Wal-Mart Pleads Guilty in Environmental Cases; To Pay More than $81 Million

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $81 million in criminal and other fines for violating environmental regulations by illegally handling and dumping hazardous waste at its retail stores across the U.S., the Justice Department said.

Results from the three criminal cases brought by the Justice Department, as well as a related civil case filed by the Environmental Protection Agency, come after previous claims brought by the states of California and Missouri for the same conduct.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, didn't have a program in place and failed to train its employees on proper hazardous-waste management and disposal practices at the store level, the Justice Department said. As a result, hazardous wastes were either discarded improperly at the store level--including being put into municipal trash bins or poured into the local sewer system--or they were improperly transported without proper safety documentation.

Wal-Mart pleaded guilty Tuesday morning in San Francisco to six misdemeanor counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act. The six criminal charges were filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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