SACRAMENTO, CA - Today, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his May Revise of the 2023-24 budget proposal, which includes $67.3million from the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund over two years, including $40.4 million in 2023-24 and $26.9 million in 2024-25, to clean up 6,425 parkways surrounding the former Exide Technologies (Exide) facility identified with high levels of lead.
The former plant operated as a lead acid battery recycling facility for decades but went bankrupt in 2020 and abandoned its full liability for cleanup of the site and surrounding residential areas. The pollution Exide recklessly released into the surrounding area has left generations of Los Angeles County residents impacted by toxic lead levels.
Given her leading role on advocating for significant investments to complete remediation work on residential properties impacted by Exide, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) issued the following statement:
“I applaud Governor Newsom’s ongoing commitment to invest an additional $67.3million for cleanup efforts of parkways around the former Exide site. With the health of our communities being the priority, I recently led an effort with other colleagues requesting additional funding for the cleanup of contaminated parkways, so it is done alongside other residential cleanup efforts for which we have invested $573.5 million to date. This new funding commitment is another critical step towards reducing our exposure to lead and halting the generations of harm that Exide brought to our community, and I look forward to making sure this remains a priority for the Legislature, as we work towards adopting the final budget.”
The former Exide Technologies facility, which was located in the City of Vernon, recycled lead-acid batteries from the 1920s until 2015, caused contamination of the land and air with hazardous materials, including lead.
The State of California has been actively supporting testing and cleanup in the area, overseen by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Soil sampling confirmed that lead from the facility's air emissions spread up to 1.7 miles away. The DTSC conducted lead testing in parkways within the affected radius, revealing elevated lead and metal levels in 6,425 samples.
The May Revision’s investment builds upon previous efforts by Assemblywoman Carrillo’s office and the Governor’s office to protect communities and the environment from hazardous chemicals. In a letter to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Assemblywoman Carrillo called for additional information to better inform funding decisions in this year’s State Budget to fund the cleanup of parkways around Exide Technologies’ (Exide) that have been contaminated by lead. For the full text of the letter, click here.
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Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo was elected to the California State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd District of California, encompassing large parts of East and North Los Angeles. She has served as the Chair of Budget Sub-Committee #4 on State Administration, and a member of the Appropriations, Health, Housing and Community Development, and Utilities and Energy Committees, as well as Chair of the Select Committee on Latina Inequities