San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced a stipulated judgment against FedEx Freight, Inc., to resolve issues in an environmental case. In the judgment signed October 1, 2019, by Superior Court Judge Brian McCarville, FedEx agreed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties and comply with the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL), the Hazardous Materials Release Response Plans and Inventory Law, and applicable Fish and Game law.
Settlement of the lawsuit resolves allegations brought by the District Attorney's Office stemming from a release of nitric acid from a damaged tote in a FedEx trailer in February 2017, and the transportation of the resulting hazardous waste to FedEx's Fontana facility where it was subsequently stored. Both the transportation and storage of the hazardous waste violated the HWCL. Following investigation by the San Bernardino County Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) and the District Attorney's Office, the latter made the following additional allegations: The transportation and storage of hazardous waste resulting from the release of hypochlorite solution from a damaged tote in a FedEx trailer in October 2015 violated the HWCL. A March 2017 release of oil from FedEx's Fontana facility, some of which reached a storm drain from which it could pass to waters of the State, violated the Fish and Game Code. Finally, the failure to report several releases of hazardous materials to the San Bernardino CUPA violated the Health and Safety Code.
FedEx cooperated fully with the investigation into the allegations and agreed with a number of procedures designed to comply with the various applicable laws and reduce the risk of environmental impact by inadvertently released hazardous materials. Pursuant to the stipulated judgment, the District Attorney will maintain oversight authority for a period of at least five years to ensure effective compliance.