Best Best & Krieger News Feed

South Ontario Neighborhood Has Lived on Trucked-In Water for Nine Years, Here’s Why

28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Gene Tanaka, representing the City of Ontario, discussed with the San Bernardino Sun a recently approved settlement over the clean-up of a toxic plume that has impacted drinking water supplies for 37 residences.

The article, which ran in the Sept. 23, 2016 edition, can be found by clicking here.

County Counsel Teamwork: The Exide Story

23 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0800

By Robert Ragland

Justice: (1) the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action; (2) conformity to this principle or ideal

The concept of environmental justice is straightforward, the pathway to practical solutions are often circuitous. In the case of Exide Technologies, the road ahead looked tortuous. Exide was a battery recycling facility in the City of Vernon that had operated for 33 years on a temporary permit issued by the State of California. Because of its location and exclusive regulation by the State, it was outside the County’s jurisdiction. After it was determined that the Exide facility had been emitting a significant amount of hazardous waste into the air, including lead, arsenic, and benzene, the State notified Exide that it would not issue another operating permit. Exide, which had previously declared bankruptcy in Delaware, closed its doors in March 2015. The County was then faced with a particularly intractable problem of how to bring relief to the residents living near the facility.

Although Exide was no longer emitting dangerous chemicals, years of damage had already significantly impacted the surrounding communities, including Maywood and Boyle Heights. “The Exide chemicals have raised the cancer risk of tens of thousands of people around the Exide facility,” said Dr. Cyrus Rangan, Director of the County’s Toxics Epidemiology Program.

State and County officials determined that environmental testing of all residential properties within a 1.7 mile radius of the facility was needed. This area includes approximately 10,000 homes. Initial soil testing revealed that lead levels in soil around some of the homes were found to be high enough to characterize the yards as hazardous waste sites. Total cleanup costs were estimated to be as high as $400 million. Based on the State’s bankruptcy claim, Exide paid $9 million for cleanup with an obligation to pay just another $5 million in 2020. The State was able to assess and clean 170 homes before it ran out of funds. State assessment and cleanup efforts slowed to a trickle. The residents were outraged, as the State allotted only $8 million for cleanup in the 2016-17 budget. The problem was straightforward: How could the County and First District Supervisor Hilda Solis — acting as concerned citizens — bring relief to the impacted residents in a timely manner, while supporting the State in its efforts to hold Exide responsible for this environmental catastrophe?

The pathway for resolution was not straightforward. It involved the coordination of litigation strategy, public testimony before the Assembly, community messaging, legislative initiatives, and environmental field testing.

Early on, our County Counsel, Mary Wickham, realized the complexity of the issues presented. She assembled a team to support Supervisor Solis’ efforts to bring relief to the affected communities. The team was comprised of members of the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Chief Executive Office’s Legislative Advocates Office in Sacramento, outside counsel from Best Best & Krieger, representatives from the First District, and County Counsel attorneys. Each group contributed its experience and expertise to solve the continual and evolving challenges met by the team on its path.

The first challenge was to increase the pace of residential home assessment to determine the scope and severity of the contamination. In November 2015, the Board approved a $2 million funding request to hasten the assessment and cleanup of the contaminated soil in the 1.7 mile radius around Exide. This effort required the coordination of DPH’s outreach to residents to permit access to their properties, creation of a rapid soil testing protocol, and teams of certified lead specialists contracted to perform the testing.

Between February 29 and March 9, 2016, DPH assessed lead in soil on 500 residential properties. The testing was carried out by 12 three-person teams in Maywood, Commerce, and East Los Angeles. The teams tested properties at a rate of approximately 48 per day.

The next challenge was how to obtain more dollars for residential cleanup. The $8 million earmarked in the Governor’s budget was simply not enough. This key development took us to Sacramento. The Exide team needed to hold meetings with legislators, involve community members, strategize with its partners, and create public advocacy messaging in support of this goal. In January, Supervisor Solis, along with members of County Counsel’s Exide team, traveled to Sacramento to testify before the Legislative Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. The Supervisor’s heartfelt testimony relayed the troubling stories of residents living with debilitating and permanent medical conditions. She and other legislators advocated for $70 million for accelerated residential cleanup efforts. The testimony of DPH Interim Director Cynthia Harding supported this “ask”, as DPH was providing access to care and specialized health screenings for the early identification and treatment of potential health problems caused by the Exide facility’s environmental contamination.

Shortly after the team’s return, Governor Brown proposed $176.6 million in spending to remediate the Exide contamination. In recognition of this extraordinary result, before the Exide team’s next meeting Supervisor Solis provided red velvet cake and expressed her gratitude for all of the extensive work that kept the County on its path. At the meeting, John Holloway of Best Best & Krieger, observed “Each member of the team assembled by the County Counsel’s office played a key role in planning and executing the work that helped secure this phenomenal result. The progress on the Exide matter demonstrates that the County has tremendous resources to get big things accomplished when different divisions of the County work together in a coordinated manner.”

In April 2016, the Legislature approved this funding to expedite and expand testing and cleanup around the former Exide facility. Contaminated soil from places where lead levels are highest will be removed from residential properties, schools, daycare centers and parks within a 1.7-mile radius of the Exide plant. This hard-fought victory was a direct result of our Exide team’s coordinated effort to bring this issue to the forefront of the State’s priorities, and it provided a light at the end of the tunnel for residents.

Ben Polk, Justice Deputy for the First District, described the Exide team’s continuing journey: “Having our cross-County Exide team meet each week to discuss key decisions has been invaluable in developing our strategy and navigating new developments. Our team has succeeded, time and again, in integrating legal, political, and operational priorities.” When asked about the Exide team, County Counsel Mary Wickham commented that “it is a very exciting time to be an attorney in the Office of County Counsel. Our current Board is socially proactive and is tackling the issues of our day. This engaged and active Board deserves an equally engaged and committed Office of County Counsel with lawyers that communicate across divisional and departmental lines to provide the best legal analysis and work product. And that is what has occurred with the Exide team.”

The Exide team soldiers on. It will continue to support the State’s efforts to clean the homes of those affected by 30 years of environmental contamination by Exide.

This article was originally published in the August 2016 edition of The County Counsel Newsletter. Reprinted with permission. The original article can be found by clicking here.

BB&K Team Helps L.A. County Get State Funding for Exide Contamination

26 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP is pleased to have assisted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in securing $176.6 million to test and clean up contaminated areas near the now-closed Exide battery recycling facility in the City of Vernon. BB&K attorneys John Holloway and Gene Tanaka, as well as BB&K’s Director of Governmental Affairs Syrus Devers, accompanied supervisors and community members at an Assembly hearing on the clean-up efforts and discussions with legislators in Sacramento to help secure funding from Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown originally proposed just $8.5 million for the effort, which involves testing for and removal of lead-contaminated soil from the most contaminated homes in an approximately 1.7-mile radius from the plant. This long-standing and high-profile contamination matter arises from the emissions of a former battery recycling facility, which operated for more than 30 years without proper permits and safety upgrades. High exposure to lead can cause a host of health concerns, and the State estimates that up to 10,000 homes may be impacted.

“This funding will bring immediate relief to thousands of families who have been voiceless for too long,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a thank you letter to those who assisted in the effort. This week, the Board of Supervisors acknowledged the lead partners’ work on the Exide clean up with a Commendation “in recognition of dedicated service to the affairs of the community and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous contributions for the benefit of all the citizens of Los Angeles County.”

BB&K Attorneys Recognized as 2014 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

04 Jul 2014 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: July 4, 2014
Media Contact: Denise Nix • 213-787-2552 • denise.nix@bbklaw.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif _ Best Best & Krieger LLP congratulates its seven attorneys included in the 2014 Northern California Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars lists. No more than 5 percent of California’s attorneys are included in the Super Lawyers lists each year, which is compiled from peer nominations and a research team. To be one of the 2.5 percent of attorneys included on the Rising Stars list, an attorney must either be 40 or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.

The BB&K attorneys named to this year’s list are:

Sarah Owsowitz, Super Lawyers, Land Use/Zoning, Walnut Creek
Sue Schoenig, Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor Law, Sacramento
Stacey Sheston, Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor Law, Sacramento
Harriet Steiner, Super Lawyers, State, Local & Municipal Law, Sacramento
Gene Tanaka, Super Lawyers, Environmental Litigation, Walnut Creek
Kara Ueda, Rising Stars, State, Local & Municipal Law, Sacramento
Sigrid Asmundson, Rising Stars, State, Local & Municipal Law, Sacramento

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. For more information, visit SuperLawyers.com.

Best Best & Krieger LLP is a national law firm that focuses on environmental, business, education, municipal and telecommunications law for public agency and private clients. With nearly 200 attorneys, the law firm has nine offices nationwide, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Washington D.C. For more information, visit www.bbklaw.com or follow @BBKlaw on Twitter.

Ignoring Environmental Due Diligence Could Be Costly

08 Jan 2014 00:00:00 -0800

By Danielle G. Sakai

We have all heard the saying “ignorance is bliss,” but in the area of real property acquisition, the more important idiom is “what you don’t know can kill you.” That may be a bit dramatic, but what you don’t know about a property’s condition could certainly cost the acquiring special district a lot of taxpayer money – money that would be better spent fulfilling the agency’s statutory purpose, rather than cleaning up someone else’s toxic mess.

To read the entire article, click here.

* This article was originally published in California Special District magazine, Volume 8, Issue 6, Nov - Dec 2013. The magazine is published by the California Special Districts Association. Republished here with permission from the association.

SB 375: Greenhouse Gas Relief or New Source of Indigestion?

16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Please email Katey Lamke at Katey.Lamke@BBKlaw.com for a copy of the webinar recording.

The 90 minute webinar included:

Where does SB 375 fit within California's greenhouse gas regulatory formula?
What implications will SB 375 have on regional transportation and housing?
How will SB 375 interface with environmental review under CEQA?

Dorris, Willis & Hedlund Spoke at County Counsels' Haz Mat Conference

23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0800

BB&K attorneys Beth Dorris, Jill Willis and Stefanie Hedlund were presenters at the County Counsels' Association of California Fall 2008 Hazardous Materials and Solid Waste Study Section Conference, which took place October 23-24, 2008 at the Sheraton Suites San Diego at Symphony Hall.

Beth Dorris presented "Climate Change and CEQA Compliance." Jill Willis and Stefanie Hedlund presented "Ethical Considerations in the Solid Waste and Haz/Mat Practice of Law by Public Agency Counsel."

For more information, visit the County Counsels' Assoc. website.