Exide settles lawsuit

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that Exide Technologies, headquartered in Milton, Georgia, has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the United States on behalf of the U.S. EPA and by the state of Indiana alleging Clean Air Act violations at the company’s lead smelter in Muncie, Indiana.

As part of the settlement, Exide Technologies has agreed to spend more than $3.9 million to install state-of-the-art pollution control equipment to reduce harmful air pollution generated at the facility, according to a news release issued by the EPA. The settlement also requires Exide to pay a civil penalty of $820,000. 

The settlement will resolve claims that the facility’s failure to comply with national emission standards resulted in the release of excess lead in an area that does not meet the federal health-based air quality standard for lead, the agency adds.

“Addressing the complicated environmental and legal issues here required a carefully structured settlement agreement with this employer so that the public and nearby residents can be protected into the future,” says Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose office represented the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in court. “My office and our client the Indiana Department of Environmental Management worked closely with our colleagues at EPA in successfully bringing this case to a conclusion.”

EPA says it expects that the actions required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions of lead, particulate matter (soot), total hydrocarbons and dioxin/furans.

The settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available for review at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.