Exide Frisco Battery Recycling Center

Site Background

The  Exide Frisco Battery Recycling Center is located at 7471 South Fifth Street in Frisco, Collin County, Texas. The site, a secondary lead smelter, was active from 1964 through November 2012. It processed used lead-acid batteries and other lead-bearing materials into several lead products. The process produced a slag, which was processed and disposed of in a Class II landfill on-site. The process also produced battery-case chips, which were disposed of off-site, and waste acid, which was treated through the on-site wastewater-treatment system.

Exide Frisco Shuts Down November 2012

In a letter to the TCEQ dated June 2012, Exide conveyed its intent to cease operations at the facility on November 30, 2012. The cleanup and closure that began in December 2012 are addressed in part by Exide Permit HW-50206 . The first step is decontamination and demolition of the various buildings, infrastructure, and associated equipment. Exide posted plans describing the decontamination and demolition of the site, including dust control and air monitoring, at http://www.exidefriscoclosure.com in December 2012. The TCEQ issued a letter dated February 26, 2013 ,  stating that there was no Agency objection to the plans. Facility decontamination and demolition has commenced and is going as planned by Exide.

Exide Files for Bankruptcy

In October 2020, the City of Frisco and its Community Development Corporation have acquired ownership of the remaining 102-acres of the Exide property, which was the industrial facilities of the former battery recycling plant. The TCEQ entered into a trust agreement with the City of Frisco as part of Exide’s bankruptcy proceedings. $25MM from the bankruptcy was set aside for cleanup of the site and a $4M account funded by the City of Frisco was created for operation of the site. The agreement also requires the City of Frisco to add $250,000 per year to this account once the hazardous waste permit amendment is issued.

The legislature made the following appropriations to TCEQ from the Hazardous and Solid Waste Account (Fund 550) to reimburse remediation costs associated with the former Exide Facility in Frisco, Texas.

• $1.5MM as authorized by HB 7 and General Appropriations Act (GAA) Rider 31 (83rd Leg); reimbursed in full in 2014. 
• $1.7MM as authorized by HB 7 and GAA Article IX, Section 18.31 (84th Leg); reimbursed in full in 2016. 
• $3MM as authorized by HB 2708 and GAA Rider 30 (87th Leg). The TCEQ has received and paid in 2023 an invoice in the amount of $2,247,205.77 to date.  
• Senate Bill 30 (88th Leg) appropriated to the TCEQ the unexpended balance from the previous appropriation ($752,794.23) for the same purpose in the coming biennium.

TCEQ was provided a $3MM appropriation with Rider 30 of the General Appropriations Act (87th Leg). HB 2708 authorized the TCEQ to utilize these funds to reimburse the City of Frisco for remediation activities at the site.

The City of Frisco would be eligible to request reimbursement of the $752,794.23 remaining of the $3MM appropriation during the FY24-25 biennium, as authorized by SB 30. Any additional state funding would require appropriation by the Texas Legislature.

City of Frisco Joins Exide in Voluntary Cleanup

In June 2012, Exide entered into an agreement with the City of Frisco to close the Frisco plant and sell certain portions of the land surrounding the waste facility to the city and its development corporations. Under the agreement, Exide would perform any necessary cleanup of the property to be sold and would retain ownership of the remaining property.

Working with the City of Frisco and its development corporations, Exide submitted an application to have  several parcels adjacent to the hazardous waste facility brought into the TCEQ Voluntary Cleanup Program. These parcels are owned by Exide but are not a part of the permitted hazardous waste facility.

In the executed VCP application, the facility and the city’s development corporations have agreed to use cleanup levels for lead that are at least as stringent as standard residential cleanup requirements. Two sites associated with the former Exide property are enrolled in the TCEQ’s VCP program: VCP #2632 - Northeast Stewart Creek and VCP #2592 – Grand Park.

Ongoing Activities

On July 10, 2013, Exide submitted to the TCEQ the Affected Property Assessment Report (APAR) for the site of the former operating plant as required by the January 30, 2013 Order. The APAR is currently undergoing agency review. The TCEQ will consider any public comments received during its review of the APAR; however, the agency does not intend to respond to comments individually since Exide has agreed to hold a more formal comment period following its review process. At the conclusion of the TCEQ’s current review, Exide will address any comments raised by TCEQ and will revise the APAR as needed. As set forth in its Community Relations Plan and the Exide Frisco Master Schedule Summary, although not required by rule nor customary with the APAR process, Exide has committed to post the revised APAR for public comment and hold a public meeting. The APAR was approved in February 2016.

On February 27, 2013 Exide requested approval to use clay soils from the Lake Parcel Borrow area as liner for the expansion of the existing Class 2 landfill. The plan also includes the use of soils excavated from the landfill expansion to backfill the Lake Parcel area. TCEQ approved the soil re-use on  March 28, 2013.

Between 2013 and 2023 the majority of the site work entailed demolition of the plant and wastewater treatment plant and assessment of the property through the Texas Risk Reduction Program process to develop a Response Action Plan (RAP).

On January 3, 2024, the TCEQ issued the IHW permit (50206) allowing the Frisco CDC to move forward with the implementation of the RAP.

In Mid-October 2024 Frisco CDC began fieldwork for installation of sheet pile to serve as groundwater barrier (portion of the Funnel and PRB Gate) and replacement of the retaining wall adjacent to the former battery building as specified in the RAP. This included excavation of surface soils in the portions of Affected Property No. 2 (AP2) along the alignment of the Remediation Consolidation Area (RCA) and groundwater barrier (Funnel and PRB Gate). Excavated soils are being stockpiled and characterized as described in the RAP and the Waste Analysis Plan (WAP – Attachment Q to the RCRA Part B Permit Application).