Barrow Logo Barrow EP Handbook

Iowa

Spill reports

Agency Iowa Department of Natural Resources

The State of Iowa requires any person manufacturing, storing, handling, transporting or disposing of a hazardous substance to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and local law enforcement when a hazardous condition occurs. The notice should be made as soon as possible, and not later than six hours after the onset or discovery of the hazardous condition. Local law enforcement is also required by Iowa Code to report a hazardous condition to DNR within six hours.

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. Iowa spill records still matter, because a spill report can be the only record of a release that never became a cleanup case.

Four Iowa details shape how to read them.

  • The trigger is a hazardous condition. DNR defines it as any situation involving the actual, imminent or probable spillage, leakage or release of a hazardous substance onto land, into a water of the state or into the atmosphere that, because of the substance's quantity, strength, toxicity, mobility and persistence, creates an immediate or potential danger to public health or safety or to the environment. DNR's examples of substances that may be hazardous in sufficient quantity include acids, fertilizers, heavy metals, paints, pesticides, petroleum products, sludges and organic solvents.
  • DNR's test for a report. DNR says to report if a hazardous substance is involved and it has the potential to leave the property, reach a water of the state (surface or groundwater) or be detected in the air at the facility's boundaries; if there is a potential threat to public health and safety or to first responders; and, to the National Response Center or EPA, if a release exceeds a federal reportable quantity.
  • Federal releases have a faster clock. DNR's Report a Spill page says EPCRA Section 304 requires notification of a federally reportable release to the National Response Center and DNR within 15 minutes; its Spills & Emergency Planning page says instead that notification must be made to the EPA within 15 minutes. The two pages disagree, and neither is the federal rule's own text, so check the federal requirement for the substance before relying on either. DNR's Spills & Emergency Planning page says facilities must give an emergency notification and a written follow-up notice to the local emergency planning committee and DNR for a release at or above the reportable quantity. The Report a Spill page links a 30 Day Written Report Form. DNR's spill reporting line is 515-725-8694; the National Response Center's, for federally required reporting, is 1-800-424-8802.
  • Tanks outside the UST rules are included. DNR says releases of petroleum from non-regulated sources, such as heating oil tanks, aboveground storage tanks, and farm and residential tanks, must be reported within 6 hours if a hazardous condition exists.

DNR's environmental field offices respond to spills of hazardous substances from a variety of sources and investigate complaints from the public. The Report a Spill page links 567 IAC Chapter 65, Chapter 131 and Chapter 133 as its rules.

What the record shows

DNR says its Field Office Compliance database tracks chemical spills and releases, manure releases, and continuous release notifications. DNR also takes online reports for certain limited spills that do not need immediate assistance.

Where to look a site up

Getting the file

DNR's Records Center, at 6200 Park Ave, Suite 200, Des Moines, is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays. DNR's Open Records Request page says requests to inspect public records go to the Office of the Chief Information Officer through the Iowa Information and Public Records Request Portal, and may also be made in person at a record center, by email to dnr.records.request@dnr.iowa.gov, or by mail.

Sources

Iowa Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 12, 2026:

Maintained by Barrow. General reference only, not legal or professional advice. Barrow is not affiliated with any government agency, and neither Barrow nor the information as presented here is endorsed by any state or government agency. See how Barrow drafts the report