Exide allowed to abandon multiple recycling plant sites, leaving taxpayers to foot cleanup bill
VERNON, Calif. (CNS) -- Over the objections of state and local officials, a judge on Friday approved a bankruptcy settlement allowing Exide Technologies to abandon its former battery-recycling plant in Vernon, leaving the state -- and taxpayers -- on the hook to pay for continued environmental cleanup of the site.
Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi in Delaware ruled that there was no imminent'' threat posed by Exide's abandonment of the plant, which resulted in extensive lead pollution in the air and soil in surrounding neighborhoods. State attorneys strongly objected to the settlement reached between Exide and the federal government and vowed to appeal.
The ruling allows Exide to formally abandon the site by the end of the month, after which the state will need to take over environmental remediation efforts. Sontchi in court had harsh words for the state and Department of Toxic Substances Control, suggesting both had failed to clean up the plant in a timely manner, which was allowed to continue operating for more than 30 years on a temporary permit. DTSC officials earlier this week issued a formal determination that the condition of the site presents an "imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or to the environment.''
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In the settlement, which also covers sites in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Texas, the federal government agreed not to oppose abandonment of sites around the country, including Vernon. Debtors represent that they do not have the funds to complete the remediation and that the current funding for the bankruptcy cases is projected to be exhausted by the end of September 2020,'' according to the settlement document posted on the Department of Justice website.
Read more: https://abc7.com/exide-battery-plant-in-vernon-bankruptcy-doj/7167011/
Note: I've amended the title of the original article since this court ruling has nationwide implications.
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