Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) Information

Contact: Bruce VanOtteren 517-373-8427

Call: 1-800-292-4706 

The PEAS has been in operation since 1975. The 24-hour toll-free number for calls is 1-800-292-4706. The PEAS hotline should be used to report environmental pollution emergencies such as tanker accidents, pipeline breaks, and releases of reportable quantities of hazardous substances as required.  Please see the Spill/Release Reporting and Emergency Planning websites for additional spill/release reporting and prevention information. The phone number rings into an answering service which is staffed 24 hours a day. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on normal working days (Monday-Friday) the operators give callers the option of contacting the appropriate Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) district office serving the area where an incident has occurred, or the operators will take the information and dispatch the calls to the district offices for the caller.

During non-business hours (after 5 P.M., holidays and weekends), calls are referred to a DEQ employee who is on-call for the PEAS. That individual completes a Report of Incident and determines whether immediate referral is necessary or if the information can be referred during normal business hours. Calls are directed to DEQ staff or other agencies depending on the nature of the situation. The nature of DEQ staff response is generally to provide technical advice to first responders on actions they can take to minimize environmental damage.

Access PEAS historical database