400 Gallon Oil Spill At Chevy Dealership In Virginia

In the type of story that you don’t hear about everyday …  a Chevy store is dealing with cleanup after a major oil spill. A 400 gallon oil spill at Woodall Chevrolet in Danville, Virginia could cost that dealership $40,000. On September 21, a malfunctioning value at the top of a double-walled oil tank is to blame for this oil spill. Dealership staff reportedly worked quickly to contain most of the spill, however, 80-100 gallons of it got into the Dan River, which borders Woodall Chevrolet.

Some of the oil also got into the nearby river by way of a storm drain. According to a report from GoDanRiver.com, dealership employee Robbie Woodall, said there was no interruption in service to their customers while the oil spill was worked on. Estimates for total damage to the dealership sit at $20,000.

This isn’t the first time a dealership has made headlines for an oil spill. Howe Motors in Claremont, New Hampshire settled with the Environmental Protection Agency for $17,500 over their handling of a January 2014 oil spill and their oil spill prevention plan. Like the situation at Woodall Chevrolet, the oil spill occurred due to a malfunction with the storage of oil at the dealership.

In April 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fined Blaise Chevrolet in Springfield, Massachusetts $5,000 after a small oil spill. While dealership employees were removing debris from a waste storage area, oil drums containing water, waste oil and waste gasoline were punctured and spilled onto the ground. The total amount spilled was just over 10 gallons. The Massachusetts DEP found the dealership in violation of multiple laws including labeling hazardous waste.

What process do you have in place at your store in case there is an oil spill? Does that process include training for your employees who work in the vicinity of stored oil? What do you make of the fines dealers have received for their handling of oil spills?