Penske Settles Nearly $8 Million Environmental Lawsuit

RIVERSIDE – District Attorney Michael A. Hestrin announced that Penske Truck Leasing Co, L.P., (“Penske”) will pay $7,660,000 for several environmental law violations.

The global truck leasing and fleet maintenance company settled a civil lawsuit after having allegedly violated California laws 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.

Penske will pay $6,573,750 in penalties, $488,250 in investigative cost reimbursement, and $598,000 in supplemental environmental projects. Additionally, Penske is required to implement changes in protocol and its facilities. The changes include hiring an environmental compliance manager to ensure adherence with California law directly relating to the areas of violation.

As part of the settlement, Penske has committed to replace aging double-walled underground storage tank systems with upgraded systems and enhanced secondary containment monitoring, or remove old ones entirely, at 12 locations in California.

Penske Truck Leasing is a leading commercial truck leasing, fleet maintenance and transportation services company that provides trucks through commercial leasing and consumer truck rentals. In California they provide service for the leased vehicles and fueling for those vehicles. They have a large fleet of trucks, and they service their own trucks at all 52 locations in California, including fueling their own trucks.

The settlement was entered in conjunction with 21 District Attorneys’ offices and the City Attorney of Los Angeles. Penske’s corporate office and environmental compliance group were extremely cooperative with the prosecutors throughout the investigation and settlement process. This Stipulated Final Judgment shall be in place for a minimum of five years.

The investigation began in San Bernardino County after Penske failed to correct cited violations at several underground storage tank locations, including an alleged instance of sensor tampering in 2022.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office will receive $480,000 in civil penalties and $20,000 in cost reimbursement.
Case CIVSB2621440 was handled in Riverside County by Deputy District Attorney Lauren R. Martineau of the Environmental Protection Team.