Boyle Heights Beat: EPA proposes Superfund designation of former Exide facility
By Andrew Lopez
Exide Technologies, the shuttered battery recycling facility in Vernon, has been proposed as a Superfund site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced, adding that a public comment period begins Thursday.
Superfund designation is given to sites whose hazardous waste pose enough threats to people and the environment to warrant federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been a longtime advocate for Superfund site designation, said in a statement Wednesday that the status would bring in “vital federal resources” to support the state’s ongoing cleanup.
“This is a huge step forward in our critical work to protect surrounding communities from Exide’s toxic legacy… We look forward to continued progress with federal partners to remedy this decades-long injustice and do right by our communities,” Newsom wrote.
Since Exide’s shutdown in 2015, the state has remediated lead contamination of more than 5,000 properties in Boyle Heights and Southeast Los Angeles neighborhoods, and has invested more than $770 million to clean up contamination resulting from the plant’s operations.
The EPA’s announcement comes less than a week after the Department of Toxic Substances Control agreed to deploy state contractors to scrub lead from more than 6,400 parkways in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Huntington Park, Maywood, Bell and other unincorporated areas, according to reporting from L.A. Public Press.
However, a June report by the EPA found the site eligible for addition to the Superfund National Priorities List based on another toxic chemical. The agency cited the presence of trichloroethylene (TCE) – a known carcinogen– in the soil that caused groundwater contamination.
Some elected officials and environmental advocates say federal funding should also go toward the removal of lead contamination, and have urged the EPA to expand the cleanup zone beyond the 1.7-mile radius.
California Sen. Alex Padilla, who along with other lawmakers called for EPA action last year, said in a written statement that the proposal puts the residents impacted by the contamination on the path to justice, and called for a “thorough clean-up of lead and other contaminants.”
“Southeast Los Angeles deserves an exhaustive clean-up that puts the health and safety of families first and foremost, and it will take a unified partnership between federal, state, and local leaders to finally get it done,” Padilla said.
Hilda Solis, L.A. County District 1 Supervisor, has advocated for Exide’s Superfund site designation for years and said in a statement that although the EPA’s proposal is something she considers a hurdle cleared, it’s “not a victory lap.”
“Our communities have suffered for too long. We must advocate for Exide and the surrounding impacted communities to be placed on the official Superfund National Priorities List in Spring 2025. This is a critical step to receive the funding necessary to address this environmental injustice and ensure the voices of the generations of people living with Exide’s contamination are heard.”
The EPA is now accepting public comments on the proposal through Nov. 4. After the 60-day comment period, the agency will make a final decision on whether to formally add it to the Superfund list as early as spring 2025, according to Michael Brogan, an EPA spokesperson.
A virtual public information session on the proposal and review on how to submit comments will be held Sept. 18, at 5:30 p.m. PT. More information about Exide and the proposed designation can be found here.
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