Background: On June 14, 2006, out of due diligence, the Riverside District Attorney's Office met with the author of this site (see About Us), to put my mind at rest that there was nothing more to be done. Shell had conducted a ground penetrating radar test ("GPR") and it "failed due to rebar in the concrete." As I tried to explain how a good test could be done, the Investigator, Joe Ashbury was rolling his eyes thinking that I was just disappointed and didn't understand that Shell, with its extensive expertise, had conducted the best test that could have been done and that was the end of it. I said "look where you are at" to get Joe's attention to what I was saying. I happened to be doing consulting work for an underground construction company with over 40 years experience. They did all the underground work for the Ontario Mills Mall. The second largest mall in America. If not for the fact we were in that construction office, Shell would have gotten away with not having to clean up some number of 13,000 former Texaco stations. To prove how easy it is to do a good GPR test, I did the necessary research and developed this website to show how easy it is to do a non-invasive "definitive test." In any event, invasive or not a "definitive test" is what needs to be done to insure the environmental safety of the former Texaco stations.
Sexton Offered to Fix the Problem if it Didn't Involve All 13,000 Texaco Stations
David Sexton, President of Shell Oil Products US, asked me "If Shell cleans up the two Corona stations will that solve the problem?" I said no, as it did not address the other stations out of the 13,000 that were likely to have the same problem. What happened next is Shell tried to do nothing with the help and assistance of the state water board (see Voluntary Compliance). When I didn't accept the canned answer from the Water Board (see State Water Board), Shell conducted the failed GPR test, with the help of the Water Board not telling me the test was conducted and that it failed. It was not until Joe Ashbury, Investigator Bureau of Investigation Environmental Crimes showed up that I learned that Shell had done a failed test and that the Water Boards were covering for Shell by not telling me about the test when I had made numerous requests that they get Shell to test the location. He also confirmed that Shell was selling all its stations nationally, as I had surmised and that 71 had been sold already in Riverside County with only 22 left to be sold. Clearly, the District Attorney's Office has been the only truth telling good faith player in this affair. It has become instantly clear that Shell intended to defraud the District Attorney and Riverside County by only doing the failed test and attempting to pass it off as the only test that could be done. The facts speak for themselves. Shell did not do any further testing and has consistently refused all requests to do a "definitive test" at the Corona locations. Shell's response to this problem was, we believe, to fire their lead environmental attorney, Kathleen Gillmore for letting this matter get this far (see More Shell Players).
Highest Levels of Shell Management
If it was a "fraudulent test," it is being perpetrated at the highest levels of Shell management as I have only dealt directly with David Sexton, President, Shell Oil Products US and Kathleen Gillmore, who is now no longer with Shell Oil. Shell cannot claim this is a normal operating problem or an aberration with lower management. Their culpability is clearly defined by their continuing failure to do a "definitive test." Cleaning up some number of 13,000 former Texaco stations is not a small proposition so they can't say they don't take this matter seriously. The reverse is true. All indications are that Shell is trying to maliciously and perhaps criminally avoid their environmental responsibilities in testing and cleaning up the former Texaco stations, especially the two in Corona that would conclusively prove that what I brought to their attention is true.
A "Definitive Test"
The test is simple (see The Right Test). The 2nd largest company by revenue and profits in the world can do a definitive test if it wants to, simple test or not. The reason Shell would not want to and probably hasn't conducted a "definitive test" is to hide the Texaco problem so it does not have to clean up some number of 13,000 Texaco stations. It would be "fraud by concealment," an actionable crime. If so, Shell would likely skate on the criminal charges, but a "definitive test" still needs to be done to settle this issue. That is all SeeitReal.com is advocating for from anyone and everyone of "The Players." Nothing more nothing less. If that is unreasonable in anyway someone needs to explain it. The maliciously abandoned equipment is less than 33 yards from a clean water aquifer and the existing monitoring equipment for other gasoline leaks at both locations can actually make it worse rather than catch it (see EPA research article). A deep diving plume in Florida has already shown how wrong authorities can be about these problems (article here). The only recourse is to test and remediate what is found and charge the person(s) that committed the crime of malicious abandonment less than 1,000 feet from a clean water aquifer.
Man of Last Resort
As the man of last resort, Rod Pacheco is the single most powerful and influential man in this matter. The Riverside District Attorney is the last chance to discover and remediate an "environmental crime" 957 feet from a clean water aquifer in Riverside County in the City of Corona. In this case, the task is easy. Rod Pacheco already has a tough reputation for white collar crime and it is my understanding that "the civil courts in Riverside have already been taken over by criminal trials with civil trials being put on hold" at his direction. Since Rod Pacheco became D.A., one court room had 302 cases being prosecuted by him in just one afternoon. Accordingly, I am sure Rod Pacheco is well aware that if the District Attorney's Office does nothing, Shell gets a "free pass" to sell all its Texaco service stations and not clean up the environmental problems Shell is fully aware of and is willfully trying to avoid; and a "free pass" to retailers who maliciously left toxic wastes in garage sumps along with buried hydraulic lifts and hydraulic fluids buried under their service stations covered over with concrete.
Not Just a Local Issue
That there are 13,000 former Texaco stations nationwide, makes this a serious matter that any conscientious district attorney is sure to address (see Problem Defined). I am confident the Riverside District Attorney will do an effective job, as always. Shell Oil is almost finished with its mass sell off of all its service stations and has already sold Satish Chopra his 230 S. Lincoln and 1610 W. Sixth Street stations. To add to the urgency in this issue, all the stations Shell sold are the highest performing locations that are meant to be operated indefinitely. That guarantees that the garage sumps and hydraulic lift systems will absolutely leak and eventually pollute the environment. It would defy the "Law of Entropy" if they didn't. I am sure as the Riverside District Attorney, Rod Pacheco, knows the facts of this situation and the responsibility he has to not only help clean up Satish Chopra’s Corona stations, but for Shell to test and remediate, as necessary, any of the other 71 stations in Riverside County.
Last and Only Chance
Riverside is the 1st county. Being the 1st, the precedent (and only chance) for Shell cleaning up the 13,000 former Texaco stations nationwide will be determined here. I respectfully request and expect the Riverside District Attorney to pay attention to this matter accordingly. As such, I sincerely thank Rod Pacheco and commend him for the courtesy and professionalism his office has brought to this issue. It is much appreciated and speaks well for the District Attorney's excellence in service to the constituents of Riverside County.
For correspondence with the Riverside District Attorney click here. Contact Info: Rod Pacheco, District Attorney, Riverside District Attorney's Office, 4075 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92501, PH: (951) 955-5431, FX: (951) 358-5017
Joe Asbury, Investigator, Bureau of Investigation Environmental Crimes
I met with Joe Asbury on June, 14, 2006. I have nothing but high praise for the way that meeting was conducted. The meeting was left with Joe Asbury getting back to me after contacting IST Laboratories (see The Solution). With the district attorney involved, the Water Board finally acknowledged it did not allow the abandonment of the equipment at that location and the Investigator was able to confirm that it would be a criminal offense if evidence of intentional abandonment is found. With SeeitReal.com, Shell can no longer profess "contrived ignorance" over the issue of abandoned sumps and lifts under former Texaco stations. We are only one definitive test from uncovering the truth.
A Definitive Test is the Issue
The wait now is for the Riverside District Attorney to take the next step of coaxing the Riverside County Health Department into doing a "definitive test." There are no good reasons for not doing a definitive test. I am sure no one wants to let a possible felon off the hook and allow a clean water aquifer to become polluted. In that the Water Board never does any testing for under-slab pollution, other than perimeter test wells, the Water Board will never catch any leaks from a deep diving plume like what happened in Tallevast Florida (article here). Additionally, the EPA has research that says standard methods of detection and abatement can actually make deep diving plumes worse (research article here). Accordingly, there is no question the public needs the DA's help in this matter. I thank Joe Asbury for his professionalism and expertise in sorting through this. I am available at any time if the Riverside District Attorney's Office needs any further assistance. SeeitReal.com needs the public to watch this issue to insure a definitive test is done.
Update 8/29/07: Riverside County did a test via an "outside consultant" that came out "inconclusive. SeeitReal.com has provided the information for doing a definitive test to the Riverside District Attorney, Riverside County Health Department, Shell Oil and the LA Times (via Judy Pasternak an investigative journalist based in Washington D.C.). Nothing is settled until a definitive test is conducted. The author of this website has continually offered to pay for that test. Picture above right is what a definitive GPR test looks like.