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Cal EPA seeks Superfund status for Exide cleanup funding shortfall in East LA

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RECORD

Friday, November 22, 2024

Cal EPA seeks Superfund status for Exide cleanup funding shortfall in East LA

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U.s. labor secretary hilda solis

Solis | file photo

The state is appealing to the federal government for help with cleaning up contamination at Exide’s East Los Angeles facility.

The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) announced last week that it is pursuing Superfund status so that the facility can be placed on the National Priorities List.

“We are seizing the funding opportunity presented to us by the bipartisan infrastructure law to bring critical resources to the most complex cleanup this side of the Mississippi,” said Dr. Meredith Williams, director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)

The California DTSC has allocated $700 million for cleanup, which is scheduled to continue until the fall of 2025.

However, Los Angeles County Supervisor for District 1 Hilda Solis said state funding is not enough to clean up contaminated parkways and strips of land covered in grass that is found between sidewalks and streets. Solis previously worked as the U.S. Secretary of Labor under former U.S. Pres. Barack Obama.

“These areas are unavoidable in everyday life and can release lead back into the homes that we've cleaned up already,” she said. “We need to make sure that the cleanup of the Exide facility includes not just cleaning up and dismantling the buildings in the facility, but also the contamination of the soil below the facility, which would have to be cleaned up before using the property again.”

It will cost an estimated $150 million to complete the facility cleanup, according to the DTSC.

“The industrial properties surrounding the facility have yet to be investigated and their cleanup costs are therefore unknown,” said Jared Bloomfield, secretary of CalEPA. “A Superfund listing would bring federal resources and expertise to the table that have frankly been missing for too long. A Superfund designation would expedite cleanup of Exide’s poisonous legacy with the community finally receiving the national attention they deserve.”

The former plant operated for more than 100 years as a lead-acid battery recycling facility but went bankrupt in 2020. Solis, who was among those objecting to a settlement two years ago, blamed President Trump for the lack of funding.

“Under the Trump administration, the EPA and DOJ negotiated a bankruptcy court settlement with Exide that falls hundreds of millions of dollars short of estimated cleanup costs yet absolved Exide of liability going forward,” Solis said. “Unfortunately, the settlement was supported by the Trump administration and approved by a bankruptcy judge. This action helps turn the corner on that mistake.”

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