SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom issued the below statement today after the U.S. EPA announced the proposed addition of the former Exide facility in Vernon to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), which would make it eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
 
The Newsom Administration has advocated strongly in support of the Superfund designation to advance the state’s ongoing cleanup efforts, which to date have remediated lead contamination for over 5,300 properties in the surrounding community, which is disproportionately burdened by pollution. To date, California has invested more than $770 million to clean up contamination resulting from Exide’s operations.

“This is a huge step forward in our critical work to protect surrounding communities from Exide’s toxic legacy. The Superfund designation would bring in vital federal resources to further the state’s ongoing cleanup - one of the largest in U.S. history. We look forward to continued progress with federal partners to remedy this decades-long injustice and do right by our communities.” - Governor Gavin Newsom

The U.S. EPA will hold a 60-day public comment period on the NPL addition proposal. More information on next steps can be found here.