EXIDE VERNON BREAKING NEWS / MEDIA ROUNDUP: Los Angeles County official blasts ‘secret’ deal among Gov. Jerry Brown, DTSC and Exide; LA County Board of Supervisors approves motion to have attorneys consider legal options to force closing of Exide’s violation-ridden lead smelter and cleanup of nearby neighborhoods
CBS LOS ANGELES
Official Blasts “Secret” Deal Over Battery Recycling Plant
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles County official Wednesday called for legal action against a battery recycling plant in Vernon which authorities say has operated without a permit for decades.
Supervisor Gloria Molina held a rally outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration along with environmental justice advocates, community activists, and concerned Boyle Heights residents to urge the Board of Supervisors to move against Exide Technologies. Following the rally, the Board of Supervisors voted to have county attorneys evaluate options to force a shutdown of the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon and the clean-up of contamination in nearby neighborhoods.
Molina accused Gov. Jerry Brown and state regulators of reaching a “secret agreement†to issue a permit for the plant – one that Molina said doesn’t nearly go far enough to protect members of the community. Brown signed a bill in September that requires the state Department of Toxic Substances to either issue a permanent permit or shut the plant down by the end of 2015.
It is hard for me to control the kind of temper that I have,†said Molina, who told reporters that the governor would not return her calls and was showing disrespect to the citizens of Boyle Heights. Regulators would be more responsive if the pollution from the plant were affecting “a different kind of neighborhood,†Molina added.
Exide is struggling to reopen the plant after the company agreed last week to set aside nearly $50 million to meet demands by state regulators.
“This is not an order, it is a very weak agreement that can evaporate at any time,†LA County Director of Environmental Health Angelo Bellomo said. The Department of Toxic Substances has ordered Exide to set aside $38.6 million for cleanup costs if its Vernon plant ever closes. Such funding is required for hazardous material facilities.
Exide also was ordered to put aside $9 million to clean up two neighborhoods that may have been contaminated by airborne lead from the plant. Tests have found lead in dozens of yards. But Molina said the community is still being shortchanged despite the action taken by state regulators.
“When the DTSC made this backroom deal with Exide, the Boyle Heights community was not at the table – and they deserve better assurances than what they got, which was full of loopholes,†Molina said in a statement. “We need faster, more solid guarantees that this toxic hazard – which has festered for far too long – will be cleaned up to the community’s satisfaction.â€
Exide – which is the worst lead polluter in California and the third worst lead polluter in the entire U.S. – smelted 25,000 batteries a day at the plant. It closed in March until it can meet requirements from regional anti-pollution regulators.
DTSC responded with a statement, saying, “This is no deal for Exide. It is an enforcement order that binds the company to clean up the community and set aside funds to do the work. This is just the beginning.â€
NBC LOS ANGELES
LA County Considers Legal Options to Shut Exide Plant
The Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to have county attorneys evaluate options to force a shutdown of the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon and the cleanup of contamination in nearby neighborhoods.
Supervisor Gloria Molina held a news conference in advance of the vote, accusing Gov. Jerry Brown and state regulators of striking a “secret agreement” to issue a permit for the plant. She said that agreement does not go far enough to protect the community.
“It is hard for me to control the kind of temper that I have,” Molina said, telling reporters gathered outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration that the governor would not return her calls and was showing disrespect to the citizens of Boyle Heights.
“The governor needs to come by” to meet with residents, Molina said. Regulators would be more responsive if the pollution from the plant were affecting “a different kind of neighborhood,” she said.
More Than 100 Exide Employees Receive Layoff Notices
![[LA] More Than 100 Exide Employees Receive Layoff Notices](http://media.nbclosangeles.com/images/620*349/N5PPKGEXIDELAYOFFSWEB_1200x675_233538627768.jpg)
In September, Brown signed a bill requiring the Department of Toxic Substances Control to either issue a permanent permit or shut the plant down by the end of 2015.
The Exide plant has been closed since mid-March while management works to upgrade pollution controls and meet other regulatory requirements.
State regulators last week announced an enforcement order that requires Exide to spend $9 million to clean up contamination in Boyle Heights and Maywood and set aside more than $38 million to cover the cost of potentially closing the plant.
Regulators said Wednesday the $9 million will be enough to pay to clean up 215 homes and that the order is binding, even if Exide was to be liquidated.
Exide Plant Neighbors Offered Free Blood Tests
![[LA] Exide Plant Neighbors Offered Free Blood Tests](http://media.nbclosangeles.com/images/620*381/01-edixe.JPG)
“DTSC has been clear since day one,” said DTSC spokesman Sandy Nax.
“Exide is liable for cleaning up its contamination in the surrounding neighborhoods. We were the first agency to step in and suspend Exide’s operation.”
The order is subject to the approval of a bankruptcy judge in Delaware.
The company filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2013.
Soil Test Shows Lead Contamination
![[LA] Soil Test Shows Lead Contamination Near Exide Plant](http://media.nbclosangeles.com/images/620*349/6PEXIDEMEETINGweb_1200x675_199542339719.jpg)
“The department’s order is tough and robust, requiring Exide to comply with numerous stringent actions as the company seeks to obtain its permanent permit,” said Thomas Strang, Exide’s vice president of environmental health and safety. “Exide is committed to working with regulators, operating a premier recycling facility, putting our employees back to work and engaging transparently with the community.”
Community activists said the order will not get the job done.
“It is full of holes and ambiguities,” said Gladys Limon, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment.
A county public health official agreed, calling the state enforcement order without “teeth” and full of loopholes.
Residents Demand Action After Lead Found in Soil
![[LA] Residents Demand Action After Lead Found in Soil](http://media.nbclosangeles.com/images/620*349/N5PPKGEXIDEweb_1200x675_192193603926.jpg)
It is “a very weak agreement that can evaporate at any time,” said Angelo Bellomo, the Department of Public Health’s director of environment health and the head of a county strike team on the issue.
DTSC officials disagreed, saying the order doesn’t cap the total cost of any cleanup and that it isn’t the end of regulatory orders against the battery plant.
“This is just the beginning,” Nax said, outlining the process for further investigation and cleanup measures. “We anticipate issuing additional orders as we gain more information about the company’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.”
The regulatory agency has been working with county public health and law enforcement officials, Nax said, holding bi-weekly meetings with technical staff. The cleanup plan was developed in coordination with the Department of Public Health and was circulated for 30 days for public comment, Nax said.
Bellomo said his department had been shut out of discussions for months — in what he characterized as a “virtual blackout of communications” — until he got a call last week to inform him an agreement had been reached.
Despite repeated requests, the results of soil sampling for the bulk of neighborhood properties has not been shared with the county, according to Bellomo.
Exide has been under fire for years over the operation of its Vernon plant, which regulators have faulted for excess emissions of lead and arsenic. Residents and elected officials have rallied for its closure.
The health effect on residents is hard to quantify, Bellomo said.
The DTSC — which has allowed the plant to operate under a temporary permit for 33 years — found instances of acid battery waste leaking from trailers on site and at least one truck transporting the hazardous material from the Vernon facility.
A federal grand jury is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.
When operational, the plant recycles about 25,000 batteries daily. It is one of only two lead-acid battery recycling plants west of the Rockies.
The agreed-upon cleanup effort includes 39 previously identified properties near the plant that had elevated levels of lead in the soil, along with other properties found to have high lead concentrations, according to Exide and the DTSC.
“We recognize the community’s concerns and have committed to clean residential properties and work efficiently to minimize disruptions to residents,” Strang said last week.
Regulators are working with homeowners now to coordinate removal of contaminated soil, Nax said.
A community activist said regulators and the company have proven time and again that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing and demanded a permanent shutdown.
“We can’t trust DTSC and Exide to do what’s right for our community,” said Mark Lopez, director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. “It is reckless for the state to continue operations.”
The board’s vote was unanimous. A report back on legal options is expected next week.
 MYNEWSLA.COM
Board of Supervisors pushes legal efforts to force shutdown of Exide battery plant
The Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to have county attorneys evaluate options to force a shutdown of the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon and the clean-up of contamination in nearby neighborhoods.
Supervisor Gloria Molina held a news conference in advance of the vote, accusing Gov. Jerry Brown and regulators of striking a “secret agreement†to issue a permit for the plant. She said that agreement does not go far enough to protect the community.
“It is hard for me to control the kind of temper that I have,†Molina said, telling reporters gathered outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration that the governor would not return her calls and was showing disrespect to the citizens of Boyle Heights.
“The governor needs to come by†to meet with residents, Molina said. Regulators would be more responsive if the pollution from the plant were affecting “a different kind of neighborhood,†she said.
In September, Brown signed a bill requiring the Department of Toxic Substances Control to either issue a permanent permit or shut the plant down by the end of 2015.
The Exide plant has been closed since mid-March while management works to upgrade pollution controls and meet other regulatory requirements.
State regulators announced an enforcement order last week that requires Exide to spend $9 million to clean up contamination in Boyle Heights and Maywood and set aside more than $38 million to cover the cost of potentially closing the plant.
Regulators said today the $9 million will be enough to pay to clean up 215 homes and that the order is binding, even if Exide is liquidated.
“DTSC has been clear since day one,†said DTSC spokesman Sandy Nax. “Exide is liable for cleaning up its contamination in the surrounding neighborhoods. We were the first agency to step in and suspend Exide’s operation.â€
The order is subject to the approval of a bankruptcy judge in Delaware. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2013.
“The department’s order is tough and robust, requiring Exide to comply with numerous stringent actions as the company seeks to obtain its permanent permit,†said Thomas Strang, Exide’s vice president of environmental health and safety. “Exide is committed to working with regulators, operating a premier recycling facility, putting our employees back to work and engaging transparently with the community.â€
But community activists said the order will not get the job done.
“It is full of holes and ambiguities,†said Gladys Limon, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment.
A county public health official agreed, calling the state enforcement order without “teeth†and full of loopholes.
It is “a very weak agreement that can evaporate at any time,†said Angelo Bellomo, the Department of Public Health’s director of environment health and the head of a county strike team on the issue.
DTSC officials disagreed, saying the order doesn’t cap the total cost of any cleanup and that it isn’t the end of regulatory orders against the battery plant.
“This is just the beginning,†Nax said, outlining the process for further investigation and clean-up measures. “We anticipate issuing additional orders as we gain more information about the company’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.â€
The regulatory agency has been working with county public health and law enforcement officials, Nax said, holding bi-weekly meetings with technical staff. The clean-up plan was developed in coordination with the Department of Public Health and was circulated for 30 days for public comment, Nax said.
Exide has been under fire for years over the operation of its Vernon plant, which regulators have faulted for excess emissions of lead and arsenic. Residents and elected officials have rallied for its closure.
The health effect on residents is hard to quantify, Bellomo said.
The DTSC — which has allowed the plant to operate under a temporary permit for 33 years — found instances of acid battery waste leaking from trailers on site and at least one truck transporting the hazardous material from the Vernon facility. A federal grand jury is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.
When operational, the plant recycles about 25,000 batteries daily. It is one of only two lead-acid battery recycling plants west of the Rockies.
The agreed-upon cleanup effort includes 39 previously identified properties near the plant that had elevated levels of lead in the soil, along with other properties found to have high lead concentrations, according to Exide and the DTSC.
“We recognize the community’s concerns and have committed to clean residential properties and work efficiently to minimize disruptions to residents,†Strang said last week.
Regulators are working with homeowners now to coordinate removal of contaminated soil, Nax said.
A community activist said regulators and the company have proven time and again that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing and demanded a permanent shutdown.
“We can’t trust DTSC and Exide to do what’s right for our community,†said Mark Lopez, director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. “It is reckless for the state to continue operations.â€
The board’s vote was unanimous. A report back on legal options is expected next week.
— City News Service
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LA County considers legal action to shut down Exide plant
Foes of Exide Technologies plant
Boyle Heights resident Veta Gashgai, 40, holding 1-month-old son Rogelio Solis, listens at a news conference where opposition to a state deal with Exide Technologies was voiced. (Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times)
By TONY BARBOZA
November 12, 2014, 8:05 p.m.
Los Angeles County is considering legal action against a Vernon battery recycler accused of threatening the health of nearby residents with its lead and arsenic emissions.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday instructed its lawyers to “explore potential legal actions against Exide Technologies” and report back in a week with ways to force Exide to close the facility and fix contamination in surrounding communities.
Supervisor Gloria Molina drafted the motion because she said an agreement that state regulators struck with the company last week to clean up pollution in neighborhoods around the plant is weak and riddled with loopholes.
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control announced an agreement that settles disputes over pollution and hazardous waste at Exide’s lead-acid battery recycling plant about five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It requires the company to set aside $38.6 million over the next 10 years for the facility’s cleanup should it close.
Both Exide and state regulators lauded the agreement as an important move in cleaning up the plant’s operations.
Molina said the agreement was a “closed-door” deal made without local input. She said it did not provide enough cleanup money or protect residents from future pollution.
“Trying to go behind the scenes and make this kind of a deal is very, very upsetting to us,” Molina said at a news conference.
Exide, one of the world’s largest producers of lead acid batteries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. In August, a financial disclosure by the company revealed that a federal grand jury is conducting a criminal investigation involving the Vernon plant.
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control has for decades allowed the plant to operate with a temporary permit, but it has been idle since March because it could not comply with new air quality regulations.
In addition to the cleanup money, the deal also requires Exide to pay $526,000 in fines for hazardous waste violations and $760,000 to reimburse the state for overseeing the facility. Over the next five years, the company is required to pay $9 million into a trust fund to pay for cleanup of lead-contaminated soil at homes in Maywood and Boyle Heights.
But county officials said the agreement could allow Exide to avoid payments for cleaning homes if bankruptcy proceedings don’t go smoothly.
Exide called the agreement “a crucial step forward” in its effort to obtain a permanent hazardous waste permit. Under a new California law, if the company does not obtain the permit by the end of next year, the facility must be shut down. Exide officials said they anticipate resuming operations as early as the spring.
Thomas Strang, Exide’s vice president for environmental health and safety, called the order “really tough.”
“We’re working hard with the regulators to move this thing forward,” he said.
State toxic waste regulators defended the agreement and said more orders could be issued in the future.
“This is no deal for Exide,” the Department of Toxic Substances Control said in an emailed statement. “It is an enforcement order that binds the company to clean up the community.”
Exide’s facility has provoked community outrage since last year, when air quality officials revealed that its emissions of arsenic, a cancer-causing air pollutant, posed a health risk to more than 100,000 people.
Los Angeles News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
FOX LOS ANGELES
Community Leaders Demand A Solution To The Exide Plant Issues
Posted: Nov 12, 2014 11:29 PM CST
Updated: Nov 12, 2014 11:30 PM CST
By: Christina Gonzalez, Reporter
Veta Gashjai picks up her newborn Rogelio, cooing softly as she takes him outside her Whittier Avenue home. She moved into the duplex 7 years ago, with the help of a program making it easier for teachers to buy houses where they teach. Her his husband and three other children excited about their new home, until they found out recently that they are within an area of high concern for contamination.
High levels of arsenic and lead have been found in several homes in the area. County health officials and area residents place the blame on a battery recycler in nearby Vernon. EXIDE, which has operated for three decades, until a forced closure in March, has entered into an agreement with state officials to spend millions of dollars to clean the affected neighborhoods. But the results of tests on residences, even the people living here, to determine levels of contamination have been released piecemeal. No official plan for cleanup has been offered and L.A. County supervisors are mad.
“The Governor won’t even return my calls!” Says an exasperated supervisor Gloria Molina, adding that California’s Department of Toxic Substances is entering into agreements with the company without communicating with the County Health Department or residents. DTSC entered into an agreement with the company which they describe as robust, demanding millions of dollars for cleanup. State officials, though, are leaving the option for the plant to reopen, even though it has been faulted for serious violations and is being investigated for criminal action.
“That’s like telling a liquor store that is found selling booze to minors, repeatedly, that they can reopen of they promise not to do it again!” says Veta. She can’t afford to move, and says she is being told by DTSC officials that if she stays, it will take about ten years from her life span.
Exide officials say they are doing everything they can to be a good neighbor, but would like to reopen. They insist there is no proof that it’s their plant that is responsible for the contamination In a neighborhood built within an industrial corridor.
Today’s approved motion means that the county’s legal counsel will look at options and come back next week’s with ideas. Supervisor Molina says she hopes to sue the company into cleaning the area and shutting down.
