Feb. 2 (UPI) — Tesla agreed to pay $1.5 million fine to settle a California lawsuit over its handling of hazardous materials in the state.
The settlement includes $1.3 million in civil penalties and an additional $200,000 to reimburse the state for the cost of its investigation into the company’s illegal hazardous waste disposal at its car service centers, energy centers and its Fremont, Calif., assembly plant, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said in a statement .
Along with the fines, Tesla agreed to comply with a five-year injunction that requires them to provide employee training and hire third-party investigators who will examine their waste handling annually.
“Today’s settlement against Tesla, Inc. serves to provide a clearer environment for citizens throughout the state by preventing the contamination of our precious natural resources when hazardous waste is mismanaged and unlawfully disposed,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.
The Environmental Division of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office started its investigation over how Tesla handles hazardous waste in 2018, starting with undercover probes of Tesla’s trash containers at its car service centers.