PRBA News

President Biden recently announced new policies to pave the way for effective implementation of the historic energy and infrastructure provisions in Public Law 117-169, commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “Act”). This new law will accelerate United States global leadership in clean energy innovation, manufacturing, and deployment.  The Environmental Protection Agency…
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On Friday September 16, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2440 and Senate Bill 1215. The former deals with batteries and products with removable batteries (whether sold installed or just in the same packaging); the latter deals with products with embedded (nonremovable) batteries.  The fundamental difference between the two…
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The White House released today a Fact Sheet on the “Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Boom” occurring in the United States that lists 6 PRBA-member companies who recently announced major investments in electric vehicle or battery manufacturing, processing, or recycling facilities in the United States. A copy of the Fact Sheet is available here.

On August 31, the California General Assembly passed Assembly Bill 2440, the California Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022.  On August 30, the California Senate passed Senate Bill 1215, amending the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003.  These were the final legislative actions required before sending the bills to Governor Gavin Newsom for approval.   If…
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As part of PRBA’s continuing work on developing a new TRANSCAER program on lithium ion batteries, PRBA will host a workshop on Lithium ion Battery Emergency Response and Safety during CHEMTREC’s International Hazmat Summit. The Summit will be held in New Orleans September 12 – 14, 2022 with the workshop scheduled for…
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PRBA’s Transportation Committee met on June 21, 2022 to consider a lengthy list of domestic and international regulatory challenges impacting the transport of lithium batteries. On the international front, the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods is meeting this week in Geneva, Switzerland to address a litany of lithium battery…
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The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published today a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public comment on the scope and prioritization of battery collection, best practices for the collection of batteries for recycling, programs to promote battery recycling through the development of voluntary battery labeling schemes, and communication/education materials for battery producers and consumers…
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The New York General Assembly passed on June 3, 2022 A7006-B after the New York Senate passed the identical Senate version of the bill, S4104A, on June 1, 2022. The bill, titled the Digital Fair Repair Act, has now been sent to Governor Kathy Hochul, and if signed, will take effect one year after…
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The United States Postal Service (“USPS”) published today in the Federal Register an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that revises their Mailing Standard  and, among other things, prohibits the mailing by air of “pre-owned, damaged, or defective electronic devices” that contain or are packed with lithium batteries. The IFR also mandates new package markings for such…
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The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued this week a Safety Advisory Notice for the Disposal and Recycling of Lithium Batteries in Commercial Transportation due to the large number of recent incidents involving shipments of these batteries – many of which were undeclared or the shippers failed to fully comply with the…
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