Battery Stewardship Program Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2022

1 __________________________ 1 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh 2 3 4 5 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6 7 ___________ 8 9 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10 11 _______________ 12 13 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Sustainable Solid 14 Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014 to clarify that the law applies only to 15 primary batteries and rechargeable batteries, to require the battery stewardship 16 organization to develop strategies for collecting batteries in areas and communities with 17 waste management challenges related to environmental justice, to establish timelines and 18 procedures for the Department of Energy and Environment’s consideration of 19 amendments to battery stewardship plans, to authorize the Department of Energy and 20 Environment to revoke the registration of an organization that fails to implement a 21 material provision of an approved battery stewardship plan, to change the deadline for 22 battery stewardship plan submission, to change the deadline for the first annual report and 23 effective date of the battery disposal ban, to change the deadline for manufacturers to 24 submit electronic stewardship registration applications from December 31 to October 1 25 starting in 2023, to enhance the requirements for representative organizations related to 26 public outreach and awareness, to require partnerships to submit a single application to 27 streamline registration fee processing, to exempt manufacturers from certain 28 responsibilities if they have sold less than 100 units of covered electronic equipment in 29 the previous year, and to make other technical and conforming changes. 30 31 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 32 resolution may be cited as the “Battery Stewardship Program Emergency Declaration Resolution 33 of 2022”. 34 Sec. 2. (a) Section 129(b) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act 35 of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official Code § 8-771.02(b)), 36 requires battery stewardship organizations to submit proposed battery stewardship plans to the 37 Department of Energy and the Environment (“DOEE”) by January 1, 2022. These provisions 38 2 were funded in the Fiscal Year 2022 Local Budget Act of 2021 and became effective on October 39 1, 2021. 40 (b) In late 2021, it came to light that the January 1, 2021, deadline did not give battery 41 stewardship organizations sufficient time to develop their proposed battery stewardship plans for 42 submission to DOEE because DOEE has not yet issued the regulations necessary to instruct the 43 battery stewardship organizations on what to include in their proposed plans. 44 (c) Thus, on December 7, 2021, the Council passed Battery Stewardship Program 45 Emergency Amendment Act of 2021, effective December 22, 2021 (D.C. Act 24-249; 68 DCR 46 14061) (“emergency act”), which expired on March 22, 2022. That emergency legislation 47 extended the deadline for the submission of proposed battery stewardship plans to January 1, 48 2023. 49 (d) On December 21, 2021, the Council passed the Battery Stewardship Program 50 Temporary Amendment Act of 2021, effective March 15, 2022 (D.C. Law 24-99; 69 DCR 593) 51 (“temporary act”), which will expire on October 26, 2022. 52 (e) This emergency legislation is necessary to prevent a gap in the law following the 53 expiration of the temporary act. 54 (f) This emergency legislation, however, includes several amendments not included in the 55 emergency act or temporary act. These amendments, proposed to the Council by DOEE, do not 56 substantively change the intent, scope, or effect of the battery stewardship program. Rather, it 57 makes necessary technical edits and clarifications to the law to facilitate DOEE’s implementation 58 of the law, and to provide clarity to manufacturers on how to comply with the law’s 59 requirements. 60 3 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 61 enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Battery 62 Stewardship Program Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 be adopted after a single reading. 63 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 64