Trader Joe’s agreed Tuesday to spend $2 million to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.
The Department of Justice and the EPA had charged the popular grocery chain with violating the Clean Air Act because of leaky refrigeration equipment.
Trader Joe’s failed to quickly repair leaks of a coolant that depletes ozone and it failed to keep accurate service records of its refrigerators, the agencies said. The Clean Air Act requires owners of commercial refrigerators that contain more than 50 pounds of ozone-depleting refrigerants to repair leaks within 30 days.
The coolant, called R-22, has 1,800 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide, according to the Justice Department. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions for driving man-made climate change. President Obama is targeting global warming and the reduction of greenhouse gases through his Climate Action Plan.
Trader Joe’s will spend $2 million over the next three years to reduce its refrigerator leaks. It is also required to pay a penalty of $500,000.
Some of the steps that the grocer plans to take include implementing a corporate refrigerant compliance management system, instituting a new quarterly leak monitoring program, and installing non-ozone depleting refrigerators at new stores.
“By reducing the amount of ozone depleting refrigerants and potent greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, this settlement will assist our efforts to control these two major global environmental problems,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
The case against Trader Joe’s is similar to cases involving other grocery store chains such as Safeway Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.
The settlement will be subject to a public comment period and a final court approval.
