VERNON (CBSLA.com) — The embattled Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon will immediately and permanently shut down under an agreement made with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The agreement, reached Wednesday night, stated Exide Technologies, on South Indiana Street between East 26th Street and Bandini Boulevard, will close and pay millions for its clean-up to avoid prosecution.
Exide will have to set aside $38.6 million for the closure and clean-up of the 15-acre site and an additional $9 million for the cleanup of the soil around area homes.
The company also admitted, as part of the deal, that it illegally stored, shipped and disposed of hazardous waste.
Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Environmental Crime section, Joseph Johns, the architect of the agreement, vowed Wednesday to prosecute if the company does not follow through on its end of the bargain.