The owners of a Walla Walla Chevron gas station have reached a settlement with state ecology officials regarding penalties and cleanup costs for a 2023 gasoline leak that contaminated groundwater and led to the evacuation of the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel. 

Wine and Country Store LLC, previously known as Stillwater Holdings LLC, faced $4.8 million in cleanup cost recovery and penalties for the fuel spill.  

Under the settlement, Wine and Country Store LLC will pay $275,000 within 30 days, comply with a contaminated site cleanup enforcement order and withdraw the penalty appeal from the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board. 

The business’ settlement with the state Department of Ecology is intended to more quickly address ongoing environmental risks and avoid additional legal costs, according to a release. The settlement includes agreement that ecology’s time spent overseeing and completing the final cleanup will be reflected in a lien on the property to allow recovery of tax dollars. 

“This agreement paves the way to remove all of the old fuel tanks at the site,” said Brook Beeler, ecology’s eastern region director, said in a statement. “This is the best path to protecting the environment, protecting people, and supporting the local economy.” 

The incident began in September 2023 when the Marcus Whitman Hotel in downtown Walla Walla was evacuated due to gas odors. Testing identified potentially harmful vapors and gasoline in the basement and in two nearby buildings. The buildings were ventilated to eliminate the risk of an explosion, and the buildings’ drainage systems, also known as sumps, were pumped to reduce vapor concentrations.    

Investigators estimate 2,500 gallons of gasoline was allowed to leak into groundwater and affect neighboring buildings.  

In May 2025, Stillwater Holdings told ecology that it could pay for little or no more work, and that the state would need to take over. By law, Stillwater Holdings is responsible for the pollution, responding to the emergency and cleaning up the contamination.  

Ecology issued an enforcement order to the owners in July 2024, requiring them to reduce harmful vapors and remove contaminated water from nearby buildings.  

In September 2025, ecology issued a $738,000 penalty against Wine and Country Store LLC for spilling oil into state waters and failing to notify state officials. That was on top of $4.1 million in from the state’s spill response and pollution mitigation expenses. 

Wine and Country Store LLC could still end up paying the full penalty. The state will suspend the full penalty and cost recovery amount to ensure the company fulfills its end of the settlement. The full penalty and cost recovery amount will be held in suspension to ensure the LLC meets its end of the deal.  

“If the owner does not fulfill the requirements of the settlement, the remaining amount of the penalty and cost reimbursement order will be due,” ecology said in a statement.