CarMax to pay $119,440 for alleged Clean Water Act violations at Mo. store

CarMax Inc. has arrived at a settlement with the EPA about alleged violations of the Clear Water Act at the company’s keep in Independence, Mo., the EPA reported Monday.

The used-vehicle retailer has agreed to shell out a $119,440 high-quality after “1000’s of gallons of gasoline” were discharged into a nearby creek for the reason that of a corroded pipe hooked up to a petroleum storage tank, in accordance to the company. The storage tank is used to fill up the store’s cars.

CarMax neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The business reported it adopted accurate protocols to rapidly remediate the challenge pursuing the accidental discharge.

The business grew to become informed of the leak into the creek in July 2019 and notified the EPA’s Countrywide Response Heart and the Missouri Office of Pure Sources, the EPA reported in its buy.

About 19,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from the facility into Camp Creek and could have commenced as early as April 2019, in accordance to the buy.

The company reported CarMax “failed to totally get ready, carry out and/or update” its Spill Avoidance, Handle and Countermeasure program at the Independence keep, as expected less than the Clear Water Act.

“Facilities that keep one,320 gallons or better of oil products in aboveground storage tanks are issue to Clear Water Act laws that need, among other factors, appropriate containment to incorporate oil releases, inspections of tanks and piping and integrity screening of oil storage machines,” the company reported in a information launch. “EPA alleges that CarMax failed to comply with these prerequisites and that this kind of noncompliance contributed to the discharges to Camp Creek.”

CarMax spokeswoman Jennifer Bartusiak reported in a statement to Automotive Information: “CarMax is dedicated to environmental stewardship and has totally cooperated with the Environmental Defense Company and the Missouri Office of Pure Sources to deal with the accidental launch of fuel caused by a broken underground fuel line.

“When CarMax found the situation in July 2019, we quickly notified acceptable regulatory businesses and adopted their protocol to remediate the discharge as rapidly as possible.”