Air Quality Regulator Approval of New Operational Plan Paves Path Forward for Battery Recycling Facility

Approval Marks Significant Progress in Company's Efforts to Upgrade Plant

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Mar 20, 2014, 02:47 ET

VERNON, Calif., March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Exide Technologies (OTC: XIDEQ), announced today that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has approved an operational plan for Exide's battery recycling facility in Vernon, CA – marking significant progress in the Company's ongoing efforts to upgrade its plant. Exide has worked diligently with SCAQMD for the past seven months to develop a comprehensive plan that will help to achieve the shared goal of reducing emissions and protecting public health.

The plan, technically known as a Risk Reduction Plan, includes significant operational improvements and capital investments to further reduce emissions, enhance compliance with the district's existing air quality regulatory standards, and help to ensure compliance with recently adopted air regulatory standards – specifically recently amended Rule 1420.1. Previously completed upgrades to the facility have already achieved a plant-wide 95% reduction of arsenic emissions, which has been maintained since April 2013.

Under the new plan, Exide plans to invest more than $5 million in the battery recycling facility, bringing its total environmental and public health investments in the Vernon facility to over $20 million since 2010.

"Exide is steadfast in its commitment to meeting current and future emissions standards and is making necessary investments and improvements to do so," said E.N. "Bud" DeSart, Senior Director, Commercial Operations, Recycling Group. "We are pleased to gain approval to move forward with the implementation of this comprehensive plan aimed at further reducing emissions, facilitating compliance and protecting public health. We believe implementation of this plan will help us pave a positive path forward for the Vernon plant."

Implementation of the Risk Reduction Plan will be staged during 2014, contingent upon timely SCAQMD permit reviews and approvals. Exide has already submitted permit applications to SCAQMD for a number of the improvements within the new operating plan.

"Safety and public health protection are top priorities for Exide," DeSart added. "These planned changes and investments will allow Exide, through recycling, to continue playing a vital role in California's green economy - providing good-paying local jobs and remaining in compliance with the District's stringent regulations."

Battery Recycling is Critical to Environmental Sustainability & Keeping Materials out of Landfills. Exide Technologies has proudly been producing and recycling lead-acid batteries around the world for more than 120 years and plays an important role in fostering California's green economy and promoting environmental sustainability. The Vernon facility is one of only two plants in the United States west of the Rockies that recycles car batteries -- the plant recycles approximately 25,000 batteries a day and about eight million a year. Used batteries become hazardous waste unless recycled - recycling keeps batteries from being dumped in landfills, disposed of in harmful ways or shipped overseas where regulations are lacking.

SOURCE Exide Technologies