State Attorney General Rob Bonta and several Northern California district attorneys announced a $1.7 million settlement Monday with a group of gas stations over allegedly violating state environmental laws.
Bonta and the district attorneys in Alameda, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties settled with the owners and operators of 14 gas stations that have allegedly failed to implement spill prevention and safety measures since at least 2013, according to the attorney general’s office.
The defendants include Bay Area/Diablo Petroleum Co., doing business as Golden Gate Petroleum; Westgate Petroleum Co.; Westgate Petroleum Company, Inc.; Eastgate Petroleum LLC doing business as Golden Gate Petroleum; and Dennis O’Keefe, the president and CEO of Golden Gate Petroleum.
The attorney general’s office and the district attorneys filed a civil complaint in 2018 alleging 107 violations of the state’s laws requiring gas stations to install and maintain storage tank leak detection systems, regularly monitor underground storage tank systems, properly label and contain hazardous waste and properly notify local agencies about releasing hazardous waste.
“We won’t let companies cut corners in their handling of hazardous waste,” Bonta said. “These defendants violated California’s environmental laws for years; now, they will go above and beyond to ensure that their operations do not threaten public health and the safety of our communities.”
As part of the settlement, the allegations were resolved and the defendants will be required to comply with more than a dozen terms to ensure they are properly disposing of hazardous materials and complying with environmental protection laws.
2 comments
I really wish the State Attorney General and local district attornies would try to crack down on real criminsls instead. They’re the ones that are really affecting the lives of the good taxpaying citizens.
It would be nice but this way they can get more money. A criminal in jail is just going to cost money. Everything democrats do has to have money involved or they are not interested.
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