Information and requirements on notifying of the release or presence of a contaminant, historical contamination, background substances, and federally owned properties can be found in Ministerial Protocol – Notification of the Release of a Contaminant (Protocol - 200).
A person who knows or has reason to believe that a contaminant has been released into or is present in the environment must notify the DELG. The person that must notify can include, but is not limited to:
- the person who is the owner of or who has possession, control, or responsibility for the contaminant that was released
- the person who has released a contaminant on a site or has contributed to the release
- the current owner, occupier, or operator of the site
If the source of the release is a petroleum storage system, anyone who suspects or detects a petroleum product leak must immediately notify the DELG, as well as notify the person responsible for the system.
If spilled material is an immediate threat (fire, explosive, etc.) towards public safety, 911 is the first call that should be made.
To report a known or suspected release, provincial authorities must be notified immediately, by phone, in order to coordinate the response and clean-up actions. Immediately following the discovery of any spill or leak, the appropriate DELG Regional Office must be contacted until personal contact is made during normal business hours. Outside of normal business hours, the National Environmental Emergencies Centre must be contacted.
DELG has a head office located in Fredericton that is supported by six Regional Offices throughout the province. During normal business hours (between 0815 to 1630 from Monday to Friday), environmental emergencies and contaminant releases are to be reported to the Department’s Regional Office closest to the emergency at the contact information linked below.
| Bathurst Region 1 | 506-547-2092 |
| Miramichi Region 2 | 506 778-6032 |
| Moncton Region 3 | 506-856-2374 |
| Saint John Region 4 | 506-658-2558 |
| Fredericton Region 5 | 506-444-5149 |
| Grand Falls Region 6 | 506-473-7744 |
If the environmental emergency occurs after-hours, contact the National Environmental Emergencies Centre at 1-800-565-1633. This emergency number is only to be used for reporting after hours releases only, it is not to be used for inquiries or complaints. For additional information or questions call the appropriate regional office.
Historical contamination is usually contamination that is hidden underground and discovered during a site assessment or excavation of a property. Historical contamination is not a recent or active spill (which must be immediately reported to the Regional Office) but is contamination where the time and manner of the release may not be known.
Historical contamination can be reported to the Department by submitting a Notification of Historical Contamination (NHC) Form
Contact the contaminated sites program at