Report Corruption

Report a Violation to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Florida Department of State’s Administrative Code and Register:

Floridians must check the state’s administrative code and register for up-to-date rules and regulations to determine if a violation or illegal activity has occurred. The Department of State’s Administrative Code contains the rules that have been developed by state agencies in order to implement state laws.

Website:  https://www.flrules.org/

Report a Violation to the United States Environmental Protection Agency

The United States Environmental Protection Agency enforces health and environmental regulations.

Report:    Violations of Environmental Laws or Regulations

Website:   https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations

Types of Violations: Emergency and Nonemergency

Important – If you are seeing an environmental event that may lead to an immediate threat to human health or the environment, call 911, then report it to the  National Response Center at: 1-800-424-8802. Learn the difference between a possible violation and an emergency.

Important:  For emergencies and other sudden threats to public health, such as:

•       oil and/or chemical spills,
•       radiation emergencies, and
•       biological discharges, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know (EPCRA), certain facilities also need to report hazardous substance releases to state/local officials.

Floridians can – Report dumping incidents in international ocean waters

Floridians can – Report complaints, tips, and violations that have to do with lead-based paint

Website:  https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-incidents/how-report-spills-and-environmental-violations

Types of Violation Intentions: Accidental, Intentional, Unknown

Violation Methods Listed on EPA website: Release, Dump/Buried, Spill, Spray, Fill, Falsified

Violations may affect: Land, Water, Air, Workers, documents (if the violation is against laws or regulations)

The EPA asks that individuals must “include a detailed description of the violation. For example, gas drilling, drum dumping, tank truck discharging into drain, fish killed, leaking containers, biosolids, etc. If necessary, include specific directions (or GPS coordinates) to the violation location (from the nearest intersection, main road, or waterway).”

Florida’s EPA Regional Office Contact Information:

To report violations, Floridians can contact the EPA Regional Office.

Florida is in Region 4 which includes these states: (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN).

Region 4 – EPA Customer Service Line

Phone: toll-free line – 800-241-1754; Outside Region 4 call 404-562-9900

Website “Contact Us” form

Floridians can send a complaint or tip without providing self-identifying information.

EPA – “You are not required to provide your contact information in order for EPA to review your tip or complaint. However, if you do not provide contact information, EPA may be unable to contact you for additional information that may be needed to determine whether or not an investigation is warranted. If you do provide contact information, this information may be used to initiate follow-up communications with you and may be shared by EPA with appropriate administrative, law enforcement, and judicial entities engaged in investigating or adjudicating the tip or complaint. Please review the EPA Web Privacy Policy for more information.”

Important Information on Public Comments on EPA Regulations –

From EPA website – “Our proposed regulations are almost always open to the public for comment, typically for 30-90 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. You can comment on them in several ways; each rule tells you how in its “Addresses” section. You can also learn more about commenting on our “Get Involved with EPA Regulations” page.”