II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2157

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide for the efficient collection

and recycling of spent lead-acid batteries and educate the public concerning the collection and recycling of such batteries, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 28, 1996

Mr. SMITH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide for the

efficient collection and recycling of spent lead-acid batteries and educate the public concerning the collection

and recycling of such batteries, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Lead-Acid Battery Re5 cycling Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. RECYCLING OF LEAD-ACID BATTERIES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis3 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 4011. RECYCLING OF LEAD-ACID BATTERIES.

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

7 ‘‘(1) LEAD-ACID BATTERY.—The term ‘lead8 acid battery’ means a battery that—

9 ‘‘(A) contains lead and sulfuric acid;

10 ‘‘(B) is used as a power source; and

11 ‘‘(C) is not a rechargeable battery.

12 ‘‘(2) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.—The term

13 ‘municipal solid waste’ means—

14 ‘‘(A) solid waste generated by the general

15 public or from a residential, commercial, insti16 tutional, or industrial source, consisting of

17 paper, wood, yard waste, plastics, leather, rub18 ber, and other combustible material and non19 combustible material such as metal and glass,

20 including residue remaining after recyclable ma21 terial has been separated from waste destined

22 for disposal, and including waste material re23 moved from a septic tank, septage pit, or cess24 pool (other than from portable toilets); but

25 ‘‘(B) does not include—
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1 ‘‘(i) waste identified or listed as a

2 hazardous waste under section 3001 of this

3 Act or waste regulated under the Toxic

4 Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601

5 et seq.);

6 ‘‘(ii) waste, including contaminated

7 soil and debris, resulting from a response

8 action taken under section 104 or 106 of

9 the Comprehensive Environmental Re10 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of

11 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606) or any cor12 rective action taken under this Act;

13 ‘‘(iii) medical waste listed in section

14 11002;

15 ‘‘(iv) industrial waste generated by

16 manufacturing or industrial processes, in17 cluding waste generated during scrap proc18 essing and scrap recycling;

19 ‘‘(v) recyclable material; or

20 ‘‘(vi) sludge.

21 ‘‘(3) RECHARGEABLE BATTERY.—The term ‘re22 chargeable battery’—

23 ‘‘(A) means 1 or more voltaic or galvanic

24 cells, electrically connected to produce electric
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1 energy, that is designed to be recharged for re2 peated uses; and

3 ‘‘(B) includes any type of enclosed device

4 or sealed container consisting of 1 or more such

5 cells, including what is commonly called a bat6 tery pack; but

7 ‘‘(C) does not include—

8 ‘‘(i) a battery that is used to start an

9 internal combustion engine or is used as

10 the principal electrical power source for a

11 vehicle, such as an automobile, truck, con12 struction equipment, motorcycle, garden

13 tractor, golf cart, wheelchair, or boat;

14 ‘‘(ii) a battery that is used for load

15 leveling or for storage of electricity gen16 erated by an alternative energy source,

17 such as a solar cell or wind-driven genera18 tor;

19 ‘‘(iii) a battery that is used as a

20 backup power source for memory or pro21 gram instruction storage, timekeeping, or

22 any similar purpose that requires uninter23 rupted electrical power in order to function

24 if the primary energy supply fails or fluc25 tuates momentarily; or
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1 ‘‘(iv) a rechargeable alkaline battery.

2 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person shall not—

4 ‘‘(A) place a lead-acid battery in a landfill;

5 ‘‘(B) incinerate a lead-acid battery; or

6 ‘‘(C) otherwise dispose of a lead-acid bat7 tery in a manner other than in accordance with

8 subsection (c).

9 ‘‘(2) COMMINGLED WASTE.—A person that is

10 an owner or operator of a municipal solid waste

11 landfill, incinerator, or collection program that re12 ceives a lead-acid battery that—

13 ‘‘(A) is commingled with municipal solid

14 waste (other than lead-acid batteries); and

15 ‘‘(B) is not readily removable from the

16 waste stream,

17 shall not be considered to violate paragraph (1) if

18 the owner or operator has established contractual re19 quirements or other appropriate notification or in20 spection procedures that are reasonably designed to

21 ensure that no lead-acid battery is received at, or

22 burned in, the landfill or incinerator facility or ac23 cepted through the collection program.

24 ‘‘(c) LAWFUL DISPOSAL.—

25 ‘‘(1) BY PERSONS IN GENERAL.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person (other than

2 a person described in paragraph (2), (3), or

3 (4)) shall return a spent lead-acid battery by

4 delivering the battery to 1 of the authorized re5 cipients described in subparagraph (B).

6 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENTS.—The au7 thorized recipients described in this subpara8 graph are—

9 ‘‘(i) a person that sells lead-acid bat10 teries at retail or wholesale;

11 ‘‘(ii) a lead smelter regulated by a

12 State or the Administrator under this Act

13 or the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et

14 seq.);

15 ‘‘(iii) an automotive dismantler or

16 scrap dealer (as defined by the Adminis17 trator);

18 ‘‘(iv) a collection entity, program, or

19 facility designated by a State to accept

20 spent lead-acid batteries; and

21 ‘‘(v) a manufacturer of lead-acid bat22 teries of the same general type as the type

23 delivered.

24 ‘‘(2) BY RETAILERS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that sells

2 lead-acid batteries at retail shall return a spent

3 lead-acid battery by delivering the battery to 1

4 of the authorized recipients described in sub5 paragraph (B).

6 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENTS.—The au7 thorized recipients described in this subpara8 graph are—

9 ‘‘(i) a person that sells lead-acid bat10 teries at wholesale;

11 ‘‘(ii) a lead smelter regulated by a

12 State or the Administrator under this Act

13 or the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et

14 seq.);

15 ‘‘(iii) an automotive dismantler or

16 scrap dealer (as defined by the Adminis17 trator);

18 ‘‘(iv) a manufacturer of lead-acid bat19 teries of the same general type as the type

20 delivered; and

21 ‘‘(v) a collection entity, program, or

22 facility designated by a State to accept

23 spent lead-acid batteries.
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1 ‘‘(3) BY WHOLESALERS, AUTOMOTIVE DISMAN2 TLERS, AND COLLECTION PROGRAMS, ENTITIES AND

3 FACILITIES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that sells

5 lead-acid batteries at wholesale, an automotive

6 dismantler, and a collection entity, program, or

7 facility designated by a State to accept spent

8 lead-acid batteries shall return a spent lead-acid

9 battery by delivering the battery to 1 of the au10 thorized recipients described in subparagraph

11 (B).

12 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENTS.—The au13 thorized recipients described in this subpara14 graph are—

15 ‘‘(i) a lead smelter regulated by a

16 State or the Administrator under this Act

17 or the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et

18 seq.); and

19 ‘‘(ii) a manufacturer of lead-acid bat20 teries of the same general type as the type

21 delivered.

22 ‘‘(4) BY MANUFACTURERS.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that manu24 factures lead-acid batteries shall return a spent

25 lead-acid battery by delivering the battery to
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1 the authorized recipient described in subpara2 graph (B).

3 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED RECIPIENT.—The au4 thorized recipient described in this subpara5 graph is a lead smelter regulated by a State or

6 the Administrator under this Act or the Clean

7 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).

8 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) RETAILERS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that sells or

11 offers for sale lead-acid batteries at retail shall

12 accept spent lead-acid batteries of the same

13 general type as the batteries sold in a quantity

14 that is approximately equal to the number of

15 batteries sold.

16 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—Subparagraph (A)

17 shall not apply to a retailer that sells not more

18 than 5 lead-acid batteries per month on average

19 over a calendar year, if a collection entity, pro20 gram, or facility is in operation for the collec21 tion of spent lead-acid batteries in the locality

22 of the retailer.

23 ‘‘(2) WHOLESALERS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that sells or

25 offers for sale lead-acid batteries at wholesale
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1 shall accept spent lead-acid batteries of the

2 same general type as the batteries sold and in

3 a quantity approximately equal to the number

4 of batteries sold.

5 ‘‘(B) ACCEPTANCE FROM RETAILERS.—A

6 wholesaler that sells or offers for sale lead-acid

7 batteries to a retailer shall provide for the re8 moval of spent lead-acid batteries at the place

9 of business of the retailer—

10 ‘‘(i) not later than 90 days after the

11 retailer notifies the wholesaler of the exist12 ence of the spent lead-acid batteries for re13 moval; or

14 ‘‘(ii) if the quantity of batteries to be

15 removed is less than 5, not later than 180

16 days after notification.

17 ‘‘(3) MANUFACTURERS.—A person that manu18 factures lead-acid batteries shall accept spent lead19 acid batteries of the same general type as the bat20 teries sold and in a quantity approximately equal to

21 the number of batteries sold.

22 ‘‘(e) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) POSTED NOTICE BY RETAILERS.—A per24 son that sells or offers for sale lead-acid batteries at

25 retail shall post a written notice that—
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1 ‘‘(A) is clearly visible in a public area of

2 the establishment in which the lead-acid bat3 teries are sold or offered for sale;

‘‘(B) is at least 81 4 ⁄2 inches by 11 inches in

5 size; and

6 ‘‘(C) contains the following text:

7 ‘‘(i) It is illegal to throw away a

8 motor vehicle battery or other lead-acid

9 battery.

10 ‘‘(ii) Recycle your used lead-acid bat11 teries.

12 ‘‘(iii) Federal (or State) law requires

13 battery retailers to accept used lead-acid

14 batteries for recycling when a lead-acid

15 battery is purchased.

16 ‘‘(2) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in para17 graph (1) shall be construed to prohibit a State from

18 requiring the posting of substantially similar notice

19 in lieu of that required under paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(3) LABELING.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each lead-acid battery

22 manufactured on or after the date that is 1

23 year after the date of enactment of this Act,

24 whether produced domestically or imported,

25 shall bear a label comprised of—
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1 ‘‘(i) the 3 chasing arrow recycling

2 symbol; and

3 ‘‘(ii) immediately adjacent to the recy4 cling symbol, the words ‘LEAD’, ‘RE5 TURN’, ‘RECYCLE’.

6 ‘‘(B) INTERNATIONAL SYMBOLS.—

7 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—On application by

8 a person subject to the labeling require9 ments of this paragraph, the Administrator

10 shall certify that a different label meets

11 the requirements of this paragraph if the

12 label conforms with a recognized inter13 national standard that is consistent with

14 the overall purposes of this section.

15 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Ad16 ministrator fails to act on an application

17 under clause (i) within 120 days after the

18 date on which the application is filed, the

19 Administrator shall be considered to have

20 certified that the label proposed in the ap21 plication meets the requirements of this

22 paragraph.

23 ‘‘(4) UNIFORMITY.—No State or political sub24 division of a State may enforce any labeling require25 ment intended to communicate information about
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1 the recyclability of lead-acid batteries that is not

2 identical to the requirements contained in paragraph

3 (3).

4 ‘‘(5) RECYCLING INFORMATION.—Nothing in

5 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the dis6 play on a label of a lead-acid battery of any other

7 information intended by the manufacturer to encour8 age recycling or warn consumers of the potential

9 hazards associated with lead-acid batteries.

10 ‘‘(f) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Not later than 180

11 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad12 ministrator shall publish in the Federal Register a notice

13 of the requirements of this section and such other related

14 information as the Administrator determines to be appro15 priate.

16 ‘‘(g) EXPORT FOR PURPOSES OF RECYCLING.—Not17 withstanding any other provision of this section, a person

18 may export a spent lead-acid battery for the purposes of

19 recycling.

20 ‘‘(h) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator may issue

21 a warning or citation to any person that fails to comply

22 with the requirements of this section.

23 ‘‘(i) CIVIL PENALTY.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When on the basis of any

25 information the Administrator determines that a
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1 person is in violation of this section, the Adminis2 trator—

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of a willful violation, may

4 issue an order assessing a civil penalty of not

5 more than $1,000 for each violation and requir6 ing compliance immediately or within a reason7 able specified time period, or both; or

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any violation, may com9 mence a civil action in the United States dis10 trict court in which the violation occurred for

11 appropriate relief, including a temporary or per12 manent injunction.

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF ORDER.—An order under

14 paragraph (1) shall State with reasonable specificity

15 the nature of the violation.

16 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In assessing a civil

17 penalty under paragraph (1), the Administrator

18 shall take into account the seriousness of the viola19 tion and any good faith efforts to comply with appli20 cable requirements.

21 ‘‘(4) FINALITY OF ORDER; REQUEST FOR HEAR22 ING.—An order under paragraph (1) shall become

23 final unless, not later than 30 days after the date

24 on which the order is served, a person named in the

25 order requests a hearing on the record.
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1 ‘‘(5) HEARING.—On receiving a request under

2 paragraph (4), the Administrator shall promptly

3 conduct a hearing on the record.

4 ‘‘(6) SUBPOENA POWER.—In connection with

5 any hearing on the record under this subsection, the

6 Administrator may issue subpoenas for the attend7 ance and testimony of witnesses and for the produc8 tion of relevant papers, books, and documents.

9 ‘‘(7) CONTINUED VIOLATION AFTER EXPIRA10 TION OF PERIOD FOR COMPLIANCE.—If a violator

11 fails to take corrective action within the time speci12 fied in an order under paragraph (1), the Adminis13 trator may assess a civil penalty of not more than

14 $1,000 for the continued noncompliance with the

15 order.’’.

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