On behalf of the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. attorney general filed on Friday a complaint against Southeastern Grocers Inc., BI-LO Inc. and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., alleging that the companies failed to properly maintain and repair commercial refrigeration equipment at the defendants’ grocery stores.
WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record reports the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, also alleges that the companies failed to maintain adequate service records.
Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers is the parent company of BI-LO and Winn-Dixie.
The complaint is based on an August 2014 investigation that resulted in a notice of violation issued to Southeastern in March 2016.
The charges are violations of the Clean Air Act, which implements the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
A consent decree also was filed that includes a $300,000 civil penalty. For more on the consent decree see the expanded version of this story at JaxDailyRecord.com.
