The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) is calling for a former lead-acid battery recycling plant to be given a Superfund listing to open-up federal resources to help complete the clean-up of the polluted site.
CalEPA is urging the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to list the former Exide Technologies facility in Vernon, California, US under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund).
A Superfund listing would bring in federal resources and expertise to help address toxic levels of lead at the site and surrounding areas.
The former recycling facility, which operated for more than 100 years as a lead-acid battery recycling facility, contaminated residential communities with lead and dangerous chemicals.
Exide Technologies went bankrupt in 2020 without cleaning up the contamination the State of California identified as coming from the former facility’s operations.
Under president Donald Trump’s administration, USEPA and the United States Department of Justice supported Exide’s bankruptcy plan that allowed the company to abandon their clean-up responsibilities, which the State of California objected to.
To date, the State of California has spent more than $700 million to clean up thousands of residential properties and complete much of the needed corrective action at the facility.
UEPA’s listing of this site on the National Priorities List will provide additional resources to complete the clean-up.
A letter signed by Jared Blumenfeld, secretary of CalEPA, stated: “U.S. EPA should list these areas because the former facility’s operations released contamination into surrounding neighborhoods leaving contamination that threatens the health of people who live, work, and play in nearby environmental justice communities.
“Every resource should be brought to bear to remove this contamination.”
