L.A. County battery recycler on the verge of becoming California’s next Superfund site

Los Angeles Times/MSN – July 11

A report published last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant and surrounding properties in southeast Los Angeles County qualify for listing as a federal Superfund site. For nearly a century the former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted down lead-acid car batteries, leaving as many as 10,000 properties coated in lead dust, according to state environmental regulators. The Superfund listing, however, would not be based on the presence of lead but on the concentrations of another chemical, trichloroethylene (TCE), which EPA says has seeped into the drinking water aquifer. Over the last two years, a coalition of federal and state lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and the late Dianne Feinstein, have called for the Superfund designation in an effort to obtain federal funding that could help expedite the cleanup or potentially expand its scope.

News

California advances first-in-nation plan to set water budgets for cities statewide

The Hill – July 5

California officials have approved a first-of-its-kind regulation that will set long-term limits on the amounts of water the state’s urban utilities can use on an annual basis. The State Water Resources Control Board granted unanimous support on July 3 to sweeping conservation measures that are expected to generate about 500,000 acre-feet in water savings each year by 2040. The regulation, which must still receive the final approval of the Office of Administrative Law, requires the state’s largest water suppliers to calculate individual water budgets based on residential indoor and outdoor water use, as well as on commercial, industrial, and institutional landscape consumption monitored via dedicated irrigation meters.

U.S. Navy sued by environmental group over cleanup of radioactive materials at S.F. shipyard

San Francisco Chronicle – June 28

As long-standing disputes over the $1.2 billion radiological cleanup of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point Naval Shipyard remain unresolved, two environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court on June 28 naming the U.S. Navy, which is responsible for cleaning the roughly 500-acre shipyard on the city’s southeastern waterfront in preparation for its planned redevelopment, and EPA, which oversees the effort, as defendants. The lawsuit accuses the agencies of violating the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) — a federal law governing the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste sites — alleging that the Navy has missed key deadlines for reviewing its work plans and the EPA has failed to enforce its cleanup agreement with the state of California and the Navy.

East Oakland metal foundry to pay $2.5 million in settlement

Alameda Post – July 9

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced a $2.5 million settlement with AB&I Foundry and its parent company, McWane, Inc., over alleged violations of Proposition 65 and nuisance odor complaints in East Oakland. The settlement resolves two consolidated lawsuits, which claimed AB&I unlawfully emitted hexavalent chromium, a potent carcinogen, without providing proper warnings to residents. The California Air Resources Board is separately resolving nuisance odor allegations against AB&I with assistance from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

San Bernardino County has targeted majority Latino community for warehouse development, complaint alleges

Los Angeles Times – July 3

Two environmental groups are alleging that San Bernardino County officials violated federal anti-discrimination laws by approving a disproportionate number of warehouses and logistics centers in a majority Latino community. According to the complaint filed with the federal government last week, the developments expose residents of Bloomington, an unincorporated community, to air pollution and contribute to housing instability and inequity. The complaint asks federal agencies to investigate the claims and put warehouse development in Bloomington on hold.

Law limiting new oil wells in California set to take effect after industry withdraws referendum

Associated Press – June 27

A California law that bans drilling new oil wells near places like homes and schools will take effect after the oil industry’s withdrawal of a referendum from the November ballot asking voters to overturn the law. First passed in 2022, the law had been delayed because the California Independent Petroleum Association gathered enough signatures for the referendum. The association instead now plans to file a lawsuit asking a judge to block the law.

Coalition petitions U.S. Supreme Court over California emissions mandate

The Center Square – July 7

A coalition of energy, biofuel, and agriculture groups has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging EPA’s decision to grant a waiver to California for its 2021-2025 electric vehicle (EV) mandate. The petition asks the court to vacate an appellate court decision that rejected legal arguments by 17 states challenging California’s EV mandate. The states had argued it violated their sovereign rights to set their own standards or no standards at all. The petition also asks the court to clarify that the “California waiver” in the Clean Air Act does not limit consumer access to internal combustion engine technology.