Focus
Lead levels are still too high inside and outside the Exide cleanup zone, study finds
LAist – April 7
Eleven years after the closure of the Exide lead-acid battery recycling facility in the Vernon area of Los Angeles, researchers found excessive lead levels in soil samples collected from homes both within and outside the defined cleanup area. The remediation zone was set at a 1.7-mile radius around the facility. Lead is a metal that can cause short- and long-term health effects, including neurological and reproductive changes, especially in children and pregnant women. California has spent more than $750 million cleaning up the site and residential homes. According to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) which oversees the effort, as of March 27, 2026, over 6,000 properties have been cleaned but lead levels remain a concern.
News
Former Richmond dry cleaners fined $100,800 over toxic cleanup violations
Richmond Standard – April 9
DTSC recently announced a $100,800 settlement with the owners and former operators of a vacant dry-cleaning site in Richmond. DTSC alleges the parties did not follow previous orders to clean up tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a chemical that had widely been used in dry-cleaning operations until it was completely phased out in 2023. State investigators found that PCE and its byproduct, trichloroethylene (TCE), had migrated off the property, including into groundwater beneath a housing development about 1,000 feet away. The settlement requires an investigation into the extent of the contaminant migration. DTSC will create a final cleanup plan for the public to review.
Attorney General Bonta opposing oil pipeline special permit to waive safety regulation
Insurance Journal – April 7
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a comment letter on April 3 opposing consideration by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of Sable Offshore Corp.’s request for a special permit to waive a safety regulation and transport oil through pipelines in Santa Barbara and Kern counties. Bonta argues that PHMSA lacks jurisdiction to issue any special permit because the pipelines are intrastate and subject to state regulation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal rather than PHMSA. PHMSA is trying to assert federal jurisdiction over the onshore lines by reclassifying them as “interstate.”
After 10 years of fighting, ‘No Coal’ activists gear up for new battle
The Oaklandside – April 8
A coalition is strategizing a new way to stop construction of a coal export terminal in West Oakland after developers of the project prevailed in legal battles with the City of Oakland. The group, No Coal in Oakland, is petitioning the Bay Area Air District to impose strict regulations to prevent increased fine particulate matter emissions that would make it more difficult for the terminal to receive and handle coal.
How a new dredging approach could benefit a Marin County creek, protect Bay marshes
Local News Matters – April 3
As seas rise, marshes can become open water and wipe out ecosystems unless they are replenished with new sediment. A pilot project underway in Marin County could open the door to a new, lower-cost and lower-carbon method of wetland restoration by directing sediment from developed areas into nearby marshes. The effort would test a small-scale version of an innovative dredging technology used in major shipping ports worldwide.
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