Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/975273
WINE INDUSTRY NEWS LE SS. WeHaveAnAnswerForThat.com S acramento, Calif.—Gibson Wine Co., an agricultural cooperative in Sanger, Calif., agreed to a settlement with federal agencies following the death of a winery worker in 2012. The government alleged that an accidental release of anhydrous ammonia violated the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environ- mental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and the Emer- gency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. "It's a done deal," said Sacra- mento attorney James T. Dufour, who represented Gibson in the federal lawsuit. Although the En- vironmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice had announced a settlement Feb. 5, Dufour declined to comment until a judge signed off on the consent decree, which includes $330,000 in fines to be paid in installments, as well as credit for capital improvements to the win- ery plant amounting to another $300,000. Dufour noted that the second amount is really a positive: It's safer for the environment and pro- vides a much more efficient sys- t e m a n d c o n t r o l s t h a t w i l l streamline the winemaking pro- cess. Originally, the government had demanded a total of almost $1.2 million, and co-op members feared the additional liability that might have come with a hearing not scheduled until 2020. He noted being able to pay the $330,000 in installments will lessen the financial impact on co-op members. Founded in 1939, Gibson pro- duces some 200,000 cases of wine per year by quantity, although much of the production is cooking wine shipped in bulk to restaurant chains in the U.S. and abroad. When Wines & Vines inter- viewed Gibson general manager Wayne Albrecht in February, he said that the co-op had already reached a settle- ment with the victim's family through the com- pany's workers' comp insurance. According to local news reports, Robert Munoz, 28, was working at the winery through a t e m p o r a r y s t a f f i n g agency at the time of the accident but had periodically worked at Gibson Wine Co. since 2004. The incident, which oc- curred when a worker opened the wrong valve during a routine win- ery process and released 280 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, was attributed to human error. "We're not saying you can't al- ways improve," Albrecht said. The process improvements now in place include a requirement that anyone working on equipment is licensed to do so. Refrigeration equipment, the source of the leak, was relocated, and a computer control monitor is already online. "We made a payment program with the Dept. of Justice and agreed to make improvements we were going to do anyway," he said. Albrecht had been working on the case since it began. The co-op is owned by Fresno County farmers, and when the incident happened, there were 37 participating mem- bers. That's down to 19 currently. "They didn't want to pay," for the settlement, according to Albrecht. — Jane Firstenfeld Final Settlement on Winery Ammonia Death " We made a payment pro- gram with the Department of Justice and agreed to make improvements we were going to do anyway." — Wayne Albrecht