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California taxpayers were left responsible for a dangerously contaminated plant outside Los Angeles after a federal judge turned down an emergency bid by state environmental regulators to block Exide Technologies LLC from exiting bankruptcy, the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Yesterday’s court ruling rejected a last-ditch effort from California, which has been hammering Exide for years over a polluted battery-recycling facility in Vernon, near Los Angeles, that authorities view as a risk to the surrounding community. Once a cheap source of lead for Exide’s battery business, the plant left a toxic legacy for the largely working-class residents nearby. California taxpayers are now being stuck with the Vernon facility, which closed down in 2015. It remains an imminent danger to a densely populated residential area nearby, according to the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control. State authorities have said it will cost $72 million to prevent contaminated dust in Vernon from blowing into residential areas, dwarfing the money Exide is leaving behind for cleanup, which amounts to $2.6 million from a court-approved bankruptcy plan plus $26 million in surety bonds and cash that Exide agreed years ago to set aside.