SACRAMENTO, CA - On June 9, 2023, Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D- Los Angeles) applauded calls made by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and U.S. Representatives Jimmy Gomez and Robert Garcia for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate neighborhoods contaminated by the former Exide Technologies Facility as Superfund Sites. The Superfund designation would expedite the allocation of critical resources and expertise to ensure a thorough cleanup of the impacted communities in East Los Angeles.
Given her leading role on advocating for significant investments to complete remediation work on residential properties impacted by the former Exide Technologies Facility, Assemblywoman Carrillo issued the following statement:
“I would like to thank Senator Padilla and Representatives Gomez and Garcia for visiting communities affected by the lead contamination unleashed by the Exide facility, and for joining me and my legislative colleagues in calling for a Superfund site designation from the federal EPA,” said Assemblywoman Carrillo. “In response to a letter my colleagues and I sent last fall, the EPA committed itself to supporting the California Department of Toxic Substance Control’s implementation of the Closure Plan and residential cleanup as the Superfund proposal process proceeds. Eastside communities in AD-52 must be treated with the same priority as wealthier areas.”
The former plant functioned as a lead acid battery recycling facility for many years but declared bankruptcy in 2020, absolving itself of responsibility for cleaning up the site and neighboring residential areas. Exide's careless release of pollution into the vicinity has resulted in long-lasting detrimental effects on the health of Los Angeles County residents, exposing them to toxic lead levels across generations.
Today’s press conference builds on the Assemblywoman’s work from last year supporting the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (DTSC) request for the EPA to designate the former Exide facility and the affected residential properties and parkways surrounding the facility as a Superfund Site. She has also spearheaded California State budget initiatives alongside other lawmakers, urging for extra funding to address the cleanup of contaminated parkways, aligning it with ongoing residential cleanup endeavors that have already received $573.5 million in investments. This year, the Assemblywoman also led an effort to request additional funding for the cleanup of contaminated parkways around the former Exide site, which resulted in Governor Newsom committing an additional $67.3 million in his May Revise of the 2023-24 budget proposal.
For the full text of Assemblywoman Carrillo’s letter to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, click here.
For the full text of Assemblywoman Carrillo’s letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, click here.
Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo was elected to the California State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd District of California, encompassing East LA, Northeast LA, and parts of Glendale. 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.
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