Latest Updates:
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Update on Exterior Tear of the Exide Enclosure - November 12, 2020
South Coast AQMD sent an inspector to Exide Sunday evening, November 8, 2020 to check on reports of a tear in the material covering one of the buildings. A tear was found on the exterior barrier on the Exide enclosure that was repaired on Saturday. A smaller, separate tear was also found on Sunday. The interior layer was not damaged. The enclosure maintained sufficient negative pressure during the event.
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Permitting and Monitoring Update Regarding Exide Technologies’ Bankruptcy - November 12, 2020
South Coast AQMD continues our regulatory obligations at the Exide Technologies Vernon site, and has had ongoing meetings with the Vernon Environmental Response Trust (VERT), Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) regarding Exide’s abandonment of the Vernon facility and their clean up obligations. Daily ambient air monitoring for lead and arsenic continues to be performed at the fenceline of the Vernon facility as required by South Coast AQMD Rule 1420.1 and the Title V permit, and it is also a requirement of Exide’s Closure Implementation Plan, which is under the oversight of DTSC. VERT has established contracts to continue the remediation of the site as well as the fenceline ambient air monitoring.
VERT has retained the services of the same contractor used by Exide that has operated the fenceline monitors for the past several years, Almega Environmental. Almega is an approved, independent contractor under South Coast AQMD’s Laboratory Approval Program (LAP). Rule 1420.1 requires the laboratory analyzing the ambient air monitoring samples be LAP-approved. Approval under the LAP means the test facility's management, personnel, policies, facilities, methods, equipment, documentation, quality assurance and audit performance have been evaluated and found to meet South Coast AQMD criteria.
In addition, ambient air monitoring continues to be conducted by South Coast AQMD at three locations around the facility. Two of these locations are offsite, and one location is collocated with one of the current fenceline monitors for quality assurance purposes. Please note that since 2017, ambient air concentrations from the closure process have remained well below regulatory limits, and results from South Coast AQMD’s collocated monitor have shown good comparability with Exide’s monitoring results. South Coast AQMD monitoring results may be found here. If there is an unusually high level of lead or arsenic above regulatory limits, the current Closure Plan requires curtailment of activity.
South Coast AQMD will stay in communication with DTSC and US EPA regarding their oversight roles at the site. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there has been no remediation activities at the Vernon site for approximately the past six months, but South Coast AQMD staff continues to conduct surveillance of the site. VERT is required to apply for a Change of Operator for Exide’s Title V permit. When Change of Operator applications are submitted and approved by South Coast AQMD, all of the current requirements and responsibilities in Exide’s current Title V permit will be transferred to VERT.
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Vernon Environmental Response Trust (VERT) Permitting Update – March 31, 2021
South Coast AQMD completed the evaluation of VERT’s permit applications for change of ownership for the Exide Technologies’ Title V permit and issued the VERT Title V permit. VERT’s Title V permit contains the same permit requirements as Exide’s permit that require VERT to limit fugitive emissions of lead and arsenic that may generated during the remediation activities of the former Exide Vernon site, as well as requirements to continue to conduct fenceline ambient air monitoring. A copy of VERT’s Title V permit may be accessed here.
VERT Permitting Update – November 15, 2022
South Coast AQMD currently does not have any pending permit applications for the remediation of former Exide site, and VERT continues to operate under its Title V operating permit. A copy of VERT’s current Title V permit may be accessed through South Coast AQMD’s Facility Information Detail (FIND) web application using the Facility ID number. For the current VERT permit, use Facility ID 193552. For the previous Exide Technologies permit, which is now inactive, use Facility ID 124838.
Approval of Facility Closure – May 30, 2025
On April 24, 2025, VERT requested confirmation from South Coast AQMD that the former Exide Technologies site met all the facility closure requirements in South Coast AQMD Rule 1420.1(p). Rule 1420.1 and the Title V permit contain several requirements to ensure that closure activities (for example, building decontamination and deconstruction) did not result in fugitive emissions of lead and arsenic above the health protective thresholds. Most notable, daily fenceline ambient air monitoring for lead and arsenic was required at multiple locations around the site. As part of the facility closure requirements in Rule 1420.1(p), VERT surrendered all South Coast AQMD permits, submitted the final Certification of Closure approved by DTSC, and provided 12 consecutive months of compliant fenceline monitoring results. After VERT’s request was submitted, an additional 30-days of compliant fenceline readings were submitted prior to approval. After reviewing the monitoring data and conducting a site inspection, South Coast AQMD approved the request. The Title V permit has been inactivated and fenceline monitoring is no longer required.
If future work is conducted at the site, the work may be required to follow the requirements of South Coast AQMD Rule 1466 - Control of Particulate Emissions from Soils with Toxic Air Contaminants.
Announcements & Advisories:
Background
Exide Technologies (ID 124838) is a secondary lead smelting facility which recovered lead from recycled automotive batteries. It is located at 2700 S. Indiana Street in Vernon, and had been in operation since 1922. Equipment used in the battery recycling process included machines to break batteries apart and separate different materials, furnaces and kettles to melt metals, and miscellaneous equipment including storage tanks, conveying equipment, and engines. Exide operated numerous pieces of control equipment to reduce pollution including baghouses, dust collectors, and filters for reducing dust and metals; and scrubbers, mist eliminators, and an afterburner, which remove pollution from gases.
The facility continues to be subject to many South Coast AQMD rules and permit conditions to ensure that they operate in compliance with air pollution requirements. The facility remains under intense scrutiny by South Coast AQMD – including ongoing inspections, ambient monitoring, additional rule and permit requirements, and continued Hearing Board review - in an effort to reduce potential emissions and health risk.
Participating Agencies
Links to Partner Agencies:
Related Information
Presentation: Air Monitoring at Union Pacific Demolition Site Near Exide (PDF)
More Information:
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