Federal watchdogs are barking up Colonial Oil's tree with a hefty $2.8 million fine for clean air violatios. The Savannah-based oil bigwig, dinged by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, stands accused of fudging renewable fuel use numbers and peddling too volatile gasoline. Buyers beware, this gas was apparently contributing to smog and hitting asthmatics where it hurts.
The company, which didn't peep a word when asked to comment, isn't just forking out fines. In a costly mea culpa, it's shelling out $12.2 million to retire greenhouse gas credits. Sweetening the sour deal, the consent decree they inked, pending public scrutiny, may become a done deal after the regulatory bigwigs sift through a month's worth of public gab.
Getting into the grime of it, EPA hawks claim Colonial Oil left out over 100 million gallons of diesel, meant for ships that never braved the big blue, from its eco-friendly fuel use records from 2013 to 2019. The big no-no here: pretending they used the green stuff when they didn't, leading to a greenhouse gas uptick.
As if that wasn't enough heat, the oil honchos also hawked gas that had too much pep in its step, evaporation-wise, causing more smog and breathing beef for folks in the summer, according to The Current. Under the hammer, Colonial now has to nab and snuff credits to make up for their eco-slip, to the cool tune of 18,300 metric tons of CO2 snuffed out – that's like unplugging a small town or parking a fleet of cars for a year.
Mind you, despite their current mire, Colonial Group's website is all sunshine and daisies about its pioneering push into renewable diesel on the East Coast. A stark contrast to having the feds knock on their door for a cleaner act. Rules are rules, after all, and as Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim put it, "This proposed settlement will hold Colonial to the same renewable fuel requirements that all importers and producers must adhere to."
Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of the EPA wasn't shy about laying it bare either, saying renewable fuels were pivotal in cutting down nasty emissions and backing up the economy with solid jobs. This settlement is another sharp reminder to fuel folks to stay in their green lane or face the costly music.
A look at other offenders this year shows this isn't a lonely path. California-based Cummins, Inc.'s wallet is $1.675 billion lighter after the biggest Clean Air Act civil penalty ever slapped. And Apache Corporation's piggy bank is down $4 million, plus a couples of million more in clean-up acts after their own faux pas with well pads, per reporting from The Current.
