Reporting environmental pollution

What is it?

Everyone must comply with environmental regulations. The municipality, police and other organizations monitor this.

If you see a person or business in your area polluting the environment, report it to the municipality.

How does it work?

You can report for:

  • air pollution
  • soil contamination
  • odor or noise nuisance

But also, for example, when someone illegally dumps waste.

Supervisors

The municipality must protect the environment in its territory. For this purpose, the municipality has supervisors. These supervisors:

  • checking that everyone is following the rules
  • give information
  • may enter businesses and other places (other than homes)
  • May view documents and make copies
  • Taking samples and examining stuff
  • stopping and examining vehicles
  • request information

Everyone must give full cooperation to the supervisor. A supervisor may request the assistance of the police.

Other organizations

Other organizations that check that everyone is complying with the environmental rules are the police, the province, Rijkswaterstaat, the water board, the Inspection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority(NVWA) and the Environmental and Transport Inspectorate.

What to do.

You report environmental pollution to the municipality

Additional information

What else can the municipality do?

The supervisor first tries to make arrangements with the offender who is breaking the rules. If that fails, the municipality can do a number of things:

  • Revoke all or part of the environmental permit or exemption
  • eliminate the undesirable situation
  • close all or part of the business
  • give a fine.

The municipality, like the police, can also take criminal action. The municipality does this together with the public prosecutor's office (OM). For example:

  • file a report
  • issue a warning
  • reach a settlement where the offender pays
  • seize sth.
  • prosecution and sentencing to a fine or imprisonment

Damages

  • You can seek compensation from the person responsible for the damage you suffered.
  • If you can't work it out together, you can file a request for compensation in court.