58.01.02 sections 851 and 852 require that it be notified within 24 hours of a petroleum or hazardous substance release. The public reports a concern or a possible violation through a map-based form on DEQ's Report an Environmental Concern page.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name state spill or complaint lists among its standard record sources. The federal counterpart of a state spill list is the emergency response record described on the ERNS page. Idaho's records still matter for a property where a release or a concern was reported.

  • The pages read describe no public spill list. They describe how a release or a concern is reported. They do not describe a searchable list of reports. DEQ says older sites with small incidental releases may not be included in its Facility Mapper. The pages read do not say how DEQ files release reports or concerns. The general route is a public records request. Do not read a clean map search as showing that no spill was reported.
  • The 24-hour rule covers tanks DEQ's tank program does not regulate. DEQ states the notification rule on its Storage Tanks page in the passage on aboveground tanks, which its tank program does not regulate. It adds that releases of hazardous materials must be reported to its office immediately. See aboveground and heating oil tanks.
  • Tank owners have their own clock. For a regulated underground tank, a suspected release is reported within 24 hours, and a confirmed release is reported to DEQ within 24 hours or another period DEQ sets. DEQ publishes a UST Release Reporting form for spills and overfills. See Leaking Underground Storage Tanks.
  • Concerns cover more than spills. DEQ's examples of concerns or violations include an illegal dumping site, mismanagement of asbestos and hazardous waste, and the unauthorized release, deliberate or accidental, of harmful chemicals, wastewater, oil or sewage to the ground or water. DEQ says that after a report is submitted, someone from DEQ will contact the person who made it.
  • Emergencies go elsewhere first. DEQ says to call 911 for an emergency or an urgent environmental concern. For a situation that poses an imminent threat to human health or the environment, its dumping page gives the StateComm number, (208) 846-7610. The pages read do not say where records of those calls are kept.

DEQ's Preliminary Assessment Program page says that where there is no responsible party and an imminent and substantial threat, DEQ's director may make a hazardous waste emergency declaration, which allows DEQ to use emergency response funds to hire remediation specialists to clean up a site.

Where to ask

  • DEQ's Report an Environmental Concern page carries the report form and points to the regional offices for anyone who would rather speak with someone.
  • DEQ's Regional Offices page gives the offices in Boise, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Lewiston, Pocatello and Twin Falls, and a satellite office in Kellogg. The State Office is at (208) 373-0502 or (866) 790-4337.

Getting the file

DEQ takes requests under the Idaho Public Records Act through its Public Records Request page, which carries buttons to submit a request online, track its status and search the request archives. Give the address and the dates of interest, and say that release reports and concern records are the records wanted. DEQ says some of its records contain confidential information and may not be released.

Sources

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 1, 2026:

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