Chevron owner fined $315K for 2023 spill in Cheney

The corporation that owns a Chevron gas station in Cheney recently was fined $315,000 by the Washington state Department of Ecology for a spill that occurred in 2023.

As part of its investigation, state regulators determined that diesel-contaminated water was illegally discharged from a containment tank at the station located in Cheney and allowed to flow into a stormwater system that led to a nearby creek and wetlands, according to a state news release.

The station in Cheney is owned by the Kelowna Corporation, which beginning at the end of June had 30 days to appeal the state’s determination and fine, according to the news release.

Ecology employees traced the spill to the station after the Cheney Fire Department reported a visible sheen and diesel odor in Minnie Creek on July 19, 2023.

An estimated 1,058 gallons of red-dyed diesel reached the creek and wetlands, and another 77 gallons spilled on the nearby soil.

Minnie Creek is part of the channeled scabland area located just north of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.