A new report finds the agency that oversees hazardous waste in California can’t keep up with its responsibilities.
The state’s review of the Department of Toxic Substances Control estimates more than half of hazardous waste facilities could be operating on expired permits within the next five years.
Democratic Senate Leader Kevin de León says it may be time to have other agencies take over for the department.
"They have been asleep at the wheel for a very, very long time, so it’s not just an issue of leadership at the highest level, but something that’s cultural and systematic," de León says. "It’s from top to bottom and bottom to top."
But the report also points to a lack of funding at the agency for permitting and clean-up.
De León called for the review last year, after it came out that the department allowed a battery recycling facility in Vernon, California to leak for years.
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