Anyone who witnesses the dumping or discharge of chemicals, oil, or other potentially hazardous substances should contact DHEC through their 24-hour emergency response Hotline line at 1-888-481-0125 (in Columbia, call 253-6488).

These guidelines can be found on DHEC’s website at http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/lwm/html/er.htm and specifically apply to:

• dumping, spills and releases of hazardous substances, including but not limited to oil and petroleum products, chemicals, hazardous waste, waste oil, pesticides, and other pollutants
• fish kills or pfiesteria-related calls
• illegal open burning of items such as tires, plastic, copper wire, and asbestos covered materials (open burning of land clearing and/or yard debris DOES NOT constitute an emergency and should be reported to the local DHEC EQC office on the next business day).

DHEC is charged with responding to the reported incident, and, if appropriate, to institute the Emergency Response Program, which provides the regulatory authority over the incident. As described by DHEC, “[t]he program makes sure the spiller is identified and responds appropriately to the spill/release and follows through with an appropriate cleanup. The program works with the spiller (Responsible Party) and offers guidance and oversight to make sure enough and proper equipment/manpower and cleanup capability is being provided at the scene.”

If you are unsure whether an incident calls for an emergency response, contact the local EQC office if the incident is observed during business; otherwise, please call the Hotline.

If you or your company is involved in the incident, your second call should be to your attorney. (If your company has an environmental compliance or risk manager, you should attempt to contact that person, who should then contact the company’s environmental attorney.) This does not imply that you or your company have committed a crime or other legal violation or that you will not respond properly to the incident. However, an attorney can act objectively to assist in gathering the information necessary to ensure an appropriate response and to coordinate with DHEC and others who may be involved in the incident or the response.