Verdict: there is no published "litres of diesel" numeric trigger below which a farm spill is non-reportable. Reportability is functional, not volumetric. A diesel spill on a farm must be reported immediately to the Spills Action Centre (1-800-268-6060) if it causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect, or enters or is likely to enter a watercourse, tile drain, ditch, sewer, or potable-water source.

Authority

• Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, s. 92 — base obligation to report a spill of a pollutant.
• O. Reg. 675/98 (Classification and Exemption of Spills) — sets exemption thresholds for specific bulk-plant scenarios (e.g. 5,000 L Class VIII gasoline at a bulk plant). The 5,000 L Class VIII gasoline exemption does NOT apply to farm diesel.
• O. Reg. 224/07 (Spill Prevention and Contingency Plans) — applies primarily to regulated industrial plants in nine MISA sectors, per the Ministry of the Environment guideline (oasisontario.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Ontario-Guideline-for-Implementing-Spill-Prevention.pdf). A working farm is not an O. Reg. 224/07 facility; the obligation flows from EPA s. 92 directly.

Reporting trigger — practical rules

Report to the Spills Action Centre immediately (1-800-268-6060) if any of the following is true:

1. The spill enters or is likely to enter a watercourse, tile drain, ditch, sewer, or potable-water source (well, cistern, surface intake).
2. The spill causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect on the natural environment, on health or safety, on property, or on the use or enjoyment of property.
3. The spill is on frozen ground or impermeable surface and could migrate before clean-up.

There is no minimum litreage. A 20 L spill into a tile drain is reportable; a 1,000 L spill fully contained inside an intact secondary containment dike is not (though good practice is to report and document anyway). The decision is functional.

What to do — the cheat-card

1. Stop the source. Close the valve, plug the leak, right the container.
2. Call the Spills Action Centre. 1-800-268-6060. State your name, location, what spilled, estimated volume, where it's going.
3. Contain. Sand, absorbent pads, drain plug. Get it out of the path to water.
4. Document. Time, volume, weather, what was done, who you called, ticket/incident number from SAC.
5. Clean up and dispose per environmental rules. Spent absorbent and contaminated soil are hazardous waste; route through a licensed waste hauler.
6. B&J contractor referrals. Call the dispatch line for an emergency-response referral if you don't have a hauler on file.

Auditor General context (reporting-time data)

The Auditor General of Ontario's 2021 Value-for-Money Audit: Hazardous Spills (auditor.on.ca; restated verbatim in the 2023 Annual Follow-Up, Section 1.21) found: "Between 2016 and 2020, 3,746 (or 9%) of the 40,349 reported spills were not reported until the following day, and 505 spills took more than 10 days to report." Late reporting is itself an offence; the prudent posture is "call first, document later."

Federal SOR/2008-197 (does not apply)

See op-on-farm-bulk-diesel-storage-compliance — federal SOR/2008-197 applies only to federally-jurisdiction tanks. Farm spills on private Ontario land are governed by EPA s. 92 and SAC, not by federal spill rules.

Sources & structured attribution

• source.document: Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, s. 92 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e19); O. Reg. 675/98 Classification and Exemption of Spills; O. Reg. 224/07 Spill Prevention and Contingency Plans; Ministry of the Environment, Ontario Guideline for Implementing Spill Prevention and Contingency Plans (oasisontario.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Ontario-Guideline-for-Implementing-Spill-Prevention.pdf); Auditor General of Ontario, 2021 Value-for-Money Audit: Hazardous Spills and 2023 Annual Follow-Up Section 1.21 (auditor.on.ca); Spills Action Centre 1-800-268-6060
• source.section: EPA s. 92; O. Reg. 675/98 (5,000 L Class VIII gasoline exemption — does not apply to farm diesel); O. Reg. 224/07 MISA-sector scope; AG report Section 1.21
• source.captured_date: 2026-05-13
• source.confidence: verified (statutory authorities and AG findings); inferred (cheat-card structure synthesised from AG and SAC operating guidance)
• concept_category: environmental compliance / spill response
• applies_to_services: all bulk-fuel delivery; tank install and decommission; emergency response
• applies_to_audiences: farm customers with bulk fuel storage; B&J ops staff and dispatch

Confidence: verified.