Gristedes Supermarkets, a New York City chain of 20 stores entered into a consent agreement following a lawsuit filed by the federal Southern District of New York. The U.S. alleged release of 40,000 pounds of refrigerants into the atmosphere between 2019 and 2021. 

In a statement following the announcement of the consent agreement, Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York stated, “Gristedes is now required to reduce its emissions by over 70 percent from the 2020 level or face significant additional penalties if it fails to do so”.

The company is required to invest $17 million to adopt a refrigerant compliance management plan, to convert three stores to advanced refrigerants and to lower corporate leak rate below 16 percent.

This case demonstrates federal concern over release of potent greenhouse gas refrigerants and confirms strong action against transgressors of regulations that exhibit failure to maintain installations and to limit releases of environmentally damaging gases