NY grocer Gristedes to spend millions to settle US greenhouse gas charges
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) -The New York supermarket chain Gristedes will pay a $400,000 civil fine and spend $13.5 million on repairs and upgrades to settle charges that its store refrigerators emitted far more greenhouse gases than rivals' refrigerators, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.
Gristedes was accused of allowing 42,094 pounds of refrigerant leaks from its stores between 2019 and 2021, the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving a gas-powered car 140 million miles (225 million km) -- or 5,622 times around the Earth's equator.
The Justice Department also said Gristedes "completely ignored" a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule adopted under the Clean Air Act that requires supermarkets to monitor, repair and document commercial refrigerant leaks.
Under a consent decree, Gristedes must reduce emissions by at least 73% from 2020 levels, and will face significant additional penalties if it fails, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said in a statement.
The decree requires Gristedes to make needed repairs, install advanced refrigerants with low global warming potential in three stores, and lower its corporate leak rate within four years to below 16% from 59% in 2020.
A judge must approve the consent decree, which was signed by Gristedes' billionaire owner John Catsimatidis.
Gristedes had no immediate comment. The chain no longer uses ozone-depleting substances as refrigerants at its stores but acknowledged using hydrofluorocarbons, which are also greenhouse gases, the consent decree said.
WIth a lineage dating to 1888, Gristedes operates 19 stores, mainly in Manhattan, according to its website.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
