Construction Phase
Topics: Environment | Lawsuits
Wal-Mart has a bad track record with the EPA regarding the company’s ability to protect watershed areas. In 2001, the corporation paid a $1 million settlement for stormwater violations at 17 sites across the country. Follow-up inspections at 24 stores revealed that the company continued to discharge excessive sediments in sensitive waterways and failed to develop and implement storm water pollution prevention plans, among other requirements under the settlement. In 2003, the company paid a second fine of $3.1—the largest civil penalty ever for storm water violations. Making Wal-Mart’s track record a matter of public record is one way to reach decision-making officials and to undermine local support.
