BATON ROUGE - The former site of Exide Baton Rouge, which was demolished in 2014, was added to the EPA's National Priorities list for investigation and cleanup.

Exide ceased operations in 2009, and after demolition, high concentrations of antimony, arsenic, lead, manganese and zinc were found in the groundwater and soils on site. 

 Due to the challenges of the Exide Baton Rouge site, the state of Louisiana referred it to the EPA to avoid any interruption in the continued operation of the wastewater treatment system. The EPA temporarily took over the operation of the wastewater treatment plant on April 11, 2023.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality released that they would work with the EPA on the project Wednesday. The addition of Exide Baton Rouge to the EPA's list was suggested back in September, and the EPA announced the addition of the site to the list back in March.