H-3386.1
HOUSE BILL 2501
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Representatives Street, Santos, and Nance
Read first time 03/05/24. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
1 AN ACT Relating to improving the end-of-life management of
2 electric vehicle batteries; amending RCW 70A.205.505 and 70A.555.010;
3 reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300; adding a new
4 chapter to Title 70A RCW; and prescribing penalties.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) In addition to the findings described
7 in RCW 70A.555.005, the legislature finds that:
8 (a) In 2023, the legislature enacted producer responsibility
9 requirements for most types of smaller and medium-sized batteries,
10 but elected to further study how to best manage electric vehicle
11 batteries prior to establishing producer responsibility requirements
12 for such batteries;
13 (b) In January of 2024, the state of New Jersey enacted the
14 nation's first producer responsibility law focused on electric
15 vehicle batteries; and
16 (c) The state of California has taken important steps that will
17 facilitate electric vehicle battery recycling, including by
18 establishing requirements for electric vehicle battery labeling.
19 (2) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to make
20 producers responsible for the end-of-life management of electric
21 vehicle batteries, in order to ensure economically and
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 1 environmentally beneficial use of the valuable resources contained in
2 electric vehicle batteries.
3 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply
4 throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires
5 otherwise.
6 (1)(a) "Authorized propulsion battery recycler" means an entity
7 or facility authorized by the department or an equivalent agency in
8 another state to collect, sort, separate, and refine the elemental
9 components of end-of-life propulsion batteries, or battery materials,
10 and to refine the elemental components back to usable battery
11 chemicals that include, without limitation, nickel sulfates, cobalt
12 sulfate, and lithium salts.
13 (b) "Authorized propulsion battery recycler" does not include
14 entities or facilities that are engaged only in the collection or
15 logistics of moving materials for recycling.
16 (2) "Authorized propulsion battery transporter" means a person
17 authorized, under a battery management plan developed and approved
18 under sections 5 and 6 of this act, to transport propulsion batteries
19 for the purpose of recycling.
20 (3) "Battery cell" means the basic electrochemical component of a
21 battery, which provides a source of electrical energy and which
22 consists of an assembly of a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte.
23 (4) "Battery management plan" means a plan for the collection,
24 transportation, remanufacturing, reuse, recycling and disposal, using
25 environmentally sound management practices, of used propulsion
26 batteries prepared under section 6 of this act.
27 (5) "Battery module" means an array of multiple battery cells
28 connected in a series or parallel and encased in one structure.
29 (6) "Department" means the department of ecology.
30 (7) "Environmentally sound management practices" mean the
31 policies and procedures for the collection, transportation, reuse,
32 and recycling or disposal of used electric vehicle batteries,
33 implemented by a producer to ensure compliance with all applicable
34 federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances,
35 to protect human health, safety, and the environment, and to provide
36 for adequate recordkeeping, tracking, and documentation of the
37 disposal of used propulsion batteries within the state.
38 (8) "Producer" means a person responsible for a propulsion
39 battery, as provided in section 5 of this act.
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 1 (9)(a) "Propulsion battery" means an electrical energy storage
2 device, consisting of one or more individual battery modules or
3 battery cells, which are used to supply power to propel an electric
4 or hybrid road vehicle.
5 (b) "Propulsion battery" includes, without limitation, lithium-
6 ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries.
7 (c) "Propulsion battery" does not include a starter battery or a
8 battery used for, or embedded in, products for industrial
9 applications.
10 (10) "Remanufacture" means any repair or modification to a
11 propulsion battery that results in the complete battery, or any
12 battery modules or battery cells of the battery, being used for the
13 same purpose or application as the one for which the battery was
14 originally designed.
15 (11) "Repurpose" means any operation to a propulsion battery that
16 results in the complete battery, or any battery modules or battery
17 cells of the battery, being used for a different purpose or
18 application than the one for which the battery was originally
19 designed.
20 (12) "Reuse" means the use of a propulsion battery in another
21 vehicle of the same type, which does not require modification to the
22 battery.
23 (13) "Solid waste" has the same meaning as provided in RCW
24 70A.205.015.
25 (14) "Solid waste collection company" has the same meaning as
26 defined in RCW 70A.205.160.
27 (15) "Solid waste handling facility" means a facility required to
28 obtain a solid waste handling permit consistent with RCW 70A.205.125.
29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Beginning January 1, 2027, a producer
30 may not sell a new propulsion battery in or into the state, whether
31 embedded in a vehicle or not, unless the propulsion battery includes
32 a permanent label providing information about the battery, in
33 accordance with rules adopted by the department.
34 (2) Any person who remanufactures or repurposes a propulsion
35 battery must relabel the remanufactured or repurposed propulsion
36 battery in accordance with the labeling standards adopted by the
37 department prior to selling, importing, or distributing the
38 propulsion battery for use in or into the state.
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 1 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Beginning June 1, 2028, unless
2 authorized by the department, a solid waste collection company or
3 solid waste handling facility must not knowingly accept for disposal,
4 a propulsion battery, or any module or cell of such a battery, or a
5 truckload or roll-off container of solid waste containing a
6 propulsion battery, or any module or cell of such a battery.
7 (2) The owner or operator of a solid waste handling facility may
8 refuse to accept for disposal, a propulsion battery, or any module or
9 cell of such a battery, or any truckload or roll-off container of
10 solid waste containing a propulsion battery, or any module or cell of
11 such a battery.
12 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) By June 1, 2026, the department must
13 adopt rules establishing standards and criteria for battery
14 management plans submitted under this section.
15 (2) By January 1, 2027, each producer of propulsion batteries
16 sold within the state, either individually or as a part of a group of
17 producers must, in consultation with the department, develop and
18 submit a battery management plan to the department for review and
19 approval under section 6 of this act. The plan must provide for
20 producers to be responsible for the collection and management of the
21 producer's used propulsion batteries that are offered to the producer
22 for return by the current propulsion battery owner. The plan may
23 include a complete vehicle return program, a propulsion battery
24 return program, or any other such program approved by the department.
25 (3) A producer is responsible for the end-of-life management of a
26 propulsion battery under this act as follows:
27 (a) For a propulsion battery embedded in a vehicle that is sold
28 in the state, or sold or distributed in or into the state by remote
29 sale or distribution:
30 (i) If the propulsion battery is sold in a vehicle under the
31 vehicle manufacturer's own brand, the vehicle manufacturer is
32 responsible for the battery;
33 (ii) If the propulsion battery is sold in a vehicle under a
34 different brand than that of the vehicle manufacturer, the person
35 that is the licensee of the brand or trademark under which the
36 vehicle is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into the
37 state, whether or not the trademark is registered in the state, is
38 responsible for the battery;
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 1 (iii) If there is no person described in (a)(i) or (ii) of this
2 subsection within the United States, the person that imports the
3 propulsion battery-containing vehicle into the United States for
4 sale, offering for sale, or distribution in or into the state is
5 responsible for the battery; and
6 (iv) If there is no person described in (a)(i) through (iii) of
7 this subsection, the person that first distributes the propulsion
8 battery in or into this state is responsible for the battery.
9 (b) For a propulsion battery that is sold in the state, or sold
10 or distributed in or into the state by remote sale or distribution,
11 and which is not embedded in a vehicle:
12 (i) If the propulsion battery was manufactured in the United
13 States, and has not been remanufactured or repurposed, the battery
14 manufacturer is responsible for the battery;
15 (ii) Except as provided in (b)(iii) of this subsection, if the
16 propulsion battery has been remanufactured or repurposed in the
17 United States, the person that remanufactures or repurposes the
18 battery is responsible for the battery;
19 (iii) If there is no person described in (b)(i) or (ii) of this
20 subsection, the person that imports the propulsion battery into the
21 United States for sale, offering for sale, or distribution in or into
22 the state is responsible for the battery; and
23 (iv) If there is no person described in (b)(i) through (iii) of
24 this subsection, the person that first distributes the propulsion
25 battery in or into this state is responsible for the battery.
26 (c) The original producer of a propulsion battery is not
27 responsible for the management of a battery that a secondary producer
28 has remanufactured or repurposed unless:
29 (i) The secondary producer is in a contractual relationship with
30 the original producer, which provides for the retention of
31 responsibility for the end-of-life management of the propulsion
32 battery by the primary producer; and
33 (ii) The contract has been provided to the department as part of
34 a battery management plan or through another means approved by the
35 department.
36 NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) A producer must prepare and submit a
37 battery management plan under this section, which must include, at a
38 minimum:
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 1 (a) Methods that will be used to accept and transport the used
2 propulsion batteries or complete vehicles offered to the producer,
3 including proposed collection services, and the role of vehicle
4 recyclers and authorized propulsion battery recyclers;
5 (b) Processes and methods that will be utilized to remanufacture,
6 repurpose, or recycle propulsion batteries that have reached the end
7 of their service life including, as applicable, the identity of
8 authorized propulsion battery recyclers to be utilized under the
9 battery management plan and a plan for final disposal of such
10 batteries, in accordance with environmentally sound management
11 practices;
12 (c) A strategy for informing electric vehicle owners, vehicle
13 repair facilities, and vehicle dismantlers in the state about the
14 requirement to properly manage propulsion batteries, the
15 environmental impact of the improper handling or disposal of used
16 propulsion batteries, and the mechanisms for the management of
17 propulsion batteries that are available under the plan;
18 (d) The methods that will be used to implement and finance the
19 battery management plan; and
20 (e) Any other information, policies, or procedures the department
21 deems appropriate.
22 (2) A battery management plan must provide for the financing of
23 the collection, transportation, remanufacturing, reuse, recycling, or
24 disposal of used propulsion batteries. When a producer is required to
25 provide for the management of the used propulsion batteries, the
26 costs of such financing must be borne by the producer of that
27 propulsion battery.
28 (3) Any entity that becomes a producer after the effective date
29 of this section must receive approval from the department of its
30 battery management plan prior to manufacturing, selling, offering for
31 sale, or importing a propulsion battery in or into the state, and
32 must otherwise comply with this chapter.
33 (4) A battery management plan must be reviewed and updated at
34 least once every five years, or as necessary.
35 (5) Each person or entity authorized to manage a used propulsion
36 battery as part of a battery management plan including, without
37 limitation, a vehicle repair facility, vehicle dismantler, authorized
38 propulsion battery recycler, scrapyard, dealership, showroom, or used
39 car lot, must be required to manage the propulsion battery under an
40 approved battery management plan.
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 1 (6) If an organization is formed for the purposes of allowing a
2 group of producers to submit and implement a combined battery
3 management plan under this chapter, the organization must:
4 (a) Be a tax exempt, nonprofit organization;
5 (b) Submit and implement a battery management plan that achieves
6 program goals established by the department; and
7 (c) Submit an annual audit report and annual budget to the
8 department.
9 (7) No later than 90 days after the department receives a
10 complete battery management plan, it must approve, approve in part,
11 or deny the plan. In making a determination under this subsection,
12 the department may solicit information from producers or other
13 stakeholders as the department deems appropriate. The department may
14 assess a producer a reasonable fee to cover the department's costs
15 for plan review, program implementation, and enforcement costs under
16 this chapter.
17 (8)(a) If the department approves a battery management plan, the
18 producer must implement the plan within 90 days after receipt of
19 approval from the department or as otherwise agreed to by the
20 department.
21 (b)(i) If the department approves a battery management plan in
22 part, the department must indicate those portions of the plan that do
23 not comply with the requirements of this chapter or any rules adopted
24 under this chapter.
25 (ii) The producer must implement the components of the plan, as
26 approved, within six months after receipt of approval by the
27 department or as otherwise agreed to by the department, and submit a
28 revised battery management plan within 30 days after the receipt of
29 notification of the approval in part by the department to bring the
30 entire plan into compliance with the requirements of this chapter or
31 any rules adopted under this chapter.
32 (iii) The department must review and approve, conditionally
33 approve, or deny a revised battery management plan within 30 days
34 after receipt of the revised plan.
35 (c)(i) If the department denies a battery management plan, the
36 department must inform the producer of the reasons for denial.
37 (ii) The producer must have 30 days after receipt of the denial
38 to submit a revised battery management plan to the department.
39 (9) The department may impose additional plan requirements for
40 any portion of a battery management plan that does not comply with
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 1 the requirements of this chapter or any rules adopted under this
2 chapter, for a plan component that has not been approved under this
3 section.
4 (10) The department may review a battery management plan approved
5 under this section and recommend modifications at any time upon
6 finding that the approved battery management plan, as implemented, is
7 deficient.
8 (11)(a) Within 90 days after the department's approval of a
9 battery management plan submitted in accordance with section 5 of
10 this act, the department must post, at a publicly accessible location
11 on its internet website, each battery management plan and a list
12 identifying each of the producers participating in the battery
13 management plan.
14 (b) A producer that submits information or records to the
15 department under this chapter may request that the information or
16 records be made available only for the confidential use of the
17 department, the director of the department, or the appropriate
18 division of the department. The director of the department must
19 consider the request and if this action is not detrimental to the
20 public interest