File an Air Complaint

Complaint Procedures

The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) maintains a pollution complaint Hotline at (216) 441-7442. The Hotline provides a way to report instances of air pollution, dust or odor nuisances to the DAQ. The Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Information is taken from the recorded messages and formalized into an investigation. In addition to being able to respond to citizen concerns, complaints of air pollution nuisances left on the Hotline are very important to the DAQ, as the complaint may be the agency’s first knowledge of a problem at a facility. Investigation of complaints can result in enforcement actions against offenders, but more importantly, can result in cleaner air for everyone.

After leaving the requested information, individuals reporting will be contacted by a DAQ enforcement investigator. When contacted by an investigator regarding a complaint, it is very important that as much detailed information as possible is provided to aid the investigation. The following information is useful in identifying the source of a complaint and resolving the problem:

Information about the complainant:

• Full Name
• Address
• City
• Ward (if in Cleveland)
• Day and evening phone numbers

Description of complaint:

• Odor
• Smoke/dust
• Asbestos
• Open burning
• Indoor air
• Other

Time of day and duration of the complaint

Information about the possible source:

• Name of source
• Address of source

Other helpful information:

• Is the nuisance currently occurring?
• Is the odor or the smoke noticeable right now?
• If an odor complaint, what does it smell like?
• Although difficult to describe an odor, this information is essential to resolving a complaint.
• Any other comments or suggestions you may have to help resolve your complaint