A lawsuit filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and two dozen other prosecuting agencies statewide against Tesla Inc. over environmental violations was settled under a $1.5 million agreement that requires changes in the company’s operations to safeguard public health, it was announced today.
The settlement was certified last month by San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Jayne Lee. In addition to the payout to the counties for failing to comply with state hazardous disposal laws, the terms require that Tesla institute measures which ensure refuse processing methods meet environmental standards going forward.
That will entail a new training program for employees and the retention of a third-party auditor to conduct annual inspections of trash containers at 10% of its facilities over the next five years, prosecutors said.
Riverside County is slated to receive $100,000 of the settlement payout.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Tesla came under scrutiny in 2018 when the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office conducted an undercover probe, checking trash receptacles at the electric car company’s service centers, during which it was confirmed there had been “illegal disposal of hazardous used lubricating oils, brake cleaners, used lead acid batteries and other batteries, used aerosols, used antifreeze, waste solvents and other cleaners, electronic waste, waste paint and contaminated debris.”