Sen. Tepler bill establishing a battery stewardship program in Maine advances in Legislature

AUGUSTA — This week, the Maine Senate and House voted unanimously to pass a bill introduced by Sen. Denise Tepler, D-Topsham. The bill, LD 474, “An Act to Establish a Stewardship Program for Primary and Rechargeable Batteries,” would establish extended producer responsibility in Maine for producers of certain batteries and products containing those batteries.

“I’m pleased to join my colleagues in the Maine Senate in moving this legislation one step closer to becoming law,” said Sen. Tepler. “Establishing a battery stewardship program is not only important for protecting Maine’s environment, but also provides several cost-saving benefits to our waste management facilities. This program will reduce both the risk posed to these facilities that handle lithium-ion batteries and the costs accrued in dealing with those risks. This, in turn, means the battery producers — not the Maine taxpayers — are responsible for footing the bill.”

LD 474 will establish an extended producer responsibility model that requires the producers of certain batteries and the producers of products containing those batteries to submit a plan to collect, safely store and dispose of the batteries to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 180 days after approval of the plan by the department, producers must participate in the approved program. The bill allows companies to do this individually, as a collective, or through the establishment of a stewardship program to manage the process. The bill aims to reduce total landfill volume, prevent fires that have been caused at waste facilities by improper disposal and decrease costs for taxpayers.

The amendment to LD 474 that would create the stewardship program was introduced by Sen. Tepler before the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources earlier this month.

The bill now faces additional votes in the House and Senate.

Sen. Tepler represents District 24, which includes all of Sagadahoc County, as well as Dresden in Lincoln County.

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