Owner of Napa gas stations penalized for storage violations

Gas pump

Owners of a chain of service stations in Napa and four other counties will pay more than a million dollars in penalties for environmental violations, prosecutors announced Monday afternoon.

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The $1.1 million judgment by Yolo County Superior Court is connected to gas stations operating mainly under the Fast & Easy brand, the office of Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said in a news release. The settlement involves five people and two companies, who allegedly failed to adequately install, monitor, operate and calibrate state-required equipment for detecting leaks in storage tanks.

Two of the stations implicated in the complaint are a Fast & Easy at 1108 Lincoln Ave. in Calistoga (since rebranded as a Shell outlet) and the Valley Gas & Propane (also known as Valley Liquor & Gas) at 2023 Monticello Road in Napa County, according to Carlos Villatoro, spokesperson for the Napa DA’s office. Other service stations owned by the defendants operate in Yolo, Alameda, Lake and San Joaquin counties.

The defendants – Aasim Corp., Aasim Enterprises Inc., Ashraf Ali, Yasmin Ali, Samir Ali, Shafique Bhimani and Mohammed Bilal – are required to pay $900,000 in civil penalties along with $200,000 to cover investigative and enforcement costs.

The settlement also includes a permanent injunction that bars the defendants from violating laws covering hazardous waste and storage tanks, and requires them to have an independent environmental consultant assist with compliance at their gas stations.

“Underground fuel leaks pose a significant threat to Napa County’s groundwater supply and to the environment,” Haley said in the Monday statement. “This case illustrates the importance of keeping our water supply safe from pollution by holding companies that fail to monitor and maintain their underground storage tanks accountable.”

Environmental health departments in Napa, Lake, San Joaquin and Yolo counties, as well as the city of San Leandro, assisted in the case, along with Hayward Fire.

U.S. consumer inflation eased in March, with less expensive gas and food providing some relief to households that have struggled under the weight of surging prices. Yet prices are still rising fast enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates at least once more, beginning in May. Rich Pierson, a semi-retired owner of a financial planning business who was shopping this week at Doris Italian Market and Bakery in North Palm Beach, Florida, said high restaurant prices have led him and his wife to eat much more at home. “We cook more at home than we ever have due to the rising costs,” he said. “You do look for the occasional deals and add value when you can — that’s for sure.” The market's operating manager, Chris Alfano says the market has seen plenty of ups and downs over the years. "A lot of it's just being able to weather out the storm and you have to be able to be flexible. If you can't be flexible, you won't be able to last. So, you know, you've got to be able to kind of roll with the times," said Alfano. Consumer prices rose just 0.1% from February to March, down from 0.4% from January to February and the smallest increase since December.

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