On Friday, Tesla announced to pay $750,000 fine and install a solar roof project to settle air quality violations at California. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which regulates air pollution in nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, said the settlement covers 33 notices of violations dating back to 2015, including installing or modifying equipment without proper permits, failure to conduct required emissions testing, failure to maintain records and failure to report information to the Air District in a timely manner.
The violations have since been corrected and Tesla is back in compliance, according to the air district’s statement.
According to Mercury News, a spokesperson said that Tesla will pay $750,000 directly to the air district’s general operating fund. Tesla will then receive a $250,000 credit once it completes the installation of a community microgrid system, which will include rooftop solar panels, as part of the air district’s Community Health Protection Program.
The program focuses on improving air quality and public health in the Bay Area’s most heavily impacted areas, the statement reads: “The goal of this project is to reduce electricity costs as well as localized air pollution emissions within the community.”
Now at the moment it is not confirmed about where the microgrid will be installed and is yet to be determined. The settlement with the air quality district also commits Tesla to implementing a comprehensive environmental management system, to ensure the company remains in full compliance of environmental requirements moving forward.
