Cooks Collision Reaches $1.5M Settlement for Hazardous Materials Handling

August 6, 2018—A statewide auto body shop has agreed to pay approximately $1.5 million in penalties following an investigation started in Sacramento over improper disposal of hazardous materials, reported The Sacramento Bee.

The settlement was announced last week, according to the report.

The body shop was found to have improperly stored and disposed of hazardous materials and hazardous waste. The settlement requires Cooks Collision to pay $900,000 in civil penalties, $325,000 for investigative costs and additional money to fund research and compliance programs, reported The Sacramento Bee.

$150,000 will fund a Chico State University research project on recycling vehicle repair byproducts and using plant-based alternatives to pretroleum-based strippers and solvents.

The case began in 2013 when undercover investigations found the auto body repair shop was illegally disposing of hazardous waste in trash containers in Sacramento County.