Frisco Rejects Exide Application

Frisco officials have unanimously rejected a plan that would have favored the city’s long-standing lead smelter and re-cycler, Exide. Plant workers now fear the business might close or move, taking their jobs.  KERA’s Bill Zeeble reports Exide opponents call the vote a victory. 

This fight has been heating up for a while. Tuesday night, at Frisco’s Planning and Zoning meeting, it got hotter. Exide opponents were there, and – for the first time - so were dozens of Exide employees.  Commissioners were considering Exide’s so-called vested rights application. It would lock in zoning rules that existed when the plant opened in 1964. At the same time, Exide also promised to spend more than $20 million dollars on vital environmental improvements. But it needs city building permits to proceed.  Before a vote, Commissioners heard from both sides. Rick Conner has worked at Exide more than a dozen years.

Rick Connor:  What I cannot understand is that we’re having a problem getting these permits,  but now all of a sudden, we’re not getting our permits, so that we can become in compliance. So that our lead levels come down.  I don’t understand why we wouldn’t want to get that done.

Conner and other Exide workers also worried for their jobs. They know some Exide opponents, like Colette McCadden, want the plant to leave town.

Colette McCadden:  Exide should not be governed by the 1964, 1968 standards, they should be governed by 2011. 

McCadden said knowledge of detrimental health effects from lead has grown dramatically since 1964. She said Exide should live by current science and current zoning rules.

 McCadden: And frankly, I’m tired of the Frisco children being the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

The arguments went back and forth, Exide employees said they were proud of the plant and the  promised improvements to comply with environmental laws. Opponents worried over dangerous lead and other chemicals, saying they’re sorry about possible lost jobs, but healthy, safe air and water are more important than Exide profits. Frisco City Attorney Rebecca Brewer said the Commissioner’s decision should be based on the law, not emotional arguments about jobs or health.

Brewer:  It clouds the law and it’s smoke and mirrors.

Brewer indicated there’s no legal foundation for Exide’s application to turn the clock back nearly half a century.

Brewer:  In 1964 there has been no evidence of a permit that was issued. Therefore under the law, vesting of rights cannot be implicated. 

With the Commissioners 5-0 vote against Exide, Brewer expects the company will sue the city. Exide Vice President Bruce Cole was disappointed by the vote, saying Exide will appeal. 

Cole:  We have vested legal rights here, we have an obligation to come into compliance with the new federal air quality standards and the company will do everything it needs to do legally within its rights to make that happen and bring the plant into compliance.

Environmentalist Jim Schermbeck, with a group Down Winders At Risk, says this victory was long in coming.

Jim Schermbeck:  For the last forty or fifty years, this city has said yes, yes, yes to this facility. For the first time tonight it said no and that’s a big step and it’s a right step.

Because now, says Schermbeck, the city can launch a complex process called amortization that could lead to Exide’s Frisco exit in just a few years. Bill Zeeble KERA news.