Bill Targets Permit Process For Battery Recycler
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The state Senate is targeting a Southern California battery recycling facility that has operated for 32 years without a final permit.
SB712 would give the state Department of Toxic Substances Control until December 2015 to issue or deny a final permit to Exide Technologies, a battery recycler in Vernon.
The Senate approved the bill 33-0 Thursday, sending it to the Assembly.
Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens says lead and arsenic emissions from Exide have contaminated the environment and that the company lacked proper oversight.
Another bill, SB812 by Democratic Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles, would set deadlines for the department to issue final permits to hazardous waste companies, after the Los Angeles Times reported that companies have been allowed to operate for years on interim permits.
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