"Shell pays $4m to settle with Mass." by Deirdre Fernandes | Globe Staff February 27, 2014
Shell Oil Co. will pay the state $4 million to resolve allegations it improperly took money from a fund to help clean up environmentally contaminated gas stations, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said.
The settlement is the largest one to come from an investigation into whether oil companies made false statements and wrongly took state money to clean up leaks from underground tanks. The investigation has led to $7.9 million in settlements for the state.
Shell tapped into the state’s Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Product Cleanup Fund even though it received insurance payments to cover the cost of cleaning contamination at its gas stations.
Sort of a double drilling.
“This program exists to help station operators clean up harm done to the environment, not for big oil companies to profit by double-dipping,” Coakley said.
Companies must disclose if they receive reimbursements from other sources. If they have, they must repay the fund. Shell will pay about $2 million back to fund and $2 million directly to the state.
Sunoco, Chevron, and Texaco have already settled.
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I suppose I could have added this to another post, but....
