EXIDE VERNON BREAKING NEWS: Los Angeles County considers lawsuit against Exide; Supervisor hopes to permanently shutter Exide’s troubled lead smelter
Exide was named the worst lead polluter in California and the third worst in the nation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“We have been going through the process, we have been respectful,†Molina told EGP. “Ignoring us is not the way to go,†she said about a potential lawsuit.
Molina, like many eastside residents, expressed frustration over the failure of state regulatory agencies, namely the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) and Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to ensure that hazardous waste facilities like Exide are not a threat to local residents.
State regulators know “that unacceptable levels of lead, arsenic and benzene caused by Exide’s battery recycling operation have contaminated air, water and soil in the surrounding area,†Molina repeated Wednesday. “This community deserves better.â€
EGPNEWS.COM
County Considers Lawsuit Against Exide
By Nancy Martinez, EGP Staff Writer
Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, ground zero in the fight to shut down embattled Exide Technologies in Vernon, was jammed-packed Monday with residents who were told a major announcement involving the battery-recycler was about to be made.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, joined by members of the County Toxic Threat Strike Team and legal counsel, announced she would ask her fellow supervisors next week to consider legal action against Exide.
Molina gave few details about the nature of a possible lawsuit, but stressed that the intention is to ensure Exide does its due diligence by cleaning up the community and conducting further lead testing.
“We have been going through the process, we have been respectful,†Molina told EGP. “Ignoring us is not the way to go,†she said about a potential lawsuit.
Molina, like many eastside residents, expressed frustration over the failure of state regulatory agencies, namely the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) and Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to ensure that hazardous waste facilities like Exide are not a threat to local residents.
State regulators know “that unacceptable levels of lead, arsenic and benzene caused by Exide’s battery recycling operation have contaminated air, water and soil in the surrounding area,†Molina repeated Wednesday. “This community deserves better.â€
DTSC has allowed Exide, an acid-lead battery recycler and lead smelter, to operate under a temporary permit for 33 years.
Exide was named the worst lead polluter in California and the third worst in the nation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Exide has filed 18 separate permit applications for their air pollution control systems to comply with SCAQMD rules and regulations, and has submitted plans to implement a risk reduction plan to demonstrate they are complying with the state’s health risk thresholds, according to SCAQMD spokesperson Tina Cox.
However, “Full compliance can’t be determined until Exide completes the construction of the improvements to the air pollution control equipment and demonstrates full compliance through source testing,†said Cox in an email.
People living near Exide have been up in arms for more than a year, angry that despite being cited multiple times for higher than allowed emission levels of cancer causing chemicals, there has been no movement to shut the plant down permanently.
The plant has been closed since March 14 as the company works to upgrade pollution controls and meet other DTSC requirements, according to Cox.
A member of the audience asked Molina to explain how this lawsuit will be different from all the other tactics tried unsuccessfully to shut down Exide.
“Is this lawsuit going to do anything to force Exide to close,†longtime Boyle Heights resident Terry Cano wanted to know.
“We ask that you trust the health department,†responded Angelo Bellomo, a member of the  toxic threat strike team. “We’re working on it and we’re serious about it.â€
“Well I’m serious when I say I don’t have the patience or the time,†said a frustrated Cano.
Molina said Gov. Brown has failed to respond to a letter sent to him in August asking that he intervene in the Exide case and for him to ensure state funds are available for testing and remediation at all 39 homes found to have soil contaminated with lead. The letter also asked for testing of the interiors of the problematic properties, and for them to be cleaned up if warranted.
But Bellomo warned testing is complicated and could take years to connect specific illnesses to exposure to Exide emissions.
“I wish it wasn’t that way, but that’s science,†he told the 200 or so residents at Monday’s meeting. “It limits what can be done,†he said.
Molina said the governor was also asked to launch an investigation into the system breakdowns that contributed to the agencies failure to provide adequate oversight, to prosecute violators, or to ensure that hazardous waste producing companies have enough funding set aside for cleanup as required by law.
Molina said Gov. Brown has also not responded to her repeated phone calls. “I’m a little angry with him and personally disappointed,†she said.
What’s it going to take to get the governor to visit Boyle Heights and other impacted communities, someone else asked.
“I wish the governor was here to explain why they’re not doing anything,†responded Molina.
Brown recently signed a bill by Sen. Ricardo Lara that will require DTSC to either grant Exide a full permit by the end of the year or shut it down, but vetoed a bill by Sen. Kevin de Leon that would have overhauled DTSC’s permitting process and established a citizen’s oversight committee.
Saying, “Talk is really cheap,†Barry Groveman, counsel to the toxic threat strike force, said they hope a lawsuit will lead to action by the courts.
“The goal is to get them to clean up,†said Groveman, adding the lawsuit is an attempt to create jurisdiction for the county.
“I’m sorry for the amount of time it has taken, but there is going to be results.â€
Vocal Boyle Heights resident Miguel Alfaro said he hopes the county is also talking to the regulatory agencies.
“Our experience, with all these arguments, is [the agencies] don’t talk with each other,†Alfaro said.
Groveman acknowledged there is a lot of work to be done, such as getting to the root of why SCAQMD is considering improvement permits when DTSC hasn’t even decided if Exide will be allowed to operate.
Molina stressed that the goal is to not shut Exide down before first making sure the company pays for cleaning up the site and other affected areas.
“What we don’t want to happen is for them to get up and leave,†said Molina, noting the company had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Groveman said taxpayers should not have to pay for the cleanup.
If the lawsuit goes to court, “the law will take care of the problem,†said Groveman, who also suggested Exide’s customers could potentially be held liable.
Exide told EGP they had no comment at this time.
Alfaro told EGP he’s worried a lawsuit will only slow down the process.
David Pettit, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council said if rumors that DTSC and Exide are close toreaching an agreement are true, a lawsuit would be too late.
DTSC Spokesperson Sandy Nax said the agency could not respond to EGP’s request for an update on the status of Exide’s permit, including whether a deal is near, until Thursday.
Rev. Monsignor John Moretta of Resurrection Church told EGP he believes the community’s issues with Exide will be settled in the courts one way or the other, referring to rumors of a federal indictment coming against Exide.
“We hope that all levels of government use their resources to protect the health of a very abused community,†Moretta said.
According to Groveman, the toxic threat strike team until now was focused on cutting through all the red tape, but that’s about to change.
“We believe in a couple of months we will see activity and action that will make a difference.â€
MYNEWSLA.COM – CITY NEWS SERVICE
L.A. Supervisor hopes to permanently shutter Exide battery recycling plant
POSTED BY JOHN SCHREIBER ON NOVEMBER 5, 2014
Los Angeles
Saying state regulators have failed, a county supervisor said Wednesday she hopes to find a way to permanently shut down the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon.
Supervisor Gloria Molina wants county attorneys to evaluate legal options for forcing a shutdown and abatement of contamination from the plant. She plans to bring the matter to her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors next week.
State regulators know “that unacceptable levels of lead, arsenic and benzene caused by Exide’s battery recycling operation have contaminated air, water and soil in the surrounding area,†Molina said. “This community deserves better.â€
The plant has been closed since mid-March while management works to upgrade pollution controls and meet other regulatory requirements.
In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control — which has allowed the plant to operate under a temporary permit for 33 years — to either issue a permanent permit or shut the plant down by the end of 2015.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined that Exide was the worst lead polluter in California and the third worst in the nation,†Molina said.
In May, the EPA announced that the plant violated federal limits on lead emissions on more than 30 occasions between September and April.
A toxic threat strike team established by the county identified 39 homes in Boyle Heights and Maywood where elevated levels of lead were found in yards.
Exide, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, has said the lead in nearby homes may come from sources other than the plant, but said it is collaborating with regulators.
Investigations by the DTSC also 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.
The plant, in operation since 1922, had been recycling about 25,000 batteries daily, a function Exide called critical to environmental sustainability.
