§ 8–233.02. Producer paint stewardship plan required.

(a) By April 1, 2016, a producer of paint sold at retail in the District, or a representative organization in which the producer is a member, shall submit a plan for the establishment of a paint stewardship program to the Mayor for approval. The plan shall:

(1) Minimize District involvement in the management of postconsumer paint by reducing its generation, promoting its reuse and recycling, and implementing agreements to collect, transport, reuse, recycle, and dispose of postconsumer paint using environmentally sound management practices;

(2) Provide for convenient and available collection of postconsumer paint that, at a minimum, provides for collection rates and convenience equal to or greater than the collection programs available to consumers before the paint stewardship program and addresses coordination of the paint stewardship program with existing household hazardous waste collection infrastructure;

(3) Ensure the program addresses coordination with local nonprofit building material reuse organizations without charge to the organizations;

(4) Identify each producer participating in the program and the brands of paint sold in the District by each producer;

(5) Describe sufficient funding for the paint stewardship program, including a funding mechanism for securing and disbursing funds to cover administrative, operational, and capital costs, including the assessment of charges on paint sold by producers in the District. The funding mechanism shall provide for a paint stewardship assessment for each container of paint sold in the District by producers and the assessment shall be remitted to the representative organization, if applicable; and

(6) Describe how postconsumer paint will be managed in the most environmentally and economically sound manner, including following the sustainable solid waste management hierarchy established in §  8-1031.02.

(b)(1) A paint stewardship assessment established in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be added to the cost of all paint sold to retailers and distributors in the District. Retailers and distributors shall add the assessment to the purchase price of all paint sold in the District.

(2) The paint stewardship assessment shall be approved by the Mayor as part of the plan, and shall be sufficient to recover, but not exceed, the cost of the paint stewardship program. The plan shall require that any surplus funds be put back into the program to reduce the costs of the program, including the assessment amount.

(c) A producer or its representative organization shall implement its paint stewardship program plan within 3 months of the plan’s approval by the Mayor.

(d) Beginning September 1, 2016, a producer shall not sell or offer for sale paint to any person in the District unless the producer of the paint or a representative organization of which the producer is a member submitted a paint stewardship plan to the Mayor on or before April 1, 2016, that has not been disapproved, or is implementing an approved paint stewardship program plan as required by this section.

(e) A producer or representative organization shall provide consumers in the District with educational materials regarding the paint stewardship assessment and paint stewardship program, including information regarding available end-of-life management options for paint offered through the paint stewardship program and information notifying consumers that a charge for the operation of the program is included in the purchase price of all paint sold in the District.

(f) On or before October 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, a producer or representative organization shall submit a paint stewardship program report to the Mayor that includes:

(1) A description of the methods used to collect, transport, and reuse or process postconsumer paint in the District;

(2) The total volume and type of postconsumer paint collected in the District and the volume by method of disposition;

(3) The total cost of implementing the program, as determined by an independent financial audit funded from the paint stewardship assessment;

(4) Samples of educational information provided to consumers of paint and a description of how the information is distributed; and

(5) Other information as required by the Mayor through rulemaking.