Louisiana
Oil spills and oil and gas incidents
The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E) asks that every environmental emergency tied to oil and gas incidents, injection wells, exploration and production (E&P) waste or pipelines be reported first to the State Police, on the toll-free hotline 877-925-6595, so that the right responders are sent; it says the State Police then notify C&E. For oil spills, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), in C&E's Office of the Secretary, coordinates the state agencies that respond and clean up, and keeps a public database of its spill response records.
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. The general reading of a spill listing is on Spill report at or near the subject property. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's reporting route is on the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) page. A spill at a well site, an injection well, a pit or a pipeline is a reason to check C&E's records as well.
- Two calls for spilled oil. C&E says the law requires anyone who sees spilled oil to make two toll-free calls: to the 24-hour Louisiana Emergency Hazardous Materials Hotline, 877-925-6595, and to the National Response Center, 800-424-8802.
- C&E's own lines. After the State Police, C&E encourages a call to its own numbers; it separately says reportable accidents or incidents on jurisdictional pipelines must be reported to the pipeline incident number. For oil and gas incidents it gives 225-342-5540 from 8 AM to 4:30 PM on weekdays, and 225-342-5515 or 225-342-5505 after hours and on weekends; for injection well or E&P waste incidents, 225-342-5515 at all hours; and for pipeline incidents, 225-342-5505 at all hours.
- LOSCO's part. The legislature created LOSCO in 1991, and C&E calls it the single point of contact for the state's oil spill programs. A staff member is on call at all hours to act as the State On-Scene Coordinator, and LOSCO works with federal agencies during a spill to see that cleanups are properly completed. The principal laws it names are the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Louisiana Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1991 (La. R.S. 30:2451 et seq.). It is also the lead administrative trustee for the state's natural resource damage assessments after oil spills, and keeps their administrative records.
- The notification rules. LOSCO's page links the state spill notification regulations, which its link label cites as 33 LAC: I, Chapter 39, Section 3901, et seq. This handbook did not open them.
- Waste discharges at a well site have a form. C&E's permitting forms page lists an E&P Waste Unauthorized Discharge/Disposal Notification (ENG-15C). For a well site on or near the property, ask whether one was filed.
Where to look a site up
- C&E's Oil Spill Response page links the LOSCO Spill Response Search, to search and view LOSCO's available spill response records. LOSCO's page describes the Louisiana Oil Spill Management System (LOSMS) as a public database with current information on oil spill response and natural resource damage assessments. This handbook opened neither.
- For notifications in Louisiana made to the National Response Center, the Oil Spill Response page points to the NRC database.
- LOSCO's 24-hour emergency response line is (225) 200-1921, with la.oilspill@la.gov. Its department contacts are (225) 925-6606 and LOSCO@la.gov. LOSCO's own page gives its address as 617 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802; C&E's Contact Us page gives 7979 Independence Blvd., Suite 104, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, with mail to P.O. Box 66614, Baton Rouge, LA 70896.
Getting the file
C&E's Contact Us page sends public records requests to the Legal Services Division, Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy, P.O. Box 94396, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9396, or by email to DCE.PublicRecords@LA.GOV. The pages read do not say how to ask for LOSCO's spill response records or a damage assessment's administrative record beyond that route and the search above, and give no reply time or fee. For an incident, give its date, the parish and the site, and any number the search shows.
Sources
Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy pages, read October 17, 2026, no modified date shown: