9 minute read
Safeway to Pay $8 Million for Environmental Violations
COMMUNITY NEWS
Safeway to Pay $8 Million for Environmental Violations
Advertisement
Safeway’s 71 gas stations in California are lacking protection against potentially disastrous underground fuel leaks, and the retailer will pay $8 million in a settlement with state and county governments, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The company, which sells gasoline from stations at Safeway and Vons supermarkets and has locations in Aptos and Soquel, agreed to install equipment to detect, prevent and contain leaks as the state requires, Bonta said at a Sept. 16 news conference.
He said the stations’ underground systems have been out of compliance since March 2015 but no spills or leaks have been reported.
“The reality is: Accidents happen,” Bonta said. “Without proper safety measures in place, an avoidable crisis can become an environmental catastrophe.”
Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Placer and Solano counties took part in the suit.
Safeway’s corporate office did not respond to the San Francisco Chronicle’s request for comment.
Safeway is a subsidiary of Albertsons since being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management in January 2015.
Underground storage tank systems are subject to strict regulations in California because of the potential for even a small tank leak, if undetected, to cause substantial contamination to soil and groundwater.
California requires all underground storage tank systems be designed and constructed with primary and secondary levels of containment, continuous monitoring systems, constant vacuum pressure, equipment to prevent spills and leaks, and automatic leak detectors.
Beginning in 2015, Safeway is alleged to have violated state laws regulating the operation of underground storage tanks and the handling of hazardous waste. Specifically, the Attorney General and district attorneys found evidence of recurring violations at Safeway gas stations, including failure to: • Install and/or maintain automatic line leak detectors; • Construct, operate, and maintain secondary containment systems; • Maintain a monitoring system capable of detecting a leak at the earliest possible opportunity; • Continuously monitor and conduct required testing of underground storage tank systems; and • Properly notify local agencies of the release of a hazardous substance.
The settlement resolves these allegations.
As part of the settlement, Safeway will pay $7.5 million in civil penalties, including $600,000 to fund several environmental projects, and another $500,000 for investigative costs.
Safeway will also be required to take immediate steps to improve spill and alarm monitoring, employee training, hazardous waste management and emergency response at its gasoline stations. For example, Safeway will employ an environmental compliance manager to monitor compliance and submit annual reports to the California Department of Justice. n •••
A copy of the settlement agreement is at https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/ press-docs/%5BSafeway%20Dec_Stip%20 and_CJ%20%281%29.pdf
Lisa Constant, CRPC®
Financial Advisor
Jeremy Geels
Financial Advisor
My studio floor becomes my grab bag of handmade papers, stencils, pens, and found objects for inspiration. I relax and enjoy knowing that my love of art is felt within the process of just creating. suzannemccourt.com
Bonnie Minardi: As a painter, I am intrigued by texture and color. I use a variety of materials including collage papers, acrylic paint, and sometimes oil with cold wax.
I get absorbed in my passion for experimenting and exploring new materials and techniques. I am interested in creating a sense of mystery whether I am painting abstracts, landscapes, or the figure. faso.com/artists/bonnieminardi.html
Gretchen Werner: After many years in the art world, I took up painting in 2012. I started with oils, and I have experimented in many different styles including still life, landscape, portraits, mixed media and abstract.
I’ve transitioned to using mostly acrylic. With a passion for abstract, I still allow myself the freedom to experiment. Being inspired by nature with daily walks on the beach with my dog Barney there is a plethora of inspiration all around …
Please stop by for a visit, I’d love to meet you. faso.com/artists/gretchenwerner. html
Jean Sheckler Beebe: I use color, layers, line and wit to make her artistic point whether with paint or college. My pieces range from very large (14 x 9 feet) to quite small (8x8 inches) with paintings on canvas, wood panel and paper. I am a narrative painter and work in a series of painting working through a theme.
My art is loose, bold and abstracted. I have been referred to as a “muscular” painter. Creating conversations with my viewers is one of my goals and searching for the edge of her dark humor is a challenge I accept with pure joy. jeansbeebe.com
Mike Beebe: My ceramics are part of a journey of discovery to capture the essence of nature through texture and surface quality.
Using wood-fired kilns as a paint, I create tea bowls which have sustaining interest. Wood-firing this ceramic work across many days creates variations in surface quality which when successful creates a meditative object. jeansbeebe.com
João de Brito: The last few years have been a roller-coaster worldwide, and shaken humanity.
I have been uprooted equally by these events. As an islander from the mid-Atlantic, we seek comfort by overcoming the unforeseen in Portuguese proverb: “O artista é a voz do povo = Artists are the voice of the people.” These events have influenced my artwork in such ways that the colors have become brighter and bolder, as this shares my hope to restore our voices.
I take on this responsibility to help others, if just for a few minutes, to be distracted by shapes, lines, colors and discover hope again. joaodebrito.com
Michael Mote: Nature is my spiritual center, and thus my paintings largely focus on landscapes and seascapes.
I am lucky to be able to paint every day, typically outside in the morning and in my studio in the afternoon. My focus is on light and atmosphere rather than in the details of a scene before me, and thus the rendering of an exact location or object is not important to me; it is my interpretation of the light and atmosphere that matters.
To create these interpretations of nature, I use loads of thick oil paint.” michaelmote.com
Susan Costes: “I am a expressive, figurative painter who uses bold brushstrokes, color and layers to create the narratives of everyday life.
My paintings make you l want to lean in to the canvas and engage with the characters. This year, I decided that portraying humor and whimsy was a way to cope with change, bridge boundaries, reduce tension and show our global humanity.
Art is the way to run away from reality without leaving home.” susancostes.com •••
For more about Open Studios, see https:// santacruzopenstudios.com/
Blue Z” • Suzanne McCourt
SPECIALIZING IN Residential Repaints & Custom Homes Homeowners Associations Property Managers FALL SPECIAL
If we paint your interior and/or exterior by October 31, 2022 we will buy the paint.
DO YOU HAVE OR NEED A Medicare Supplement? Medicare Advantage Plan? Turning 65 Soon? Are You Paying For or Losing Group Insurance?
Review New Prescription and Medicare Supplement Plans Designed To Meet Your Budget And Needs!
Where our clients send their friends. We make it easy for you!
★★★★ Customer Service
All of Our Services at No Cost To You We return your calls & answer your questions. See us @ www.seniorbenefi ts.care
Beneficial Plants for California’s Mediterranean Climate • Edibles and Fruit Trees • Native and appropriate plant varieties • 2 Acre Display & Sculpture Garden
• Gift Certifi cates • Family Owned & Operated for 30 Years
Open Daily 10-5:00 • 2660 E. Lake Ave. Watsonville, CA 95076 831-728-2532 • sierraazul.com
708 Capitola Ave. | 831.515.7001 www.breathandoneness.com @breathandoneness
“Open Studios” from page 12
If that doesn’t fit your schedule, check out the virtual preview, created by Pajaro Valley Arts, from the convenience of your own home: https://my.matterport.com/ show/?m=aNu4AFtwnGT
Or look for Open Studios on Instagram or Facebook at @openstudios.scc
Neighbors, friends, collectors, and art lovers are invited to meet the artists, see their creative process up close, and buy art directly from the source.
“Santa Cruz County is a magnet for creative people. The Open Studios Art Tour is a moment when that creativity becomes visible, when artists in every neighborhood throughout the County open their doors to art-lovers, neighbors and friends,” said Ann Ostermann, Open Studios director for Arts Council Santa Cruz County, which launched the event in 1986 and reports the arts generate $32 million of local economic activity annually. “It takes a lot of planning and nerve on the part of participating artists, and it’s a joy to see it pay off with art sales and new relationships formed, old friends reunited, and neighbors getting to know each other.”
She added, “We know that art changes lives.”
More artists applied this year, 390, compared to the usual 350, and 85% were accepted, the usual percentage.
“We decided to err on the side on inclusion,” Ostermann said.
Those not accepted received feedback and are welcome to apply next year.
Not all artists have studios that are their work spaces.
“We don’t want that to be a barrier to participating,” Ostermann said. “So we have a few artists who will be hosting Open Studios in pop-up spaces, either at galleries like Pajaro Valley Arts or hosted by other Open Studios artists. One of them is our cover artist, Hermelinda Vasquez-Matias, artist #318.”
Find photos and more at bit.ly/ openstudios-2022pr
The dividing line between North and South County is the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. So you can drive as much or as little as you want.
If you’re interested in rural studios, visit the preview exhibit Oct. 1-16 at the R. Blitzer Gallery in Santa Cruz, featuring work by artists in Bonny Doon, Corralitos, and Felton.
If you attend, you will see a vibrant sector of the local economy up close – and make connections in the creative community.
As Ostermann put it, in Santa Cruz the arts “are one of the most powerful vehicles for bringing people together, creating community dialogues, and strengthening relationships.” n
Blown Glass – Artist #283 Weekends 2 and 3 (Oct 8,9 and 15,16) 422 Cliff Dr., Aptos
NOW OPEN NOW OPEN
•••
Cover art by Ed Penniman
