GM Subsidiary to Settle Environmental Lawsuit

A General Motors Corp. subsidiary will pay $165,000 in penalties and attorney fees and will implement new environmental protection measures at its car battery plant to settle a year-old lawsuit filed by the California Earth Corps Inc., a environmental watchdog group.

The group, based in Signal Hill, asserted in a federal suit that the battery factory operated by Delphi Energy and Engine Management, formerly known as Delco Remy, violated state environmental codes by exposing nearby residents to lead emissions without any written notice. Lead has been recognized by the state as a cause of birth defects and other reproductive injuries.

Under the consent judgment, GM must make changes in the plant’s ventilation system, mail a copy of a government warning to area residents and publish a warning about the site’s emissions in a local newspaper.

The company also must pay $139,000 to cover attorney fees and the costs of environmental programs, along with a $20,000 civil penalty to the state attorney general’s office and a $6,000 donation to the California Public Health Foundation, according to the settlement.