Furnishing of information to authorities and agencies in certain cases
(1) Where the discharge of any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards occurs or is apprehended to occur due to any accident or other unforeseen act or event, the person responsible for such discharge and the person in charge of the place at which such discharge occurs or is apprehended to occur shall be bound to prevent or mitigate the environmental pollution caused as a result of such discharge and shall also forthwith—
(a) intimate the fact of such occurrence or apprehension of such occurrence; and
(b) be bound, if called upon, to render all assistance, to such authorities or agencies as may be prescribed.
(2) On receipt of information with respect to the fact or apprehension of any occurrence of the nature referred to in sub-section (1), whether through intimation under that sub-section or otherwise, the authorities or agencies referred to in sub-section (1) shall, as early as practicable, cause such remedial measures to be taken as are necessary to prevent or mitigate the environmental pollution.
(3) The expenses, if any, incurred by any authority or agency with respect to the remedial measures referred to in sub-section (2), together with interest (at such reasonable rate as the Government may, by order, fix) from the date when a demand for the expenses is made until it is paid, may be recovered by such authority or agency from the person concerned as arrears of land revenue or of public demand.
In plain English
What this section actually means
Section 9 is the accident-response clause. The moment an accidental or unforeseen pollutant discharge happens — or is even feared — the person responsible and the person in charge of the place have three immediate duties:
(a) prevent or mitigate the pollution; (b) intimate the fact to the authorities listed in Rule 12 and Schedule V of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 (typically the local SPCB, district magistrate, CPCB and MoEFCC); (c) when called upon, render all assistance.
Sub-section (2) puts a matching duty on the authorities: act 'as early as practicable' to take remedial measures.
Sub-section (3) is the polluter-pays bite. Any expense incurred by the authority for remediation, plus interest from the date of demand, is recoverable from the polluter as 'arrears of land revenue or of public demand'. So clean-up costs become a tax-recovery proceeding, bypassing the slow civil suit route.
Visual
See how it flows
Process
First 24 hours after an accidental discharge
Section 9 reporting and remediation timeline.
Accident / apprehension
Spill, leak, fire, runaway reaction
Immediate mitigation
On-site containment
Forthwith intimation
SPCB / DM / CPCB / MoEFCC
Authority remediation
Section 9(2) — 'as early as practicable'
Cost recovery
As arrears of land revenue under §9(3)
Real life
What this looks like in real life
A pipeline leak in the middle of the night
Setup. A high-pressure ammonia pipeline at a refrigeration plant springs a slow leak around 2 AM. The shift supervisor seals the section by 3 AM but does not inform the SPCB until 11 AM the next morning.
What the law does. Mitigation duty (Section 9(1)) was complied with promptly. But Section 9(1)(a) requires intimation 'forthwith'. The 8-hour delay is a separate breach prosecutable under Section 15. Best practice: SMS the SPCB within the first hour and follow up with a written report.
Cross-references
Read this alongside
- Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986§Rule 12 + Schedule V·Lists the authorities to which intimation must be given under Section 9(1)(a).
- Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991§Section 6·No-fault compensation mechanism — operates alongside Section 9 for accident victims.
- National Green Tribunal Act, 2010§Section 14, 15·Substantial-question-of-environment jurisdiction over remediation and compensation claims.
Frequently asked
Questions about Section 9
Open this section in the source PDF
Environment Protection Act, 1986.pdf
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