The Washington Department of Ecology issued a $738,000 penalty to Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban, for a 2023 gasoline spill at a downtown Chevron in Walla Walla. In addition, the LLCs have been ordered to pay $4.1 million in cost recovery for the spill response and pollution mitigation expenses. The spill caused nearly 2,500 gallons of fuel to contaminate groundwater and led to an emergency evacuation for parts of the city’s downtown business district.

On Sept. 14, 2023, the Marcus Whitman Hotel in downtown Walla Walla was evacuated due to gasoline odors. Air quality testing identified potentially harmful vapors and gasoline in the basement of the hotel, and in two nearby buildings. Due to the severity of the vapors and risk of explosion, the public was evacuated from the area, roads were closed, and businesses were shut down.

A complex and lengthy investigation confirmed that the gasoline pooling in sumps of adjacent buildings matched the fuel from the Chevron’s underground storage tank.

Under Washington law, Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban are responsible
for stopping a release, cleaning up any contamination, and covering the state’s related costs. Ecology
took over the cleanup after the responsible party’s insurance was exhausted. While some response
actions were completed, the cleanup was not fully carried out. Because of that, the state spent more
than $4.1 million treating and removing contaminated water from basement sumps and operating vapor
mitigation systems to ensure the safety of the community.

“For nearly two years, our focus has been on protecting people, preventing fuel from migrating to Mill
Creek, and getting nearby businesses safely back in operation,” said Brook Beeler, Ecology’s Eastern
Region director. “This was a major spill that will take years to fully clean up. This is a necessary step for
the state to hold those responsible for the spill accountable and try to recover costs spent on the
response.”

Prior to Ecology discovering the release the station’s routine inventory checks showed fuel shortages. Because leak detection alarms did not trigger and follow-up testing over the next two and a half months did not confirm a release, the spill was not identified until gasoline was discovered in nearby buildings.

Under federal and state laws, polluters are responsible for responding to and cleaning up a spill, including reimbursing state agencies for any of their costs incurred in responding to the spill. This penalty is for spilling oil into waters of the state and failure to immediately notify the Washington Emergency Management Division of the spill.

Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine and Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban have 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The LLCs also have 30 days to pay the cost recovery or file an application for financial relief with Ecology.