Environmental emergency contacts

Environmental emergencies in B.C. 

Environmental emergencies include hazardous or toxic spills, discharges, emissions, as well as dyke and dam failures, debris flows and floods.

This number connects with the Emergency Coordination Centre (part of Emergency Management BC (EMBC)); the dispatcher will notify the appropriate Environmental Emergency Response Officer.

•  24-hour/toll-free: 1-800-663-3456

If you require more information about environmental incident notification, please see Environment Contacts - Regions to find information about the provincial regional office nearest you.

Marine spills in international waters 

Marine spills in international waters on the Pacific West Coast (excluding Alaska) should be reported to this number.

• 24-hour/toll-free: 1-800-OILS-911

Calls are automatically routed to the appropriate state or provincial emergency dispatch service, depending on the location of the caller; in B.C., the caller is automatically routed to EMBC’s Emergency Coordination Centre. Persons along the west coast of North America can use this single reporting number instead of knowing the emergency number for each state or province. The call can be made via radio-telephone, cellular phone, pay-phone, or regular phone.

Over 4,000 environmental emergencies are reported annually; approximately 95% are spills of oil and hazardous materials. A person in possession, charge or control of a substance is required by law to report a spill (or pending spill).

Marine pollution in Canadian waters

Contact the Canadian Coast Guard with reports regarding pollution or threats of pollution in the marine environment:

• Canadian Coast Guard Spill Reporting
• Toll-free: 1-800-889-8852

Mobile application reporting

Report a spill and review regulations on a mobile phone application:

• iOS Spill Reporting App 
• Android Spill Reporting App