Lead-acid firm Exide Technologies has been hit with $20 million of additional fines for alleged excess emissions of lead and arsenic.
The third amendment to the civil lawsuit filed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) on May 28 brings the total penalties up to at least $80 million.
SCAQMD filed its original lawsuit against Exide in January 2014. A second amended complaint filed on February 18 sought at least $60 million in penalties.
The complaint specifically alleges ‘Exide knew it had stored and transported lead-contaminated plastic chips inside leaking van trailers’ and was required to disclose these violations in the company’s annual compliance certifications, SCAQMD stated.
Exide admitted to knowingly storing lead-contaminated waste in leaking van trailers at its Vernon facility a significant number of times over the past two decades, in a March 11, 2015 non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, according to a SCAQMD statement.
In that agreement, Exide also admitted to knowingly and willfully causing the shipment of lead-contaminated waste in leaking van trailers from Exide’s facility in Vernon to Bakersfield a significant number of times over the past two decades.
The 55-page third amended complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The $80 million penalty is based on state law that authorizes penalties for air pollution violations from $10,000 per day for non-compliance up to $75,000 per day for willful and intentional emissions violations.
No trial date has been set for the SCAQMD’s lawsuit. The third amended complaint is posted here.
Click here for more on Exide’s Vernon plant saga: subpoena; violations; closure.