A familiar name in the truck rental business will pay $7.66 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it violated California environmental laws, the Riverside County district attorney’s office reported.
The settlement announced Wednesday, Aug. 26, ends litigation involving Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P. and 21 district attorney’s offices as well as Los Angeles’ city attorney, a Riverside County DA’s news release states.
Penske, which leases and maintains trucks for commercial and consumer use, was accused of violating rules “related to under and above ground storage tanks, hazardous waste control, and hazardous materials at facilities it operates throughout the state of California, including four in Riverside County,” the release added.
Penske representatives did not respond to a request for comment Friday, Aug. 28
The litigation stemmed from an investigation in San Bernardino County that began “after Penske failed to correct cited violations at several underground storage tank locations, including an alleged instance of sensor tampering in 2022,” the release states.
As part of the settlement, Penske must “implement changes in protocol and its facilities,” including hiring an environmental compliance manager, according to the release states.
The company also agreed to replace “aging underground storage tank systems with upgraded systems and enhanced secondary containment monitoring, or remove old ones entirely, at 12 locations in California.”