An investigation into a New Haven petroleum distribution facility uncovered several alleged violations of state environmental laws. State officials announced a $2 million settlement Tuesday with Pike Fuels.
Facilities distributing petroleum are hazardous, so they're subject to various state and federal regulations. But Pike Fuels, which had been doing business as Gulf Oil, falsified records documenting leaks, which the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection found during routine inspection of the coastal location in 2021.
Twenty one of the 24 months of leak log records inspected showed fabrication, DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. 鈥淒ates that were whited out, resulting in nonsensical data mismatch, signatures and other inconsistencies and discrepancies,鈥� she said.
Accurate documentation is important to check emissions leakage, and important for protecting the public from exposure to dangerous pollutants, Dykes said.
鈥淕ulf Oil's pattern of falsification of records threatened to undermine DEEP鈥檚 ability to monitor compliance at the New Haven bulk terminal, and they compromised DEEP鈥檚 efforts to protect public health and the environment, as we've been charged to do so,鈥� Dykes said.
The company didn鈥檛 immediately return a request for comment.
Of the $2 million settlement, over half the amount is civil penalty. The remaining amount will fund environmental remediation, mitigation and monitoring in New Haven, along with local environmental justice initiatives.
鈥淭his isn't just about environmental law. It's not about regulations. It's about keeping people safe,鈥� Attorney General William Tong said.
New Haven is already among 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 environmentally 鈥渄istressed municipalities鈥� . The Long Wharf neighborhood carries some of the city鈥檚 heaviest environmental burden, CIRCA鈥檚 shows.
鈥淭his settlement sends a clear message to Gulf Oil and other actors that if you violate our environmental laws and standards, there will be a price to pay,鈥� New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.
Tong said it鈥檚 important for DEEP to have the 鈥渉orsepower鈥� to do its job in cases such as these, with discussions from President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 administration about
鈥淭he attack on our nation's regulatory system and infrastructure imperils all of this work that we need to do to keep people safe,鈥� Tong said.
Pike Fuels, doing business as Gulf Oil, ran the New Haven facility for three dozen years, until selling the terminal to Global Partners Limited in April this year.
