Sacramento sues Walgreens, alleging it spilled motor oil down North Sacramento storm drain
The city of Sacramento has sued Walgreens alleging in 2020 it spilled motor oil down a city storm drain.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Sacramento Superior Court, alleges Walgreens had two 55-gallon drums spilling motor oil into the parking lots of its vacant North Sacramento store at 4915 Norwood Ave.
“The drums were spilling hazardous material into the (property’s) private storm drain, which flowed directly into the city’s storm drainage system,” the lawsuit stated.
City officials learned of the pollution from a resident who filed a complaint in September 2020, the lawsuit stated. They sent staff to the site who confirmed it was true. They were unable to contact the owner to help with clean up and retained a contractor to remediate the spill.
Walgreens spokesman Fraser Engerman declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Motor oil, a petroleum product, is considered a hazardous material in state law, the lawsuit states. The city’s storm drains are not authorized for disposal of hazardous waste.
The spill caused a nuisance and an odor for about five days to the surrounding neighborhood, and interfered with the city’s ability to use the storm drain system, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit claims hazardous materials, negligence, and public nuisance. The city outlined in the lawsuit that the penalties could range from hundreds of dollars to $25,000 per day, which are listed as beginning Sept. 4, 2020, and ending on Sept. 8.
The building, near Interstate 80 and the neighborhoods of Del Paso Heights, Robla and Glenwood Meadows, was built in 2014.
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 11:09 AM.
