MURIELBOWSER
Mayor
December20,2023
‘TheHonorablePI
Chairman
CounciloftheDistrictofColumbia
1350PennsylvaniaAve.NW
Washington,DC20004
Mendelson
DearChairmanMendelson:
EnclosedforconsiderationandapprovalbytheCounciloftheDistrictofColumbiaistheproposedresolution
entitledthe“BatteryStewardshipInfractionsScheduleofFinesApprovalResolutionof2023.”
Theproposedresolutionwouldapproveaproposedfinalrulemakingthatwouldestablishascheduleoffinesin
Title16(Consumers,CommercialPractices,andInfractions),Chapter40(DDOEInfractions)oftheDistrictof
ColumbiaMunicipalRegulationsforviolationsofthelawandrulesrelatedtotheDistrict’sbatterystewardship
program.Therulemakingisneededtoenforcethebatterystewardshiprequirementsandwillhelpensurebatteries
arekeptoutofthetrashandsafelyrecycled,whichiscriticalforconservingvaluableresourcesanddiverting
potentiallyhazardousmaterialsfromdisposalfacilities.
1urgetheCounciltotakepromptandfavorableactiononthe“BatteryStewardshipInfractionsScheduleofFines
ApprovalResolutionof2023.”
Enclosures 1
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~ on
at the request
of the Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
12 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To approve the proposed final rules to establish a schedule of civil infractions for violations of
18 battery stewardship requirements of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management
19 Amendment Act of 2014.
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21 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
22 resolution may be cited as the "Battery Stewardship Infractions Schedule of Fines Approval
23 Resolution of 2023".
24 Sec.
2. Pursuant to section 104(a)(l) of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory
25 Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985, effective October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official
26 Code§ 2-1801.04(a)(l)) and Subtitle D (Extended Producer Responsibility for Batteries)
of Title
27 I (Waste Management, Reduction, and Recovery) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management
28 Amendment Act of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official Code§ 8-
29 771.01 et seq.), the Council approves the proposed final rulemaking adopted by the Department
30 of Energy and the Environment, which was published as a proposed rulemaking in the D. C.
31 Register on July 7, 2023 at 70 DCR 009459, to establish a schedule of civil infractions for
32 violations of Subtitle D (Extended Producer Responsibility for Batteries) of Title I (Waste
33 Management, Reduction, and Recovery) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official Code § 8-34
771.01 et seq.) and rules related to battery stewardship in Chapter 39 (Battery Stewardship) of 35
Title 20 (Environment) of the DCMR. 36
Sec. 3. Transmittal. 37
The Secretary to the Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its adoption, to 38
the Mayor, the Director of the Department of Energy and Environment, and the Administrator of 39
the Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances. 40
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 41
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 42
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 43
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 44
Sec. 5. Effective date. 45
This resolution shall take effect immediately. 46 1
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
(as submitted to the Council for its review and approval pursuant to section 104(a)(1) of the
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985, effective October
5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official Code § 2-1801.04(a)(1))
Battery Stewardship Infractions
The Director of the Department of Energy and Environment (“DOEE”), pursuant to the authority
set forth in section 104 of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions
Act of 1985, effective October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official Code § 2-1801.04); Mayor’s
Order 2006-61 dated June 14, 2006; Subtitle D (Extended Producer Responsibility for Batteries)
of Title I (Waste Management, Reduction, and Recovery) of the Sustainable Solid Waste
Management Amendment Act of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official
Code § 8-771.01 et seq.); and Mayor’s Order 2022-028 dated February, 10, 2022, hereby gives
notice of the adoption of the following amendments to Chapter 40 (Department of the Environment
(DDOE) Infractions) of Title 16 (Consumers, Commercial Practices, and Civil Infractions) of the
District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”).
This rulemaking schedules fines for violation of provisions related to battery stewardship in the
Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014 and of rules related to battery
stewardship in Chapter 39 (Battery Stewardship) of Title 20 (Environment) of the DCMR. The
rulemaking reflects amendments incorporated into the Sustainable Solid Waste Management
Amendment Act of 2014 by the Battery and Electronic Stewardship Amendment Act of 2022,
effective March 10, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-320, 70 DCR 3551).
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the District of Columbia Register on July 7,
2023, at 70 DCR 009459. A thirty (30) day comment period on the proposed rulemaking ended on
August 7, 2023.
DOEE received one (1) set of comments during the comment period. The comments received and
changes made are described below.
Implementation of a Battery Stewardship Plan or Amendment
• Comment: Delete § 4014.3(a) that would establish an infraction for failure to fully
implement an approved battery stewardship plan or amendment to the plan because there
is no definition for “fully implemented” and it is unclear how DOEE would determine if a
battery stewardship organization (BSO) meets this requirement.
Response: The infractions rulemaking establishes fines for violation of the existing battery
stewardship regulations. The regulations state at 20 DCMR § 3900.1(b) that a BSO shall
“fully implement the plan, and any amendments to the plan.” This requirement addresses
the situation in which either the whole plan, or some portion of the plan, developed by the
BSO and approved by DOEE, is not carried out. If DOEE seeks to impose a fine and there 2
is a disagreement about whether a plan or portion of a plan was fully implemented, a notice
of infraction could be appealed to the third-party Office of Administrative Hearings. No
change was made as a result of this comment.
• Comment: Delete § 4014.3(a) that would establish an infraction for failure to fully
implement an approved battery stewardship plan or amendment to the plan no later than
ninety (90) days after receiving DOEE approval because there are few to no actions that
are implemented in the first 90 days after plan approval and that outcomes after a full year
of implementation are the important aspects.
Response: The regulations at 20 DCMR § 3900.1(b) require the BSO to implement its
battery stewardship plan or a plan amendment no later than ninety (90) days after DOEE
approval. During the first 90 days, the BSO will need to undertake any and all actions that
must be completed so that the stewardship plan is up and running as specified in its plan
(the plan may provide for undertaking some actions in phases after the first ninety (90)
days). No change was made as a result of this comment.
Annual Registration
• Comment: Delete § 4014.3(b) that would establish an infraction for failure to register with
DOEE each year because the information required is redundant and should be submitted
only once, and this infraction is not at the same level of importance as other infractions.
Response: The primary responsibilities of the BSO under the battery stewardship law are
registration, battery stewardship plan development and implementation, and an annual
report. D.C. Official Code § 8-771.04(b) requires annual registration and spells out the
information the registration must include. Some of the information, such as the producer
list, requirements for participating in the BSO, and contact information, may change over
time. The BSO may copy and paste information that is unchanged between years. No
change was made as a result of this comment.
Battery Collection Site Safety
• Comment: Delete § 4014.3(i) that would establish an infraction for a BSO’s failure to
provide a battery management safety tutorial because it does not impact the overall
performance of the battery stewardship program and enforcing the requirement to provide
a safety tutorial does not by itself add value to the program.
Response: DOEE believes that safety is critical to program success. Batteries contain
harmful substances that can pose a risk of fire or explosion if managed unsafely. D.C.
Official Code § 8-771.03(d)(1) requires that any battery collection site designated under a
plan complete a safety tutorial provided by the BSO implementing the plan. The
regulations at 20 DCMR § 3900.3(a) require that the BSO provide a safety tutorial and the
BSO must require that collection site personnel responsible for the collection program
complete the safety tutorial (1) before the site begins to operate as a collection site under
the approved plan and (2) when there is a change in responsible collection site personnel. 3
DOEE revised the text to clarify that § 4014.3(i) applies to both the BSO’s responsibility
to provide a tutorial and to require that collection site personnel complete the tutorial.
End-of-Life Handling of Residual Materials
• Comment: Delete § 4014.3(j) that would establish an infraction for end-of-life handling
that is not in accordance with practices set forth in an approved battery stewardship plan
or amendment to the plan as it will have little impact on the overall battery stewardship
program.
Response: End-of-life handling is part of the battery stewardship plan. A failure to
implement the end-of-life portion of an approved plan can be addressed as an infraction
under 20 DCMR § 3900.1(b). This infraction is deleted and the citations of the subsequent
provisions revised accordingly.
Enforcement against Producers
• Comment: Increase the penalty in § 4014.3(k) for the failure of a producer to join a BSO
from a Class 3 to Class 2 infraction because non-participating producers who place
batteries on the market in the District burden the BSO while at the same time severely
limiting its incoming fees, which reduces its ability to run the battery stewardship program.
Response: The lists of participating producers in the annual registration and the annual
report each identify members, and those not on one or both lists can be held liable for
violation(s) of the BSO membership requirement. A Class 3 infraction imposes a fine of
$500 for the first offense, and there are escalated penalties for repeat offenders if a producer
has one or more additional violations within a three-year period. Further, D.C. Official
Code § 8-771.07 makes a cause of action available to the BSO if a producer has not joined
the BSO and other criteria are met. DOEE believes that these sanctions are sufficient. No
change was made as a result of this comment.
DOEE also made the following changes:
• § 4014.3(e): Removed this provision that would have established an infraction for violation
of Section 130(b-1) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014,
effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official Code § 8-771.03(b-1)) (failure
to submit a required amendment to a battery stewardship plan), as unnecessary, and
renumbered the remaining sections accordingly.
• New § 4014.3(i) (after re-numbering): Clarified that this infraction only applies to the
failure to join a battery stewardship organization in 20 DCMR § 3901.1(a).
In accordance with Section 104(a)(1) of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil
Infractions Act of 1985, effective October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42; D.C. Official Code § 2-
1801.04(a)(1)), the Mayor transmitted the proposed final rules to the Council for its review and
approval on MONTH DATE, 2023, pursuant to the Battery Stewardship Infractions Schedule of 4
Fines Approval Resolution of 2023 (Prop. Res. XX-XXXX). The proposed final rulemaking was
passively approved by the Council.
The Acting Director of DOEE took final action to adopt this rulemaking on MONTH DATE, 2023,
and the rules will become effective upon publication of this notice in the district of Columbia
Register.
Chapter 40, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT (DDOE) INFRACTIONS, of Title 16
DCMR, CONSUMERS, COMMERCIAL PRACTICES, AND CIVIL INFRACTIONS, is
amended as follows:
A new Section 4014, BATTERY STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM INFRACTIONS, is added to
read as follows:
4014 BATTERY STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM INFRACTIONS
4014.1 [Reserved]
4014.2 [Reserved]
4014.3 Violation of any of the following provisions shall be a Class 3 infraction:
(a) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(b) (failure to fully implement an approved battery
stewardship plan or amendment to the plan no later than ninety (90) days
after receiving DOEE approval);
(b) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(e) (failure to register with DOEE using an agency
prepared registration form on or before January 1 of each year);
(c) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(f) (failure to submit an annual report with the required
elements to DOEE on or before June 1 of each year);
(d) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(g) (failure to submit a proposed amendment to a battery
stewardship plan);
(e) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(h) (failure to submit amended performance goals as
required on the anniversary of the approval of the initial battery stewardship
plan);
(f) 20 DCMR § 3900.1(i) (failure to submit the results of an independent
assessment of the battery stewardship plan and recommendations to
improve the plan);
(g) 20 DCMR § 3900.2 (failure to submit an amended plan with required
corrections or revisions within forty-five (45) days of DOEE notice of
rejection or required revision); 5
(h) 20 DCMR § 3900.3(a) (failure to provide a safety tutorial as required for a
battery collection site designated under an approved plan and require that
collection site personnel responsible for the collection program complete
the safety tutorial);
(i) 20 DCMR § 3901.1(a) (failure of a producer to join a battery stewardship
organization); or
(j) 20 DCMR § 3907 (failure of a battery stewardship organization to pay the
administrative fee).
4014.4 Violation of the following provisions shall be a Class 4 infraction:
(a) Section 137(a) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment
Act of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official
Code § 8-771.09(a)) (disposal of primary or rechargeable batteries in the
District through means other than battery recycling programs or other
methods approved by the Mayor by a producer). The disposal of each
increment of one (1) to ten (10) batteries shall be a separate violation; or
(b) Section 137(b) of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment
Act of 2014, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official
Code § 8–771.09(b)) (knowing disposal of primary or rechargeable batteries
in the District through means other than battery recycling programs or other
methods approved by the Mayor by any person). The disposal of each
increment of one (1) to ten (10) batteries shall be a separate violation.
4014.5 Violation of any provision of Subtitle D (Extended Producer Responsibility for
Batteries) of Title I (Waste Management, Reduction, and Recovery) of the
Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014, effective March
16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Official Code § 8-771.01 et seq.), or the
implementing rules in 20 DCMR Chapter 39, that is not cited elsewhere in this
section shall be a Class 5 infraction. 2
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
O
FFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BRIAN L. SCHWALB PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY GENERAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION
LEGAL COUNSEL DIVISION
MEMORANDUM
TO: Sarina Loy
Deputy Director
Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs
FROM: Megan D. Browder
Deputy Attorney General
Legal Counsel Division
DATE: December 20, 2023
SUBJECT: Legal Sufficiency Review – Draft “ Battery Stewardship Infractions Schedule of Fines
Approval Resolution of 2023”
(AE-22-272 E)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
This is to Certify that this Office has reviewed the above- referenced draft
legislation and found it to be legally sufficient. If you have any questions in this regard, please do
not hesitate to call me at (202) 724-5524.
_________________________________
Megan D. Browder