Sacramento, CA – In response to the agreement to close the Exide Technologies plant in Vernon, Assemblyman Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) issued the following statement:
The agreement to shutdown Exide Technologies’s plant in Vernon is a long-fought victory for residents of the Southeast.
This decision comes after years of activism by the community and fellow elected officials Senator Kevin de León, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago and Speaker Emeritus John A. Pérez against Exide’s illegal emissions of lead and arsenic.
Moving forward, state officials must hold Exide accountable to its settlement agreement to clean its existing plant and remove toxins from tainted soil impacting homes surrounding the facility. My colleagues and I will work closely with the Department of Toxic Substances Control to ensure these terms are fulfilled.
We must also collaborate with local workforce investment boards and job training programs to find employment for those workers displaced by the plant closure.
Assemblyman Anthony Rendon is serving in his second term representing the 63rd Assembly District, which includes the cities and communities of Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, North Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, and South Gate. Rendon is chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and serves on the following committees: Water, Parks and Wildlife; Natural Resources; Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security; and Appropriations.