06 LC
25 4271
Senate
Bill 550
By:
Senators Thomas of the 54th, Johnson of the 1st, Balfour of the 9th, Meyer von
Bremen of the 12th, Hamrick of the 30th and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to waste management, so as to provide for a collection and recovery program for
mercury switches removed from end-of-life vehicles in this state; to provide a
short title; to provide for legislative purpose; to define certain terms; to
provide for mercury minimization plans; to provide for review and approval of
such plans; to provide for removal of mercury switches in accordance with such
plans; to provide for reports; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide
for penalties and enforcement; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to waste
management, is amended by striking reserved Article 4 and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
"ARTICLE
4
12-8-100.
This
article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Mercury Switch Removal Act of
2006.'
12-8-101.
The
purpose of this article is to reduce the quantity of mercury in the environment
by removing mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles and by creating a
collection and recovery program for mercury switches removed from end-of-life
vehicles in the State of Georgia.
12-8-102.
As
used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Capture rate' means the annual removal, collection, and recovery of mercury
switches as a percentage of the total number of domestic end-of-life vehicles
processed.
(2)
'Director' means the director of the division.
(3)
'Division' means the Environmental Protection Division of the
department.
(4)
'End-of-life vehicle' means a vehicle that is sold, given, or otherwise conveyed
to a vehicle recycler or scrap recycling facility for the purpose of
recycling.
(5)
'Manufacturer' means a person, firm, association, partnership, corporation,
governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture that is the
last person in the production or assembly process of a new vehicle which
utilizes mercury switches or, in the case of an imported vehicle, the importer
or domestic distributor of the vehicle.
(6)
'Mercury minimization plan' means a plan for removing, collecting, and
recovering mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles that is prepared pursuant
to this article.
(7)
'Mercury switch' means each convenience light switch assembly containing a
mercury capsule, commonly known as a 'bullet,' that is installed in a
vehicle.
(8)
'Person' means any individual, corporation, company, firm, partnership,
association, trust, joint-stock company or trust, venture, or municipal, state,
or federal government or agency or any other legal entity, however organized.
(9)
'Scrap recycling facility' means a fixed location where machinery and equipment
are utilized for processing and manufacturing scrap metal into prepared grades
and whose principal product is scrap iron, scrap steel, or nonferrous metallic
scrap for sale for remelting purposes.
(10)
'Vehicle' means any passenger automobile or passenger car, station wagon, truck,
van, or sport utility vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than
12,000 pounds.
(11)
'Vehicle recycler' means any individual or entity engaged in the business of
acquiring, dismantling, or destroying six or more end-of-life vehicles in a
calendar year for the primary purpose of resale of their parts.
12-8-103.
(a)
Within 90 days after the effective date of this article, each manufacturer of
vehicles sold within this state, individually or as part of a group, shall
develop in consultation with the division a mercury minimization plan prepared
pursuant to this Code section and submit the mercury minimization plan to the
director for review and approval pursuant to this article.
(b)
The mercury minimization plan prepared and submitted pursuant to this Code
section shall include at a minimum the following:
(1)(A)(i)
Information identifying the makes, models, and years of vehicles, including
current or anticipated future production models, that may contain one or more
mercury switches;
(ii)
A description of the mercury switches;
(iii)
A system to mark vehicles to be processed for shredding or crushing to indicate
presence or absence of mercury switches;
(iv)
The location of such mercury switches; and
(v)
The safe and environmentally sound methods for removal of mercury switches from
end-of-life vehicles.
(B)
To the extent a manufacturer is uncertain as to the content of a switch
installed during the manufacture of a vehicle, the mercury minimization plan
shall presume that the switch is a mercury switch;
(2)
Educational materials to assist a vehicle recycler or a scrap recycling facility
in undertaking a safe and environmentally sound method for the removal of the
mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles, including information on the hazards
related to mercury and the proper handling of mercury;
(3)
A proposal for the method of storage or disposal of the mercury switches,
including the method of packaging and shipping mercury switches to the
manufacturer or its agent or contractor for transfer to authorized recycling,
storage, or disposal facilities;
(4)
A proposal for the storage of mercury switches collected and recovered from
end-of-life vehicles by the manufacturer or its agent or contractor if
environmentally appropriate management technologies are not available; and
(5)
A plan for implementing and financing the system in accordance with this
article.
(c)
To the extent practicable, a mercury minimization plan shall utilize the
existing end-of-life vehicle recycling infrastructure. If the existing
end-of-life vehicle recycling infrastructure is not utilized, the mercury
minimization plan shall include the reasons for establishing a separate
infrastructure.
(d)(1)
A mercury minimization plan shall provide for the financing of the removal,
collection, and recovery system for mercury switches installed in vehicles
manufactured by the manufacturer and its predecessors and affiliates as provided
in this article.
(2)
Such costs shall be borne by the manufacturers of vehicles sold in this state,
so as to ensure that additional financial burdens are not placed on automobile
dealers or businesses dealing with end-of-life vehicles. The manufacturers shall
develop a method that ensures the prompt payment to vehicle recyclers, scrap
recycling facilities, and the division for costs associated with mercury switch
removal. Costs shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(A)
Five dollars for each mercury switch removed by a vehicle recycler or a scrap
recycling facility pursuant to this article as partial compensation for the
labor and other costs incurred by a vehicle recycler in the removal of the
mercury switch;
(B)
One dollar for each mercury switch removed by a vehicle recycler or by a scrap
recycling facility pursuant to this article as partial compensation to the
division for costs incurred in administering and enforcing the provisions of
this article;
(C)
Packaging in which to transport mercury switches to the manufacturer or its
agent or contractor for transfer to authorized recycling, storage, or disposal
facilities;
(D)
Shipping of mercury switches by the manufacturer or its agent or contractor to
recycling, storage, or disposal facilities;
(E)
Recycling, storage, or disposal of the mercury switches;
(F)
The preparation and distribution to vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling
facilities of the educational materials required pursuant to this article; and
(G)
Maintenance of all appropriate record-keeping systems by the manufacturer.
(e)
Within 30 days after the effective date of this article, each manufacturer of
vehicles sold within this state, individually or as part of a group, shall
provide to vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling facilities containers suitable
for storing mercury switches until such time that vehicle recyclers and scrap
recycling facilities can be reimbursed pursuant to this article.
(f)
No mercury minimization plan may require that vehicle recyclers or scrap
recycling facilities segregate switches separately according to each motor
vehicle model or to each manufacturer from which the switches are
removed.
(g)
Manufacturers of vehicles sold within this state shall provide vehicle recyclers
or scrap recycling facilities with reimbursement for each mercury switch in the
amount established pursuant to this Code section regardless of when such
switches were removed from the vehicles, if the vehicle recyclers or scrap
recycling facilities maintain the records required by this article.
(h)
Manufacturers shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless vehicle recyclers and
scrap recycling facilities for any liabilities arising from the release of the
mercury from the mercury-added components after the components are transferred
free on board to the manufacturer or its agent or contractor.
12-8-104.
(a)(1)
Within 120 days after receipt of a mercury minimization plan, the director shall
approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve the entire mercury minimization
plan. The director may solicit input from representatives of vehicle recyclers,
scrap recycling facilities, and other interested parties as the director deems
appropriate.
(2)(A)
If the entire mercury minimization plan is approved, the manufacturer shall
begin implementation within 30 days after receipt of approval or as otherwise
agreed to by the director.
(B)
If the entire mercury minimization plan is disapproved, the director shall
inform the manufacturer as to the reasons for the disapproval. The manufacturer
shall have 30 days thereafter to submit a new mercury minimization plan
consistent with the
directoŕs
comments.
(3)(A)
The director may approve those parts of a mercury minimization plan that meet
the requirements of this Code section and disapprove the parts that do not
comply with the requirements of this Code section.
(B)
The manufacturer shall implement the approved parts of the mercury minimization
plan within 30 days after receipt of approval or as otherwise agreed to by the
director and submit a revised mercury minimization plan for the disapproved
parts within 30 days after receipt of notification of the disapproval of the
director.
(C)
The director shall review and approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove a
revised mercury minimization plan within 30 days after receipt.
(4)(A)
If at the conclusion of the time period of 120 days after receipt of a mercury
minimization plan the director has neither approved nor disapproved the mercury
minimization plan pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) of this
subsection, the mercury minimization plan shall be considered to be
conditionally approved.
(B)
Subject to any modifications required by the director, a manufacturer shall
implement a conditionally approved mercury minimization plan within 30 days
after receipt of approval or as otherwise agreed to by the
director.
(b)
At the conclusion of a time period 240 days after the effective date of this
article, the director shall reserve the right to complete, on behalf of a
manufacturer, and issue an approved plan or any portion of a plan that has not
been approved pursuant to this Code section.
(c)(1)
The director may review a mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to this
Code section and request modifications to the plan at any time upon a finding
that the approved mercury minimization plan is deficient or not accomplishing
the purposes set out in this article in any material respect.
(2)
Upon receipt of a request for modification of an approved plan, a manufacturer
shall prepare and submit amendments to its plan consistent with the
directoŕs
request within 60 days of receipt of such request.
(3)
Such amendments shall be approved or disapproved by the director within 30 days
after receipt; if no action is taken after 30 days, such amendments shall be
deemed approved.
12-8-105.
(a)
Commencing 30 days after the approval or conditional approval of a mercury
minimization plan pursuant to Code Section 12-8-104, a vehicle recycler that
sells, gives, or otherwise conveys ownership of an end-of-life vehicle to a
scrap recycling facility for recycling shall remove all mercury switches
identified in the approved mercury minimization plan from the end-of-life
vehicle prior to delivery to a scrap recycling facility, unless a mercury switch
is inaccessible due to significant damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding
the location of the mercury switch, in which case the damage shall be noted on
the normal business records of the vehicle recycler who delivered the
end-of-life vehicle to the scrap recycling facility.
(b)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, a scrap recycling
facility may agree to accept an end-of-life vehicle which has not been
intentionally flattened, crushed, or baled containing mercury switches, in which
case the scrap recycling facility shall be responsible for removing the mercury
switches identified in the mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Code
Section 12-8-104 before the end-of-life vehicle is intentionally flattened,
crushed, baled or shredded.
(c)(1)
A vehicle recycler or scrap recycling facility that removes mercury switches
pursuant to this article shall maintain records documenting the number of:
(A)
Mercury switches collected;
(B)
End-of-life domestic vehicles processed for recycling;
(2)
Such records shall be made available for review by the vehicle recycler or scrap
recycling facility upon the request of the division.
(d)
No person shall represent that mercury switches have been removed from an
end-of-life vehicle being sold, given, or otherwise conveyed for recycling if
that person has not removed the mercury switches or arranged with another person
to remove the mercury switches.
(e)
Upon removal, mercury switches shall be collected, stored, transported, and
otherwise handled in accordance with the:
(1)
Mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Code Section 12-8-104;
and
(2)
Provisions of the rules and regulations concerning universal waste adopted by
the board.
(f)
No scrap recycling facility or other person that receives an intentionally
flattened, crushed, or baled end-of-life vehicle shall be deemed in violation of
this Code section if a mercury switch is found in the vehicle after its
acquisition.
12-8-106.
(a)
One year after the implementation of a mercury minimization plan approved
pursuant to Code Section 12-8-104, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer
subject to this article shall report individually or as part of a group to the
director concerning the implementation of the mercury minimization plan. The
report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1)
A detailed description and documentation of the capture rate achieved, with the
goal of achieving a mercury switch capture rate of at least 90 percent,
consistent with the principle that mercury switches shall be recovered unless
the mercury switch is inaccessible due to significant damage to the end-of-life
vehicle in the area surrounding where the mercury switch is located;
(2)
A description of additional or alternative actions that may be implemented to
improve the mercury minimization plan and its implementation in the event that a
mercury switch capture rate of at least 90 percent is not achieved;
(3)
The number of mercury switches collected, the number of end-of-life vehicles
processed for recycling, and a description of how the mercury switches were
managed; and
(4)
A description of the amounts paid to cover the costs of implementing the mercury
minimization plan under this article.
(b)
The director may discontinue the requirement for the annual report pursuant to
this Code section upon a finding that mercury switches in end-of-life vehicles
manufactured by a particular manufacturer no longer pose a significant threat to
the environment or to public health.
12-8-107.
The
board may adopt rules and regulations to effectuate and implement the purposes
and intent of this article and the powers and duties of the division.
12-8-108.
(a)
Any information that constitutes a trade secret under Article 27 of Chapter 1 of
Title 10, the 'Georgia Trade Secrets Act of 1990' and is obtained by the
director or his or her agents in the administration of this article shall be
kept confidential and exempt from disclosure under paragraph (1) of subsection
(b) of Code Section 50-18-72.
(b)
Any former director or former employee of the division who obtained trade
secrets in the administration of this article shall remain subject to the
provisions of Article 7 of Chapter 1 of the Title 10, the 'Georgia Trade Secrets
Act of 1990' and Code Section
16-8-13."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.