BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 118
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
118 (Santiago)
As Amended April 6, 2016
Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect
Immediately
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|ASSEMBLY: |51-27 |(March 23, |SENATE: |38-0 |(April 7, 2016) |
| | |2015) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: BUDGET
SUMMARY: Contains necessary statutory and technical changes to
implement SB 93 (De León and Lara) of the current legislative
session, which amends the 2015-16 Budget Act related to the
urgent cleanup of lead contamination in the communities
surrounding the Exide Technologies facility in the City of
Vernon. This bill, along with SB 93, proposes expenditures of
$176.6 million for cleanup-related activities.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Appropriate $176.6 million (Toxic Substances Control Account)
to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to use
for any of the following purposes:
a) Activities related to the cleanup and investigation of
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properties contaminated with lead in the communities
surrounding the Exide Technologies facility in the City of
Vernon, California.
b) Job training activities related to the cleanup and
investigation of the properties contaminated with lead in
these communities.
c) Actions taken to pursue all available remedies against
potentially responsible parties, including, but not limited
to, cost recovery actions against entities that are
potentially responsible, for the costs related to the
cleanup and investigation of properties contaminated with
lead in these communities.
2)Direct DTSC to engage the impacted community and provide
meaningful opportunities for the public to participate in the
Department's cleanup plan preparation process, which shall
include at a minimum, a quarterly public meeting.
3)Stipulate that DTSC shall prepare and make available a Public
Participation Plan that specifies the DTSC's commitments to
engage and involve the community in the cleanup plan
preparation process.
4)Specify that the DTSC meet all applicable public participation
and notification requirements outlined in the
Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act
(state Superfund law, Health and Safety Code Section 25300).
5)Require DTSC to develop a Job and Development Training Program
with the goals of providing environmental skills, health and
safety training, and support for job placement related to the
cleanup for community members living near the Exide
Technologies facility.
6)Specify that the DTSC post on its Web site the number of
access agreements signed, the number properties sampled, and
the number of properties cleaned up and shall updated these
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numbers at least twice a month.
7)Direct the DTSC to provide an annual report to the Senate and
Assembly Budget Committee's that address the following:
a) An update on the cleanup activities near the Exide
Technologies facility in Vernon, including a summary of the
environmental review of the cleanup activities;
b) The number of properties sampled and a summary of the
findings (this can be broken down in the approximate number
of homes in priority 1, 2 and 3);
c) The number of properties that have been remediated
(cleaned up); and
d) The number of access agreements signed.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriates $176.6 million from the Toxic
Substances Control Account.
COMMENTS: Exide Technologies is located in the City of Vernon,
about five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The
facility occupies 15 acres in a heavily industrial region with
surrounding residential areas. Facility operations included
recycling lead-bearing scrap materials obtained from spent
lead-acid batteries. This facility operated under an interim
status for over 30 years. During that time, inspectors
documented more than 100 violations, including lead and acid
leaks, an overflowing pond of toxic sludge, enormous cracks in
the floor and hazardous levels of lead in the soil outside.
DTSC permanently suspended operations at Exide in 2014 and the
facility closed in 2015 after DTSC notified Exide that its
application for a new permit would be denied. The DTSC then
ordered Exide to test and clean up residential properties and
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conducted its own testing.
The DTSC's analysis indicates that releases from the facility
deposited lead dust across an area of southeast Los Angeles
County, resulting in contamination extending 1.7 miles from the
facility and impacting up to 10,000 properties, including
residences, parks, and schools. The South Coast Air Quality
Management District also cited the facility numerous times, and
reported that arsenic emissions from Exide created an elevated
risk of cancer for as many as 11,000 people in the area
stretching from Boyle Heights to Huntington Park.
In August 2015, the Legislature and the Governor approved $7
million of emergency funding to test up to 1,500 residential
properties, parks, schools, and daycare centers in the
surrounding community; develop a comprehensive cleanup plan; and
begin cleanup of the highest priority sites based on the degree
of lead contamination and other exposure factors. To date, the
DTSC has overseen the sampling of 714 properties and the cleanup
of 208 properties. The DTSC has also established an Advisory
Group of community leaders, local residents, business leaders,
scientists, and elected officials to help guide closure and
cleanup efforts.
This bill package would provide additional funding from the
Toxic Substances Control Account to test the remaining
properties, schools, daycare centers, and parks in the 1.7 mile
radius and remove contaminated soil at the properties that have
the highest lead levels and greatest potential exposure to
residents.
The plan provides resources to expand community engagement in
the testing and cleanup process, enhance coordination and job
training for community residents, and promote the use of local
business and labor for contracting purposes.
The $176.6 million appropriation from the Toxic Substances
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Control Account will be supported by a loan from the General
Fund. This loan will enable the Department to address the
significant public health concerns in the communities
surrounding the Exide Technologies facility in an expedited
manner. However, cleanup costs initially incurred by the State
will ultimately be sought from the parties responsible for the
lead contamination.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gabrielle Meindl / BUDGET / (916) 319-2099 FN: 0002718