Chevron USA has agreed to pay $550,000...

Chevron USA has agreed to pay $550,000 in penalties and investigative costs as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that accused the company of hazardous waste handling violations at its Richmond, Calif., refinery, state officials said. In 1986, 1987 and 1988, San Francisco-based Chevron allegedly stored hazardous wastes in leaking or open containers, in containers improperly labeled, next to other, incompatible wastes and without proper state authorization, according to the attorney general’s office. In settling the suit, Chevron did not admit to violating the state’s Hazardous Waste Control Act but did agree to comply with it in the future.