Providing for the implementation of battery stewardship plans, making appropriations, and providing penalties

The bill defines “covered battery” as a portable or medium format battery, with certain exceptions. The bill prohibits any producer or retailer from selling, offering for sale, or distributing any covered batteries or battery-containing product in the state or into the state on and after January 1, 2028, unless the producer is operating under a plan approved by DNR pursuant to the bill and is marked with identification of the producer, with certain exceptions. On and after January 1, 2029, the batteries or battery-containing products must also be marked to ensure proper collection and recycling. The bill prohibits producers, retailers, and battery stewardship organizations from charging a point-of-sale fee to consumers to cover the cost of implementing a plan approved pursuant to the bill. The bill requires producers to submit a battery stewardship plan to DNR. The plan shall have a term of no more than five years and must include contact information; brands of covered batteries the producer sells; performance goals; processes and goals for retailer and consumer awareness; collection site safety training; funding methods; provisions for collecting covered batteries at no cost; addresses of collection sites that will accept covered batteries and the criteria used to determine the sites; names of proposed service providers to be used for the final disposition of batteries; provisions for recordkeeping, tracking, and the management and disposition of covered batteries; and explanations for any anticipated delays in managing medium format batteries. The bill requires a battery stewardship organization to pay a fee of $100,000 to DNR upon approval of a plan or on January 1, 2027, whichever is later. The fees will be deposited into a battery stewardship account in the groundwater protection fund and will be used to fulfill DNR’s duties under the bill. The bill requires a fee adjustment by the general assembly every five years. The bill requires each organization to submit a new plan every five years. If the performance goals under the previous plan were not met, the bill requires the new plan to include corrective measures to meet the goals. Additionally, an organization must provide plan amendments to DNR when proposing material changes to an already approved plan. The bill requires an organization to notify DNR within days of a producer beginning or ceasing participation in the organization or adding or removing a processer or transporter. The bill allows DNR to approve plans from multiple organizations and plans that equitably share costs among other organizations. The bill requires an organization to be responsible for all costs associated with implementing the plan, reimburse local governments for costs incurred from serving as a collection site, collect charges from producers sufficient to cover the costs of implementation of the plan, provide for the collection of all covered batteries for any person, provide collection sites, ensure medium format batteries are collected correctly, provide for the collection of damaged and defective batteries, ensure statewide collection opportunities for all covered batteries, and coordinate with others to provide efficient delivery of service. The bill requires an organization to provide permanent collection for portable and medium format batteries at all collection centers that meet the requirements of the plan by December 1, 2028, with certain exceptions. For portable batteries, the bill requires at least one permanent collection site within a 15-mile radius for at least percent of residents. For medium format batteries, the bill requires at least reasonably dispersed permanent collection sites in the state and a collection event at least once every three years in each county that does not have a permanent collection site. The bill authorizes an organization to issue a warning, suspend, or terminate a collection site that does not comply with the criteria under an approved plan or that poses an immediate concern to health and safety. The bill provides that organizations are not required to provide for the collection of battery-containing products or covered batteries that remain contained in battery-containing products. The bill requires an organization to collect recalled batteries, but the organization may seek reimbursement from the producer of the recalled batteries for costs incurred. The bill requires an organization to promote the implementation of the organization’s plan through specific methods provided in the bill, including marketing and education of the plan. The bill requires each organization to submit a report to DNR by June 1, 2029, and each June thereafter, that contains detailed information about the organization’s approved plan. The bill requires an organization to hire a third party to conduct an audit of a plan and associated operations five years after implementation of the plan to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the plan. The result of the audit will be submitted to DNR. The bill provides procedures DNR must follow after receiving approved plans, including timelines for approval or denial, public notice requirements, and public comment requirements. The bill requires DNR to review the annual reports submitted within days of submission. The bill requires DNR to provide technical assistance to producers and retailers related to the requirements of the bill. The bill requires DNR to maintain on its internet site a copy of all approved plans and amendments, names of the producers with approved plans, a list of brands of covered batteries covered under a plan, a list of approved collection sites, and annual reports submitted to DNR. The bill provides that proprietary information submitted to DNR shall not be available to the public. The bill authorizes DNR to adopt rules to implement and administer the bill. The bill provides that a producer, retailer, or organization is not liable for any claim of a violation of antitrust laws or laws relating to fraudulent, deceptive, or unfair methods of competition or trade practices arising from conduct that complies with an approved plan under the bill. The bill expounds that nothing in the bill prevents or prohibits a person from offering or performing a fee-based household collection program or a mail-back program for covered batteries independently of a plan under the bill if the program complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and requirements, the batteries collected are provided to an organization implementing an approved plan, and that after providing collected batteries to an organization, any transport and processing of such batteries is done at the organization’s expense. The bill provides that, beginning on January 1, 2028, a person may dispose of a covered battery only by delivery to a collection site or collection event operated under an approved plan, unless the battery is separately managed as hazardous waste. The bill prohibits a person from knowingly causing or allowing the mixing of a covered battery with recyclable materials that are intended for processing and sorting at a mater