EPA Pollution Watch Line

Melbourne metropolitan area – 9695 2777   (24 hours)
Outside metropolitan Melbourne – 1800 444 004   (24 hours)

or phone your nearest EPA regional office

EPA operates the Pollution Watch Line to ensure that you have continuous access to EPA's pollution reporting service.

By reporting pollution incidents to EPA as soon as possible, action can be taken to limit the damage caused to the environment. Rapid response can also help EPA to identify the cause and source of the problem for further enforcement action against those that have created the pollution. In fact, Pollution Watch Line calls often result in either fines or prosecutions against polluters.

Help EPA to protect our environment and to make polluters pay.

When you should call EPA

Call the EPA Pollution Watch Line when you notice:

• smoke or odours from an industry or business
• spills or slicks in waterways
• illegal dumping of wastes
• noise from a factory or industrial complex.

If an activity on a residential property is causing an environmental problem, you should contact your local council for their assistance.

Note that we cannot take pollution complaints over the internet due to the variable nature of pollution incidents and the details that we require.

How to report

We need as much information as possible about the incident in your report:

• What is happening?
  Is the problem a smell and if so how would you describe it? If the problem is a discharge to a creek, what colour is it and what distance/area does it cover?
  
  
• When was it first observed?
  It is preferable for you to give an exact time, for example 10.30am, rather than just "this morning". Also report if you have ever noticed the problem before and if it is still happening at the time of your report.
  
  
• Where is it happening?
  Give the street name of where the problem is happening with the nearest cross street. If the problem is a discharge to a creek, tell us which side of the creek it is entering from. If it is obviously coming from a building, what is the name of the business that operates there? Include a Melway reference if possible.
  
  
• Your contact details
  In case we need clarification of the information you have provided, we would like your name and address with a daytime phone number. The information will of course be kept in the strictest confidence (read about privacy). In some cases we may also need to contact people affected by or reporting an incident to discuss their availability as a witness if legal proceedings result from our investigations.
  
  

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