Hess Must Pay $1.1 Million Fine For Environmental Violations in N.Y.

By Associated Press
February 29, 2008

Hess Corp. will pay a $1.1 million fine for petroleum storage violations and fund a $300,000 wetlands restoration project under an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced yesterday.

Under a consent order signed February 14, Hess will clean up 65 gas stations and oil storage facilities in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

The agreement also resolves more than 100 violations at Hess's oil storage facility in Brooklyn, which consists of 10 underground and above-ground tanks holding more than 28 million gallons of petroleum.

A spokeswoman for the New York-based Hess, Lorrie Hecker, said, "We are satisfied with the outcome of the settlement discussions and will continue working with the DEC to ensure our facilities comply fully with environmental laws and regulations."

The violations go back to the 1990s and early 2000s and involve noncompliance with storage regulations as well as the repair of a bulkhead without proper permits. The DEC said all of the violations at the Brooklyn storage facility have been addressed, while the problems discovered during inspections of the gas stations — including inventory, records, and equipment maintenance — are more recent and are in the process of being fixed.