A controversial court settlement between a battery-recycling company near Hacienda Heights and state agencies involving the release of cancer-causing air toxics will be the focus of a community meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. and is being held at the Hacienda Heights Community Center, will be the first public airing of a settlement reached between Quemetco, Inc., a recycler of lead-acid car batteries, the state Department of Toxic and Substances Control (DTSC) and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The settlement agreement was approved by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Dec. 13, 2022.
While the large battery recycling plant agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle enforcement actions involving 29 violations of hazardous waste handling and excessive air emissions dating back to 2018, it has been characterized as too little, too late by neighbors downwind of the plant, including those living within 600 feet in Hacienda Heights and Avocado Heights, unincorporated Los Angeles County communities.
“It’s an end run around the regular process,” said Rebecca Overmyer-Velazquez, coordinator with a long-time watchdog group made up of plant neighbors called the Clean Air Coalition of North Whittier and Avocado Heights, speaking of the settlement on Monday, Feb. 6.
“There’s no mention (in the settlement) of the serious trouble with the containment building, the battery storage area nor the monitoring of surface water at San Jose Creek,” she said. “Leaking and contamination have not been specifically addressed in this settlement.”
In December, DTSC officials said the settlement forces Quemetco to make repairs to its operations, including fixes that will prevent further leaking of hazardous materials or toxic emissions into the environment.
“Under DTSC’s oversight, Quemetco will make facility improvements that better protect its neighbors and the environment and will pay for programs that benefit the entire community,” wrote DTSC Director Dr. Meredith Williams in a prepared statement in December.
The plant, at 720 South 7th Avenue in City of Industry, roughly 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, crushes and melts down 600 tons of lead-acid batteries per day, according to a 2019 report from Los Angeles County.
Quemetco has had violations stemming from excessive lead and arsenic smokestack emissions to failed leak detection systems. In 2016, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) found that air emissions presented an unacceptably high risk for development of cancer. Between 2017 and 2019, the plant was issued two notices of violations for going above permitted levels of arsenic emissions.
Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and is emitted from the lead smelter at the plant as part of the process in breaking down lead acid batteries into recyclable components. It is linked to skin, bladder, liver and lung cancers. Low levels of lead can damage a child’s nervous system, causing learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Lead has also caused tumors in laboratory animals and is listed as a probable carcinogen, according to DTSC.
“At this workshop, DTSC will share information about the recent settlement agreement … Attend to learn more about how the agreement works and what it means for your community,” read the announcement.
The DTSC plans a presentation from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. with “open house information tables” available until 8 p.m. But Overmyer has asked DTSC for a public comment period in which community members can speak their comments into a mic for all to hear, similar to the way public comment is held by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and most city councils.
“We will try to make sure we are able to speak publicly,” she said. DTSC community liaison Elsa Lopez did not respond to inquiries.
If you go
When: Wednesday, Feb. 8
Time: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (presentation); 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. open house information tables
Where: Hacienda Heights Community Center, 1234 Valencia Ave., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
