Report an Air Pollution Problem
Reports from the public are essential in helping the APCD locate and address air quality issues. When you report an issue, Compliance Officers with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District will investigate your report and, if warranted, can cite violators who fail to address the problem. Read the APCD's standard operating procedures (SOPs) for investigating reports about odors.
Past odor investigations performed by the APCD are visualized in this dashboard.
Here are the best ways to report different air pollution issues:
Smells/Odors
If an odor is affecting your immediate health and safety, call 911. If an odor is an annoyance or nuisance, here's how you can report it:
- Call the APCD at (502) 574-6000, or
- Fill out our online odor reporting form, or
- Submit a complaint online through Metro311, or
- Download the Smell My City app to your smartphone. (Smell My City is operated by a third party, but odor reports are directed to Louisville Metro Government.)
The information that will best help us investigate the odor is:
- Where you first detected it, the date and time it was detected, and how long it lasted.
- Any characteristics, such as chemical, sewer, flowery, burnt, strong, mild, or obnoxious.
Keep notes of your observations so they can be referenced in the future. An odor log is an easy way to track recurring odors.
If you believe the odor is coming from the sewer, you can contact the Metro Sewer District directly at (502) 540-6000.
Open Burning
Fire is not an acceptable form of waste disposal. In most cases it is illegal to burn tree leaves, garbage, yard clippings, construction debris, fallen tree branches and limbs, and other similar items in Louisville/Jefferson County.
If you suspect someone is burning items that are prohibited or burning at a time that is prohibited here's how you report it to us:
- Call the APCD at (502) 574-6000, or
- Fill out our online reporting form, or
- Submit a complaint online through Metro311.
The information that will best help us investigate the burning is:
- The location, date, and time you first noticed it.
- What is being burned, how big the fire is, and if it is causing smoke or odors.
Smoke
If you see smoke that is causing a nuisance, creating a breathing problem, or just looks wrong, here's how you report it to us:
- Call the APCD at (502) 574-6000, or
- Fill out our online reporting form, or
- Submit a complaint online through Metro311.
The information that will best help us investigate smoke issues is:
- A detailed account of what the smoke looks like. Note color, density (how thick it is), and direction it is going.
- Where the smoke is coming from, (a stack or something else?), when you noticed it, and how long has it been going on.
- If there is any noticeable odor coming from the smoke.
Dust
Dust particles can contribute to air pollution and to health issues. Dust problems often occur in the form of clouds of dust leaving a work site, a construction site, a parking lot, or coming off a truck. If you have a dust complaint here's how you report it to us:
- Call the APCD at (502) 574-6000, or
- Fill out our online reporting form, or
- Submit a complaint online through Metro311.
The information that will best help us investigate a dust complaint is:
- The suspected or confirmed source of the dust.
- How much dust you see and what kind of dust you think it is (gravel, sand, construction, etc.).
- When you first noticed it, and how long the dust event lasted.
