Brown Announces Jiffy Lube Effort To Protect Environment From Spills

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO--California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that Jiffy Lube International has improved its operations to ensure that oil and antifreeze is properly contained at its local oil change facilities.

“Some employees were not regularly inspecting their storage containers to prevent oil and antifreeze from spilling or leaking,” Attorney General Brown said. “Under today’s agreement, Jiffy Lube will launch a program to ensure that storage containers are in good working order to avoid spills and overflows.”

Brown joined eleven counties in announcing the statewide agreement with Jiffy Lube International, resolving allegations that some of its oil change centers did not follow precautions to protect the environment from oil and antifreeze spills.

Under the California Health and Safety Code, oil change facilities must use tanks and storage containers with two containment layers to prevent spills or leaks from reaching the environment. Employees must maintain the containers and regularly inspect for leaks or other problems.

During annual inspections, local compliance officers discovered that employees were not properly inspecting containers to ensure that both barriers in the receptacles could keep oil and antifreeze from leaking into the environment. Inspectors also found that employees were not regularly checking containers to ensure that the receptacles did not exceed their carrying capacity.

Under today’s agreement, Jiffy Lube will launch a training program for all employees to ensure compliance with state and local environmental laws. The company will also have a third-party consultant conduct audits to ensure compliance with environmental laws. The company will ensure that all facilities have to proper equipment for storing used and unused motor oil and antifreeze.

Any current Jiffy Lube-operated facility that does not have a container suitable for storage of used motor oil will stop collecting used motor oil until a suitable container is on site. The company will revoke any franchise agreement if there are three uncorrected violations of environmental regulations.

The agreement covers more than 300 Jiffy Lube locations across California.

Jiffy Lube cooperated with state inspectors by voluntarily disclosing voluminous records pertaining to the ownership and operation of Jiffy Lube oil change facilities in California. The company also agreed to pay $500,000 as civil penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees.

District Attorneys assisting in the investigation include: Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Solano, Ventura. The Los Angeles City Attorney also joined today’s agreement.

The judgment, which becomes final pending Sacramento Superior Court approval, is attached.

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PDF icon Agreement2.84 MB