A spill or overfill of petroleum product in excess of how many gallons must be reported to the DEQ within 24 hours of discovery?

• A. 10
• B. 25
• C. 50
• D. 100

Answer: (B)

Spill reporting rules are built around a specific release quantity to ensure immediate regulatory action. When a petroleum spill or overfill is discovered and the released amount meets or exceeds the threshold of 25 gallons, it must be reported to the DEQ within 24 hours. This threshold exists to trigger prompt containment, cleanup, and regulatory oversight so environmental harm is minimized. Spills smaller than 25 gallons still require cleanup and internal response, but they may not require the 24-hour DEQ report. Higher thresholds like 50 or 100 gallons would delay notification on mid-sized releases, while a threshold as low as 10 gallons would create excessive reports for minor incidents. So 25 gallons is the standard trigger for timely regulatory reporting.