Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires manufacturers of electric vehicles to establish and implement electric vehicle battery management plans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the recycling and disposal of electric vehicle batteries and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Electric Vehicle Battery Management Act.
2. The Legislature finds and declares that millions of electric vehicles have been sold in the United States during recent years; that this recent increase in electric vehicle use, while positive for the fight against climate change, has presented new environmental challenges such as where and how to dispose of used electric vehicle batteries; that consumers of electric vehicles and residents of this State do not have ready access to an efficient, environmentally sound, and cost-effective collection method for the recycling or disposal of used electric vehicle batteries; that lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries, which are the most commonly used electric vehicle batteries today, contain toxic chemicals that should not be placed into landfills, since they could be hazardous, cause pollution, contaminate nearby soil and water, and potentially explode if mishandled; that many used electric vehicle batteries still retain up to seventy percent of their battery capacity when they are no longer able to charge a vehicle effectively; that it is cost-effective for these used electric vehicle batteries to be reused for alternate purposes until they are fully expired of their battery life prior to recycling or disposal; and that manufacturers of electric vehicles are best able to assume responsibility for the development and implementation of a cost-effective electric vehicle battery management plan that will provide for the environmentally sound collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of used electric vehicle batteries.
The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the best interest of the residents of New Jersey for the manufacturers of electric vehicles sold within the State to assume the costs of, and accept the responsibility for, the environmentally sound collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or proper disposal of used electric vehicle batteries.
3. As used in this act:
Department means the Department of Environmental Protection.
Electric vehicle means a vehicle that derives all or part of its power from electricity supplied by the electric grid, and that has a battery or equivalent energy storage device that can be charged from an electricity supply external to the vehicle with an electric plug. "Electric vehicle" includes a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
Electric vehicle battery means a rechargeable battery that is used to power the electric motors of an electric vehicle. Electric vehicle battery includes, but is not limited to, lithium-ion batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and lead-acid batteries.
Electric vehicle battery management plan means a plan for the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposing of used electric vehicle batteries prepared pursuant to section 4 of this act.
Environmentally sound management practices means the policies and procedures for the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of used electric vehicle batteries, implemented by a manufacturer to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances, and for the protection of human health, safety, and the environment, and which address matters such as adequate recordkeeping, accurate tracking, and documentation of the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of used electric vehicle batteries within the State, as may be established by the department.
Manufacturer means a person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture that produces electric vehicles for sale to retailers or consumers.
Plug-in hybrid vehicle means a vehicle that can be charged from a source of electricity external to the vehicle through an electric plug, but is not exclusively powered by electricity.
Retailer means a person engaged in the sale of electric vehicles to a consumer at retail.
4. a. No later than 180 days after the effective date of this act, each manufacturer of electric vehicles sold within the State, either individually or as a part of a group of manufacturers, shall, in consultation with the department, develop and submit an electric vehicle battery management plan to the department for review and approval pursuant to section 5 of this act. The plan shall provide for manufacturers to be responsible for the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of all used electric vehicle batteries using environmentally sound management practices. The plan shall prioritize the reuse and recycling of used electric vehicle batteries prior to disposal.
b. An electric vehicle battery management plan prepared and submitted pursuant to this section shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) information identifying the make, model, and year of electric vehicles that may contain an electric vehicle battery, and the estimated number of electric vehicle batteries for which the manufacturer is responsible;
(2) methods that will be used to remove, collect, and store the used electric vehicle batteries including proposed collection services;
(3) methods that will be utilized to transport the used electric vehicle batteries to authorized recycling facilities, including the name and location of all authorized recyclers to be directly utilized pursuant to the plan;
(4) the processes and methods that will be utilized to reuse used electric vehicle batteries for alternate second-life purposes, recycle used electric vehicle batteries that cannot be reused for alternate uses including a description of the recycling processes that will be used, and, if necessary, a plan for final disposal of used electric vehicle batteries;
(5) a strategy for informing consumers and residents of this State