Regulators inCalifornia fined Wal-mart $27.6 million for pouring bleach down store drains by in 2010. This incident led to other investigations that determined the company was not handling hazardous wastes, chemicals, pesticides and other substances in accordance with EPA’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

“By improperly handling hazardous waste, pesticides and other materials in violation of federal laws, Wal-Mart put the public and the environment at risk and gained an unfair economic advantage over other companies,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department. As a result, Wal-mart paid an additional $81 million in additional fines and implemented a new hazardous material management and training program.