When the California state Attorney General’s Office brought legal action in 2018 involving 29 violations of leaking hazardous waste at a car-battery recycling plant in City of Industry, nearby residents concerned about exposure and cancer risks were anticipating strong remedies.
But that’s not what happened.
A late December 2022 court settlement for Quemetco, Inc. approved by Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) required the company to pay $2.3 million in penalties, of which no amount was earmarked for repairs or toxic waste monitoring.
The Clean Air Coalition, made up of nearby residents of Hacienda Heights, Avocado Heights, La Puente, North Whittier and other areas, denounced the settlement as a slap on the wrist. Others said it used environmental groups to paint over the issues with a green sheen.
Byron Chan, attorney with Earth Justice, which is working with the Clean Air Coalition, said the Attorney General had the power to fine Quemetco tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars since it filed against the company. “When that lawsuit was filed it felt like DTSC was turning a page. Four years later the result of that lawsuit was nothing,” Chan said.
In defense of the settlement, DTSC said 27 of the 29 violations were fixed. But DTSC investigators reported that two major violations had not been resolved, involving hazardous waste leaking from storage areas and possibly migrating into neighborhoods, and installation of monitoring systems to detect toxic chemicals seeping into the underground aquifer — a drinking water source for at least one million residents of Los Angeles County.
“The settlement is a result of strong enforcement actions the department took,” said Meredith Williams, DTSC director, who spoke at a recent DTSC-sponsored public meeting on Feb. 8.
Quemetco said in a statement that it has invested $50 million in new pollution control equipment since 2008. “The company is proud to…
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