About LABRIC

The Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016 (Act) established the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund (Fund) to finance, among other limited purposes, the investigation and cleanup at any area of the state that is reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility. Assembly Bill (AB) 142, signed into law on October 13, 2019, amended the Act. AB 2104, signed into law on September 29, 2020, further amended the Act.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) established the Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facility Investigation and Cleanup (LABRIC) Program to implement the Act. The LABRIC Program is responsible for identifying areas of the state that are eligible for expenditure of money from the Fund.

Among other things, the LABRIC Program performs the following functions under the Act:

1. Determines whether areas of the state are reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility.
2. Performs or oversees investigation or site evaluation of areas of the state that are reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility.
3. Designates areas of the state as having been determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by releases from the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility.
4. Conducts or oversees cleanup, remedial action, removal, monitoring, or other response actions to address contamination from a lead-acid battery recycling facility at areas of the state determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by releases from the operation of that lead-acid battery recycling facility.
5. Inspects lead-acid battery dealers and manufacturers to check compliance with certain requirements of the Act.

AB 142

As mentioned above, Assembly Bill 142 (C. Garcia, Stats. 2019, Ch. 860) became law in October 2019. The bill made several changes to the Act. Among other things, the bill changed the definition of “lead-acid battery recycling facility” and instituted a different standard to appropriate moneys from the Fund for cleanup, remedial action, removal, monitoring, or other response actions.

AB 2104

Assembly Bill 2104 (C. Garcia, Stats. 2020, Ch. 276) was signed into law in September 2020 and its provisions became effective on January 1, 2021. This bill further amended the Act, revising both the definition of “lead-acid battery recycling facility” and the standard to appropriate moneys from the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund for cleanup, remedial action, removal, monitoring, or other response actions. AB 2104 also modified the public notice requirements and public comment period associated with the initiation and completion of area investigations and the acceptable duration of an investigation.