Cases filed by the US Department of Justice against Wal-Mart were entered under the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Wal-Mart will pay $81.6 million for the unlawful conduct along with earlier actions brought by the states of California and Missouri. The total fine for violations of federal and state environmental laws is more than $110 million!
According to the US District Court in San Francisco, until 2006, Wal-Mart did not have a program in place to train its employees on proper hazmat management and disposal. As a result, hazardous wastes were discarded improperly at many stores, which included either putting hazardous materials into municipal trash bins or pouring hazardous waste into local sewer systems. By not having to pay for proper disposal of their hazardous wastes, Wal-Mart gained an unfair economic advantage over their competition. Ultimately, Wal-Mart did acknowledge responsibility for these violations and agreed to pay the fines which will be used towards funding environmental projects in the communities impacted by the violations.