July 25, 2024: Ecobat, the lead-acid battery recycling giant, last week received a draft permit to continue operating its beleaguered Los Angeles plant for the first time in 19 years.

The 13-acre facility, in the City of Industry roughly 15 miles east of downtown LA, has been demolishing 600 tonnes of lead-acid automotive batteries per day on a 2005 permit that technically expired in 2015.

The new draft Hazardous Waste Facility Operation Permit, issued on July 16, is a victory of sorts for the embattled hazardous waste facility, which has survived mounting pressure to be shut down from surrounding communities due to numerous air toxics emissions and possible soil contamination.

The permit, issued by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), is not yet a done deal, but if it goes ahead will impose stricter standards and increase financial insurance funding to protect health and the environment in the county.

The DTSC has previously sued Ecobat, formerly known as Quemetco, in October 2018, for 29 violations of state hazardous waste laws.

In December 2022 the company agreed to a $2.3 million settlement in a Los Angeles court. The settlement included several mandatory requirements for improvement at the plant, leading to the new permit being issued.

Although the company asked for 10 years, the permit is valid for only five. Ecobat also requested to increase the number of car batteries they can crush and melt down, and for an increase in its hours of operation.

They were denied this by the DTSC.

“Ecobat has a history of repeatedly violating state laws in handling toxic substances such as lead, which has endangered the health and safety of workers and residents in San Gabriel Valley communities for decades,” said a statement from First District Los Angeles County Supervisor, Hilda Solis, released on July 16.

Ecobat says it has invested over $50 million in health and safety measures at the plant to protect both the community and the workforce. In a statement released following the decision it said: “Our facility is the only one of its kind in the western US that safely recycles over 10 million car batteries each year with a 98% recycling rate, the highest of any industrial recycling process.

“The state-of-the-art equipment and highly skilled workforce at our facility transform old batteries into ingots and alloys, essential for lead-based products and components critical to the clean energy transition.”

Rhys Jordan, the plant manager also said, “Our facility stands as a testament to environmental innovation, with industry-leading emission-control equipment ensuring operations do not adversely impact the environment.”

The permit conditions applied by the state agency add numerous operating restrictions which they say will  prevent further releases of cancer-causing chemicals.

The release of the draft permit marks the beginning of a 120-day public comment period with opportunities for the public to review and provide feedback on the conditions.

A public hearing hosted by DTSC will be held in September with a second hearing to follow in October. No date has been announced.