This article was first published by the nonprofit newsroom LA Public Press on Oct. 10, and is republished here with permission.
Following requests from environmental justice organizers, residents who live near the former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon now have until December 4 to submit public comments regarding the proposed addition of the site to the federal Superfund National Priority List (NPL) for cleanup — a 30-day extension.
The Exide site has landed itself on the fact-track to Superfund designation following the June publication of a 111-page report by the engineering firm Weston Solutions. That report concluded “significant elevated concentrations of trichloroethylene,” a carcinogenic liquid, had been detected in soil and vapor samples.
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a synthetic, colorless, and non-flammable chemical with a fruity, sweet smell that evaporates at room temperature. According to the National Cancer Institute, TCE can lead to kidney cancer. It has also been linked to increased risks of liver cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Lead contamination, long the focus of simmering community concerns, was not found to be a viable “pathway” the federal Environmental Protection Agency can use to designate pollution stemming from Exide a superfund cleanup. Only 10% of the residential lots sampled exceeded three times soil “background” contamination levels, a distinction important in the complicated rules that govern what is and isn’t officially a “Superfund” eligible site.
According to Stephanie Steinbrecher, who is the EPA’s community involvement coordinator in Los Angeles, the agency’s intention in opening public comment is to gauge community support for cleanup of the underground water contamination stemming from Exide.
“Our goal on the Superfund program is to protect human life and the environment,” said Stenbrecher at a recent online public information forum.
Following a request by Communities for a Better Environment, the EPA extended the deadline to submit public comments by a further 30-days. The initial comment period had been scheduled to close Nov. 4. It now closes on December 4.
A Superfund designation may open the door to more residential lead investigations
Although lead contamination is not the lever being pulled to move Exide towards a Superfund designation, such a designation opens the door for more investigations of residential lots with alleged hazardous lead levels.
Rusty Harris-Bishop, the EPA’s Section Manager for Remedial Projects, said the government will start with the facility will start with the facility, and stretch out to investigate “where the contamination can take us.”
He declined to say how many residential properties may be subject to remedial investigations, or provide a timeline.
However, Harris-Bishop underscored commercial, railroads and other industrial properties may be part of the environmental examinations, and reports about lead releases conducted by the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control and health agencies will be considered in the final decision.
Anyone can write and submit a public comment related to the site’s potential Superfund designation, he said, regardless of whether they live near the plant, or far away in the country.
“Once the site is listed, we can determine actions quicker, and the extent of contamination. A timeline would be placed. It’s a slow, thorough process,” said Harris-Bishop.
What do locals think?
Boyle Heights resident Joe Gonzalez said he will submit a comment in support of the Superfund, underscore folks’ demands for more residential soil investigations and cleanups on stale properties with lead amounts of at least 80 parts of lead per million of soil.
“That is a very positive step,” said Gonzalez, who is battling cancer he blames on Exide lead.
Many residents say the stagnant lead poses hazards to humans, pets and plants, and has caused a myriad of diseases and deaths.
Monsignor John Moretta, with the Resurrection Catholic Church in Boyle Heights, welcomed the period for public comments, but worried that enlisting the site as Superfund may ignore tainted water running outside the current 1.7-mile radius area under investigation by the DTSC.
“I am concerned that the water pollution and investigation will be limited to the plant. [Underground] water travels,” said Moretta at a recent community gathering of 10 residents to discuss news about the area’s cleanups.
The June report said high TCE concentrations found below the plant’s groundwater wells, mainly in the south yard, surpassed three times the area’s background levels, and four times the amount considered safe for public drinking water. TCE poses a threat to an underground aquifers in the area, including the Exposition and Jefferson aquifers.
Elected officials weigh in
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion last month encouraging the U.S. EPA to enlist the Exide plant and surrounding communities in the NPL.
In a statement, Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn said families impacted by Exide’s disaster have faced multiple indignities. First their homes were marred by toxic contamination, and now there are serious concerns about the pace, efficacy and scale of the state’s cleanup efforts.
“Securing the Superfund designation will mean that the federal government grasps what we’ve already known: that this problem is urgent, and that these communities deserve better,” said Hahn, whose district covers most of the impacted neighborhoods with Exide lead. “It is not just about cleaning up contamination; it’s about restoring dignity for these communities.”
Hahn said the board planned to send the U.S EPA a letter reaffirming its support for “this important step” in finishing the cleanup with the breadth and resources available with Superfund sites.
For his part, U.S Congressman Robert Garcia, who represents California’s 42th District, said the EPA’s intent to designate Exide a superfund is a key step towards a full federal cleanup of the site.
“I will be working tirelessly to make sure the EPA pursues the strongest possible lead cleanup and remediation effort, to the highest possible standard,” said Garcia after the September 4 announcement.
DTSC cleanup ongoing
As of September 20, the DTSC had treated 5,432 properties tarnished with Exide lead, and anticipates addressing 5,940 through June 2025. That’s when state allocated funds for parcel remediation are anticipated to run out. California has approved $772 million for soil remediation stemming from Exide’s lead contamination.
Previously, the DTSC identified more than 10,000 properties that were potentially blanketed with lead plumes before the Exide plant closed in 2015.
It has taken years to move the Exide plant toward Superfund status. In July of 2022, First District LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis pleaded with EPA’s Administrator Michael Regan in a letter to add the former battery smelter to the agency’s superfund list.
“US EPA’s placing this facility on the Superfund list will provide additional, crucial resources to complete this urgent cleanup,” wrote Supervisor Hilda Solis in a letter. She also authored the recent Board of Supervisors’ motion.
EPA staff said public comments can be submitted online directly to the EPA. The previous link will take you directly to the page to make a comment. You can also access the Exide case file, including all published materials including other public comments, by navigating to regulations.gov, and entering the case docket number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0376 on the search space.
In addition, folks can submit comments by mail to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA Docket Center Superfund
[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0376]
Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20406.
Leslie Ramirez, EPA’s Superfund Assistant Manager, said the shuttered battery smelter may be added to the NPL in spring, but not later than fall 2025. She said the EPA takes people’s comments into account to help folks understand how the agency reaches a decision, and why. Plus, Ramirez said the EPA will address and respond to all comments individually.