EPA v. SAFEWAY (NC)

Case summary

In a settlement agreement with the United States, Safeway, the nation's second largest grocery store chain, has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty and implement a corporate-wide plan to significantly reduce its emissions of ozone-depleting substances from refrigeration equipment at 659 of its stores nationwide, estimated to cost approximately $4.1 million. The settlement involves the largest number of facilities ever under the Clean Air Act's regulations governing refrigeration equipment. The settlement resolves allegations that Safeway violated the federal CAA by failing to promptly repair leaks of HCFC-22, a hydro-chlorofluorocarbon that is a greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance used as a coolant in refrigerators, and failed to keep adequate records of the servicing of its refrigeration equipment. Safeway will now implement a corporate refrigerant compliance management system to comply with stratospheric ozone regulations. In addition, Safeway will reduce its corporate-wide average leak rate from 25 percent in 2012 to 18 percent or below in 2015. The company will also reduce the aggregate refrigerant emissions at its highest-emission stores by 10 percent each year for three years. The measures that Safeway has committed to are expected to prevent over 100,000 pounds of future releases of ozone-depleting refrigerants that destroy the ozone layer. EPA regulations issued under Title VI of the CAA require that owner or operators of commercial refrigeration equipment that contains over 50 pounds of ozone-depleting refrigerants, and that has an annual leak rate greater than 35 percent repair such leaks within 30 days. HCFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, which allows dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet rays from the sun to strike the earth, leading to adverse health effects that include skin cancers, cataracts, and suppressed immune systems. Pursuant to the Montreal Protocol, the United States is implementing strict reductions of ozone-depleting refrigerants, including a production and importation ban by 2020 of HCFC-22, a common refrigerant used by supermarkets. The settlement is part of EPA's national enforcement initiative to control harmful air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including large grocery stores. Safeway, headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., is the second largest grocery chain in North America with 1,412 stores in the United States and 2012 revenues of $44.2 billion. Safeway operates companies under the banner of Vons in southern California and Nevada, Randalls in Texas, and Carrs in Alaska. The settlement covers 659 Safeway stores - all Safeway stores in the United States that have commercial refrigeration equipment regulated by the CAA except for those stores in Safeway's Dominick's Division, which was the subject of a 2004 settlement with the United States.

Defendants (1)

• SAFEWAYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (130)

• SAFEWAY STORE 350

  702 N 5TH AVE, SANDPOINT, ID, 83864

  Registry ID: 110062918909

• SAFEWAY STORE 4520

  11696 NE 76TH ST, VANCOUVER, WA, 98662

  Registry ID: 110058230800

• SAFEWAY STORE NO 363

  700 HWY 101, FLORENCE, OR, 97439

  Registry ID: 110062922627

• SAFEWAY STORE 535

  20711 BOTHELL EVERETT HWY, BOTHELL, WA, 98012

  Registry ID: 110058231382

• SAFEWAY

  12519 NE 85TH ST, SEATTLE, WA, 98033

  Registry ID: 110056358739

• SAFEWAY STORE 368

  2100 QUEEN ANNE AVE N, SEATTLE, WA, 98109

  Registry ID: 110058231088

• SAFEWAY STORE 1230

  2177 NW 185TH AVE, HILLSBORO, OR, 97124-7074

  Registry ID: 110046448901

• SAFEWAY STORE NO 371

  601 W N ST, ENTERPRISE, OR, 97828

  Registry ID: 110062922636

• SAFEWAY

  6519 MAIN ST, BONNERS FERRY, ID, 83805

  Registry ID: 110064693210

• SAFEWAY

  4000 W DIMOND BLVD, ANCHORAGE, AK, 99502

  Registry ID: 110064693158

• SAFEWAY STORE 496

  15000 NE 24TH ST, REDMOND, WA, 98052

  Registry ID: 110058229992

• SAFEWAY STORE 1448

  680F W WASHINGTON ST, SEQUIM, WA, 98382

  Registry ID: 110060243151

• SAFEWAY STORE NO782

  37601 HWY 26, SANDY, OR, 97055

  Registry ID: 110062923608

• SAFEWAY

  3033 VINTAGE BLVD, JUNEAU, AK, 99801

  Registry ID: 110064693185

• SAFEWAY STORE 1299

  10100 N NEWPORT HWY, SPOKANE, WA, 99218

  Registry ID: 110058230926

• …and 115 more

Statutes cited

• CAA 608 — National Recycling & Emission Reduction Program

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• SAFEWAY (NC)entered 2013-11-01

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $121,093

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 2011-09-26Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2011-09-28Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2013-09-04Final Order Lodged
• 2013-09-04Complaint Filed With Court
• 2013-11-01Final Order Entered
• 2013-11-13Concluded