State lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to appropriate the funding that Governor Jerry Brown proposed to address the Exide cleanup. Gov. Brown wants to spend nearly $177 million to expedite the cleanup of lead contamination in the area near the former Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon. It’s been nearly two months since Brown announced that plan.
EGP News reports that the new legislation, AB 118, would immediately loan $176.6 million to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the state department who has largely led the testing and cleanup efforts. That money would be used to cleanup and test homes in the east and southeast Los Angeles communities that are affected. As of last month, 99 percent of the just over 1,000 homes tested needed cleaning.
DTSC will start the Environmental Impact Report process in May. The department hopes to begin cleanup of homes, schools, daycare centers, and parks in a 1.7-mile radius surrounding the former battery recycling plant by late spring 2017, EGP writes.
