Feds, Harris Teeter parent company reach $100M deal in Clean Air Act violations case
Harris Teeter’s parent company has agreed to invest $100 million to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations stemming from coolant leaks for nearly a decade at its grocery stores across the country, federal authorities said. The grocer also must pay a $2.5 million civil penalty.
The Kroger Co. must reduce refrigerant leaks from its equipment and improve companywide compliance with federal rules designed to protect the Earth’s ozone layer over the next three years, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
The Cincinnati-based grocery giant owns or operates commercial refrigeration appliances to chill its food display cases at over 2,700 stores in the U.S., including its subsidiaries, according to the complaint. Matthews-based Harris Teeter is one of those subsidiaries.
The complaint does not list Harris Teeter stores in violation, but the consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio includes compliance by Kroger subsidiaries. Every Harris Teeter store with refrigeration equipment over 50 pounds is covered by the proposed settlement.
A judge still needs to sign off on the deal following a 30-day comment period and the DOJ’s final submission in the case.
Kroger did not admit liability but negotiated the proposed settlement to avoid litigation, according to the consent decree.
Officials with Kroger did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Harris Teeter referred comment to Kroger.
Harris Teeter is the second-largest grocer by share of the booming $10.8 billion Charlotte-area grocery market, according to sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide’s latest report. Harris Teeter has 250 stores in seven states, which includes 60 in the Charlotte region.
EPA finds Kroger violated federal refrigerant rules
The Environmental Protection Agency found Kroger failed to repair leaks of R-22 refrigerant, an ozone-depleting substance, from its refrigeration equipment between 2014 and 2023, according to DOJ and court documents. Kroger also was cited for not maintaining refrigeration service records, as required by federal law. “Compliance with the Clean Air Act protects human health,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. “Fixing leaks of ozone-depleting refrigerants makes a real difference in protecting all Americans from the harmful effects of solar radiation.” Ozone layer damage results in dangerous increases in ultraviolet solar radiation, which has been linked to harmful health effects, including skin cancers and cataracts, the DOJ said.
Kroger’s agreement to remedy refrigeration leaks
Kroger agreed to retrofit or replace 600 large commercial refrigeration systems in its stores to reduce ozone-depleting emissions, the DOJ said. The company also must launch a refrigerant management system to prevent and repair leaks, and maintain a corporatewide average leak rate of no more than 9.5% each year.
As of April 29, Kroger told the EPA that it owns and operates 24,627 commercial refrigeration and comfort cooling appliances across 2,734 stores that are subject to the federal regulations, the complaint filing shows.
