From the New Haven Register

Wal-Mart will pay $1.15 million fine

Gregory B. Hladky, Capitol Bureau Chief

08/16/2005

HARTFORD - Wal-Mart has agreed to pay a $1.15 million fine and correct a slew of environmental violations at 22 of its Connecticut stores, violations that state officials said showed a systematic disregard for the law.

The violations primarily involved pollution that flowed into storm drains on Wal-Mart properties from construction work, improperly stored or handled fertilizer, pesticides, waste oils and other potentially hazardous products.

"There is a pattern of national disregard by Wal-Mart in this area," said state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. He said that, in Connecticut, state officials found no documentable damage from Wal-Mart'tviolations, but that "there was a high potential for harm."

Last year, Wal-Mart officials paid a $3.1 million fine to settle a federal lawsuit concerning storm-drain pollution from the company'tconstruction sites in Tennessee, Utah and several other states.

State Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy said the comprehensive Connecticut settlement announced Monday is the first of its kind in the nation.

"Today'tsettlement sends, we hope, a very strong message," McCarthy said. "The message is that it doesn't matter how big you are, you can't break t! he law."

Marty Heires, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the world'tlargest retailer has already corrected most of the environmental problems cited in the settlement.

"We wanted … to get this thing behind us and move forward," said Heires. "We are pledging our compliance at every level."

The Wal-Mart-owned stores cited by the state for violations included operations in all parts of Connecticut. The state found violations at 22 of the company't33 Connecticut stores, including two Sam'tClub stores, which are owned by Wal-Mart.

In the New Haven region, violations occurred at stores in Orange, Shelton, Branford, Wallingford, and Derby.

"As big as it was, Wal-Mart failed to get it right," said Blumenthal. "Its failure was one of corporate culture, going to the upper levels of this corporation… The violations were widespread, systematic, repeated," he said.

"No corporation, no one, no matter how powerful or big, is above the law," said Blumenth! al. "Wal-Mart'tcompetitors have a right to know that Wal-Mart is not above the law."

McCarthy said the state'tefforts to get Wal-Mart to comply with state environmental regulations began in 1999 but that officials at the company "refused to take it seriously."

She said the violations included fertilizer and pesticides that were washed into storm drains by rain and snow melt. Several Wal-Marts also sold a root killer that has been banned by the federal government.

The $1.15 million settlement will result in a direct payment to the state of $600,000, while $500,000 will go to various municipalities to help them with local compliance with state stormwater regulations.

McCarthy said $50,000 of Wal-Mart'tfine will be used to help protect the Mattabesett River in Cromwell, which she said was one of the potential victims of Wal-Mart pollution.

"Wal-Mart pledges to cooperate fully with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to avoid! issues of this type in the future," Del Sloneker, senior vice president of operations, Wal-Mart Stores Division, said in a prepared statement.

"We have made a major effort to address environmental concerns at our stores in Connecticut," Sloneker said. "We will continue to do all we can to assure that our associates in these stores not only know the environmental laws of the state but comply with them consistently and actively."

The Connecticut settlement will also require Wal-Mart to submit plans for managing stormwater on its properties. The company will also have to hire a consultant to conduct seven bi-annual audits to make sure that its stores are complying with all environmental regulations.

In addition, the company will be required to hire a consultant on stormwater management for all its Connecticut construction sites for the next five years.

Blumenthal said a 2003 court order obtained by the state required Wal-Mart to correct many if not all of! the violations cited by the state.

"We're listening, we're cooperating, we're taking steps to be sure these types of things don't recur," said Heires.