Report an environmental event

We often receive reports that should be directed to local authorities or other agencies. You can check our who to contact page to help ensure your report reaches the correct organisation.

If you are reporting to us, there are different options depending on the time and nature of the environmental event:

8am to 6pm: please get in touch via our online report form. If you are unable to access this, or would like to report anonymously, call our pollution hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
6pm to 8am: For ongoing significant pollution: call our hotline on 0800 80 70 60. The automated system will triage your report and escalate urgent issues.
Other pollution: submit your report via our online form. Our team will review these reports from 8am on the next working day.

If there is an immediate threat to life, health or property, please contact the emergency services on 999.

Once a report is submitted, it will be prioritised based on environmental significance.

You can read more about how we prioritise.

Anonymous complaints

If you wish to complain anonymously, contact the pollution hotline on 0800 80 70 60 to ensure we have the required information to take action. Anonymous notifications submitted via the webform are not included in SEPA's overall events notification numbers.

Contacting you

You can choose to receive updates about the report you submit.

Please provide as much information as possible when making your report. This helps us assess the issue in line with our approach to regulation. Every report is carefully assessed, and we prioritise our actions to focus on those that most effectively protect the environment and local communities.

We will only contact you if we need further information or if you have asked to receive updates.

SEPA complies with the Data Protection Act 2018. Our Privacy Notice explains how we use your information.

Find out more about how we regulate.