IIA

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2024

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 24, 1996

Received

AN ACT

To phase out the use of mercury in batteries and provide

for the efficient and cost-effective collection and recycling

or proper disposal of used nickel cadmium batteries,

small sealed lead-acid batteries, and certain other batteries, and for other purposes.
2

HR 2024 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury-Containing

5 and Rechargeable Battery Management Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) it is in the public interest to—

9 (A) phase out the use of mercury in bat10 teries and provide for the efficient and cost-ef11 fective collection and recycling or proper dis12 posal of used nickel cadmium batteries, small

13 sealed lead-acid batteries, and other regulated

14 batteries; and

15 (B) educate the public concerning the col16 lection, recycling, and proper disposal of such

17 batteries;

18 (2) uniform national labeling requirements for

19 regulated batteries, rechargeable consumer products,

20 and product packaging will significantly benefit pro21 grams for regulated battery collection and recycling

22 or proper disposal; and

23 (3) it is in the public interest to encourage per24 sons who use rechargeable batteries to participate in
3

HR 2024 RFS

1 collection for recycling of used nickel-cadmium,

2 small sealed lead-acid, and other regulated batteries.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency.

8 (2) BUTTON CELL.—The term ‘‘button cell’’

9 means a button- or coin-shaped battery.

10 (3) EASILY REMOVABLE.—The term ‘‘easily re11 movable’’, with respect to a battery, means detach12 able or removable at the end of the life of the bat13 tery—

14 (A) from a consumer product by a

15 consumer with the use of common household

16 tools; or

17 (B) by a retailer of replacements for a bat18 tery used as the principal electrical power

19 source for a vehicle.

20 (4) MERCURIC-OXIDE BATTERY.—The term

21 ‘‘mercuric-oxide battery’’ means a battery that uses

22 a mercuric-oxide electrode.

23 (5) RECHARGEABLE BATTERY.—The term ‘‘re24 chargeable battery’’—
4

HR 2024 RFS

1 (A) means 1 or more voltaic or galvanic

2 cells, electrically connected to produce electric

3 energy, that is designed to be recharged for re4 peated uses; and

5 (B) includes any type of enclosed device or

6 sealed container consisting of 1 or more such

7 cells, including what is commonly called a bat8 tery pack (and in the case of a battery pack, for

9 the purposes of the requirements of easy remov10 ability and labeling under section 103, means

11 the battery pack as a whole rather than each

12 component individually); but

13 (C) does not include—

14 (i) a lead-acid battery used to start an

15 internal combustion engine or as the prin16 cipal electrical power source for a vehicle,

17 such as an automobile, a truck, construc18 tion equipment, a motorcycle, a garden

19 tractor, a golf cart, a wheelchair, or a boat;

20 (ii) a lead-acid battery used for load

21 leveling or for storage of electricity gen22 erated by an alternative energy source,

23 such as a solar cell or wind-driven genera24 tor;
5

HR 2024 RFS

1 (iii) a battery used as a backup power

2 source for memory or program instruction

3 storage, timekeeping, or any similar pur4 pose that requires uninterrupted electrical

5 power in order to function if the primary

6 energy supply fails or fluctuates momen7 tarily; or

8 (iv) a rechargeable alkaline battery.

9 (6) RECHARGEABLE CONSUMER PRODUCT.—

10 The term ‘‘rechargeable consumer product’’—

11 (A) means a product that, when sold at re12 tail, includes a regulated battery as a primary

13 energy supply, and that is primarily intended

14 for personal or household use; but

15 (B) does not include a product that only

16 uses a battery solely as a source of backup

17 power for memory or program instruction stor18 age, timekeeping, or any similar purpose that

19 requires uninterrupted electrical power in order

20 to function if the primary energy supply fails or

21 fluctuates momentarily.

22 (7) REGULATED BATTERY.—The term ‘‘regu23 lated battery’’ means a rechargeable battery that—
6

HR 2024 RFS

1 (A) contains a cadmium or a lead electrode

2 or any combination of cadmium and lead elec3 trodes; or

4 (B) contains other electrode chemistries

5 and is the subject of a determination by the Ad6 ministrator under section 103(d).

7 (8) REMANUFACTURED PRODUCT.—The term

8 ‘‘remanufactured product’’ means a rechargeable

9 consumer product that has been altered by the re10 placement of parts, repackaged, or repaired after

11 initial sale by the original manufacturer.

12 SEC. 4. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.

13 The Administrator shall, in consultation with rep14 resentatives of rechargeable battery manufacturers, re15 chargeable consumer product manufacturers, and retail16 ers, establish a program to provide information to the pub17 lic concerning the proper handling and disposal of used

18 regulated batteries and rechargeable consumer products

19 with nonremovable batteries.

20 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

21 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.—When on the basis of any infor22 mation the Administrator determines that a person has

23 violated, or is in violation of, any requirement of this Act

24 (except a requirement of section 104) the Administrator—
7

HR 2024 RFS

1 (1) in the case of any violation, may issue an

2 order assessing a civil penalty of not more than

3 $10,000 for each violation, or requiring compliance

4 immediately or within a reasonable specified time pe5 riod, or both; or

6 (2) in the case of any violation or failure to

7 comply with an order issued under this section, may

8 commence a civil action in the United States district

9 court in the district in which the violation occurred

10 or in the district in which the violator resides for ap11 propriate relief, including a temporary or permanent

12 injunction.

13 (b) CONTENTS OF ORDER.—An order under sub14 section (a)(1) shall state with reasonable specificity the

15 nature of the violation.

16 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In assessing a civil penalty

17 under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator shall take into

18 account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith

19 efforts to comply with applicable requirements.

20 (d) FINALITY OF ORDER; REQUEST FOR HEARING.—

21 An order under subsection (a)(1) shall become final un22 less, not later than 30 days after the order is served, a

23 person named in the order requests a hearing on the

24 record.
8

HR 2024 RFS

1 (e) HEARING.—On receiving a request under sub2 section (d), the Administrator shall promptly conduct a

3 hearing on the record.

4 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—In connection with any

5 hearing on the record under this section, the Adminis6 trator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testi7 mony of witnesses and for the production of relevant pa8 pers, books, and documents.

9 (g) CONTINUED VIOLATION AFTER EXPIRATION OF

10 PERIOD FOR COMPLIANCE.—If a violator fails to take cor11 rective action within the time specified in an order under

12 subsection (a)(1), the Administrator may assess a civil

13 penalty of not more than $10,000 for the continued non14 compliance with the order.

15 (h) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The Administrator may

16 not take any enforcement action against a person for sell17 ing, offering for sale, or offering for promotional purposes

18 to the ultimate consumer a battery or product covered by

19 this Act that was—

20 (1) purchased ready for sale to the ultimate

21 consumer; and

22 (2) sold, offered for sale, or offered for pro23 motional purposes without modification.

24 The preceding sentence shall not apply to a person—
9

HR 2024 RFS

1 (A) who is the importer of a battery covered by

2 this Act, and

3 (B) who has knowledge of the chemical contents

4 of the battery

5 when such chemical contents make the sale, offering for

6 sale, or offering for promotional purposes of such battery

7 unlawful under title II of this Act.

8 SEC. 6. INFORMATION GATHERING AND ACCESS.

9 (a) RECORDS AND REPORTS.—A person who is re10 quired to carry out the objectives of this Act, including—

11 (1) a regulated battery manufacturer;

12 (2) a rechargeable consumer product manufac13 turer;

14 (3) a mercury-containing battery manufacturer;

15 and

16 (4) an authorized agent of a person described

17 in paragraph (1), (2), or (3),

18 shall establish and maintain such records and report such

19 information as the Administrator may by regulation rea20 sonably require to carry out the objectives of this Act.

21 (b) ACCESS AND COPYING.—The Administrator or

22 the Administrator’s authorized representative, on presen23 tation of credentials of the Administrator, may at reason24 able times have access to and copy any records required

25 to be maintained under subsection (a).
10

HR 2024 RFS

1 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Administrator shall

2 maintain the confidentiality of documents and records that

3 contain proprietary information.

4 SEC. 7. STATE AUTHORITY.

5 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a

6 State from enacting and enforcing a standard or require7 ment that is identical to a standard or requirement estab8 lished or promulgated under this Act. Except as provided

9 in sections 103(e) and 104, nothing in this Act shall be

10 construed to prohibit a State from enacting and enforcing

11 a standard or requirement that is more stringent than a

12 standard or requirement established or promulgated under

13 this Act.

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

16 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

17 TITLE I—RECHARGEABLE

18 BATTERY RECYCLING ACT

19 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

20 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rechargeable Battery

21 Recycling Act’’.

22 SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

23 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the efficient

24 recycling or proper disposal of used nickel-cadmium re25 chargeable batteries, used small sealed lead-acid recharge-
11

HR 2024 RFS

1 able batteries, other regulated batteries, and such re2 chargeable batteries in used consumer products, by—

3 (1) providing for uniform labeling requirements

4 and streamlined regulatory requirements for regu5 lated battery collection programs; and

6 (2) encouraging voluntary industry programs by

7 eliminating barriers to funding the collection and re8 cycling or proper disposal of used rechargeable bat9 teries.

10 SEC. 103. RECHARGEABLE CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND LA11 BELING.

12 (a) PROHIBITION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall sell for use

14 in the United States a regulated battery that is

15 ready for retail sale or a rechargeable consumer

16 product that is ready for retail sale, if such battery

17 or product was manufactured on or after the date

18 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act,

19 unless the labeling requirements of subsection (b)

20 are met and, in the case of a regulated battery, the

21 regulated battery—

22 (A) is easily removable from the recharge23 able consumer product; or

24 (B) is sold separately.
12

HR 2024 RFS

1 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does not

2 apply to any of the following:

3 (A) The sale of a remanufactured product

4 unit unless paragraph (1) applied to the sale of

5 the unit when originally manufactured.

6 (B) The sale of a product unit intended for

7 export purposes only.

8 (b) LABELING.—Each regulated battery or recharge9 able consumer product without an easily removable battery

10 manufactured on or after the date that is 1 year after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, whether produced do12 mestically or imported shall bear the following labels:

13 (1) 3 chasing arrows or a comparable recycling

14 symbol.

15 (2)(A) On each regulated battery which is a

16 nickel-cadmium battery, the chemical name or the

17 abbreviation ‘‘Ni-Cd’’ and the phrase ‘‘BATTERY

18 MUST BE RECYCLED OR DISPOSED OF

19 PROPERLY.’’.

20 (B) On each regulated battery which is a lead21 acid battery, ‘‘Pb’’ or the words ‘‘LEAD’’, ‘‘RE22 TURN’’, and ‘‘RECYCLE’’ and if the regulated bat23 tery is sealed, the phrase ‘‘BATTERY MUST BE

24 RECYCLED.’’.
13

HR 2024 RFS

1 (3) On each rechargeable consumer product

2 containing a regulated battery that is not easily re3 movable, the phrase ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL-CAD4 MIUM BATTERY. BATTERY MUST BE RECY5 CLED OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or

6 ‘‘CONTAINS SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BAT7 TERY MUST BE RECYCLED.’’, as applicable.

8 (4) On the packaging of each rechargeable

9 consumer product, and the packaging of each regu10 lated battery sold separately from such a product,

11 unless the required label is clearly visible through

12 the packaging, the phrase ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL13 CADMIUM BATTERY. BATTERY MUST BE

14 RECYCLED OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or

15 ‘‘CONTAINS SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BAT16 TERY MUST BE RECYCLED.’’, as applicable.

17 (c) EXISTING OR ALTERNATIVE LABELING.—

18 (1) INITIAL PERIOD.—For a period of 2 years

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, regulated

20 batteries, rechargeable consumer products containing

21 regulated batteries, and rechargeable consumer

22 product packages that are labeled in substantial

23 compliance with subsection (b) shall be deemed to

24 comply with the labeling requirements of subsection

25 (b).
14

HR 2024 RFS

1 (2) CERTIFICATION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—On application by per3 sons subject to the labeling requirements of

4 subsection (b) or the labeling requirements pro5 mulgated by the Administrator under sub6 section (d), the Administrator shall certify that

7 a different label meets the requirements of sub8 section (b) or (d), respectively, if the different

9 label—

10 (i) conveys the same information as

11 the label required under subsection (b) or

12 (d), respectively; or

13 (ii) conforms with a recognized inter14 national standard that is consistent with

15 the overall purposes of this title.

16 (B) CONSTRUCTIVE CERTIFICATION.—

17 Failure of the Administrator to object to an ap18 plication under subparagraph (A) on the

19 ground that a different label does not meet ei20 ther of the conditions described in subpara21 graph (A) (i) or (ii) within 120 days after the

22 date on which the application is made shall con23 stitute certification for the purposes of this Act.

24 (d) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINIS25 TRATOR.—
15

HR 2024 RFS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator deter2 mines that other rechargeable batteries having elec3 trode chemistries different from regulated batteries

4 are toxic and may cause substantial harm to human

5 health and the environment if discarded into the

6 solid waste stream for land disposal or incineration,

7 the Administrator may, with the advice and counsel

8 of State regulatory authorities and manufacturers of

9 rechargeable batteries and rechargeable consumer

10 products, and after public comment—

11 (A) promulgate labeling requirements for

12 the batteries with different electrode chem13 istries, rechargeable consumer products contain14 ing such batteries that are not easily removable

15 batteries, and packaging for the batteries and

16 products; and

17 (B) promulgate requirements for easy re18 movability of regulated batteries from recharge19 able consumer products designed to contain

20 such batteries.

21 (2) SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITY.—The regula22 tions promulgated under paragraph (1) shall be sub23 stantially similar to the requirements set forth in

24 subsections (a) and (b).
16

HR 2024 RFS

1 (e) UNIFORMITY.—After the effective dates of a re2 quirement set forth in subsection (a), (b), or (c) or a regu3 lation promulgated by the Administrator under subsection

4 (d), no Federal agency, State, or political subdivision of

5 a State may enforce any easy removability or environ6 mental labeling requirement for a rechargeable battery or

7 rechargeable consumer product that is not identical to the

8 requirement or regulation.

9 (f) EXEMPTIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any re11 chargeable consumer product, any person may sub12 mit an application to the Administrator for an ex13 emption from the requirements of subsection (a) in

14 accordance with the procedures under paragraph

15 (2). The application shall include the following infor16 mation:

17 (A) A statement of the specific basis for

18 the request for the exemption.

19 (B) The name, business address, and tele20 phone number of the applicant.

21 (2) GRANTING OF EXEMPTION.—Not later than

22 60 days after receipt of an application under para23 graph (1), the Administrator shall approve or deny

24 the application. On approval of the application the

25 Administrator shall grant an exemption to the appli-
17

HR 2024 RFS

1 cant. The exemption shall be issued for a period of

2 time that the Administrator determines to be appro3 priate, except that the period shall not exceed 2

4 years. The Administrator shall grant an exemption

5 on the basis of evidence supplied to the Adminis6 trator that the manufacturer has been unable to

7 commence manufacturing the rechargeable consumer

8 product in compliance with the requirements of this

9 section and with an equivalent level of product per10 formance without the product—

11 (A) posing a threat to human health, safe12 ty, or the environment; or

13 (B) violating requirements for approvals

14 from governmental agencies or widely recog15 nized private standard-setting organizations (in16 cluding Underwriters Laboratories).

17 (3) RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION.—A person

18 granted an exemption under paragraph (2) may

19 apply for a renewal of the exemption in accordance

20 with the requirements and procedures described in

21 paragraphs (1) and (2). The Administrator may

22 grant a renewal of such an exemption for a period

23 of not more than 2 years after the date of the grant24 ing of the renewal.
18

HR 2024 RFS

1 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS.

2 (a) BATTERIES SUBJECT TO CERTAIN REGULA3 TIONS.—The collection, storage, or transportation of used

4 rechargeable batteries, batteries described in section

5 3(5)(C) or in title II, and used rechargeable consumer

6 products containing rechargeable batteries that are not

7 easily removable rechargeable batteries, shall, notwith8 standing any law of a State or political subdivision thereof

9 governing such collection, storage, or transportation, be

10 regulated under applicable provisions of the regulations

11 promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency at

12 60 Fed. Reg. 25492 (May 11, 1995), as effective on May

13 11, 1995, except as provided in paragraph (2) of sub14 section (b) and except that—

15 (1) the requirements of 40 CFR 260.20,

16 260.40, and 260.41 and the equivalent requirements

17 of an approved State program shall not apply, and

18 (2) this section shall not apply to any lead acid

19 battery managed under 40 CFR 266 subpart G or

20 the equivalent requirements of an approved State

21 program.

22 (b) ENFORCEMENT UNDER SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL

23 ACT.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with the re24 quirements imposed by subsection (a) of this section may

25 be subject to enforcement under applicable provisions of

26 the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
19

HR 2024 RFS

1 (2) States may implement and enforce the require2 ments of subsection (a) if the Administrator finds that—

3 (A) the State has adopted requirements that

4 are identical to those referred to in subsection (a)

5 governing the collection, storage, or transportation

6 of batteries referred to in subsection (a); and

7 (B) the State provides for enforcement of such

8 requirements.

9 TITLE II—MERCURY-CONTAIN10 ING BATTERY MANAGEMENT

11 ACT

12 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury-Containing

14 Battery Management Act’’.

15 SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

16 The purpose of this title is to phase out the use of

17 batteries containing mercury.

18 SEC. 203. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ALKALINE-MAN19 GANESE BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

20 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro21 motional purposes any alkaline-manganese battery manu22 factured on or after the date of enactment of this Act,

23 with a mercury content that was intentionally introduced

24 (as distinguished from mercury that may be incidentally

25 present in other materials), except that the limitation on
20

HR 2024 RFS

1 mercury content in alkaline-manganese button cells shall

2 be 25 milligrams of mercury per button cell.

3 SEC. 204. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ZINC-CARBON

4 BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

5 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro6 motional purposes any zinc-carbon battery manufactured

7 on or after the date of enactment of this Act, that contains

8 mercury that was intentionally introduced as described in

9 section 203.

10 SEC. 205. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF BUTTON CELL

11 MERCURIC-OXIDE BATTERIES.

12 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro13 motional purposes any button cell mercuric-oxide battery

14 for use in the United States on or after the date of enact15 ment of this Act.

16 SEC. 206. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF OTHER MER17 CURIC-OXIDE BATTERIES.

18 (a) PROHIBITION.—On or after the date of enact19 ment of this Act, no person shall sell, offer for sale, or

20 offer for promotional purposes a mercuric-oxide battery

21 for use in the United States unless the battery manufac22 turer, or the importer of such a battery—

23 (1) identifies a collection site in the United

24 States that has all required Federal, State, and local

25 government approvals, to which persons may send
21

HR 2024 RFS

1 used mercuric-oxide batteries for recycling or proper

2 disposal;

3 (2) informs each of its purchasers of mercuric4 oxide batteries of the collection site identified under

5 paragraph (1); and

6 (3) informs each of its purchasers of mercuric7 oxide batteries of a telephone number that the pur8 chaser may call to get information about sending

9 mercuric-oxide batteries for recycling or proper dis10 posal.

11 (b) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section does

12 not apply to a sale or offer of a mercuric-oxide button

13 cell battery.

14 SEC. 207. NEW PRODUCT OR USE.

15 On petition of a person that proposes a new use for

16 a battery technology described in this title or the use of

17 a battery described in this title in a new product, the Ad18 ministrator may exempt from this title the new use of the

19 technology or the use of such a battery in the new product

20 on the condition, if appropriate, that there exist reason21 able safeguards to ensure that the resulting battery or

22 product without an easily removable battery will not be

23 disposed of in an incinerator, composting facility, or land-
22

HR 2024 RFS

1 fill (other than a facility regulated under subtitle C of the

2 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.)).

Passed the House of Representatives April 23, 1996.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.