(1) By July 1, 2026, or within six months of the adoption of rules under RCW 70A.555.100, whichever comes later, each battery stewardship organization must submit a plan for covered portable batteries to the department for approval. Within 24 months of the date of the initial adoption of rules under this chapter by the department, each battery stewardship organization must submit a plan for covered medium format batteries to the department for approval. A battery stewardship organization may submit a plan at any time to the department for review and approval. The department must review and may approve a plan based on whether it contains and adequately addresses the following components:

(a) Lists and provides contact information for each producer, battery brand, and battery-containing product brand covered in the plan;

(b) Proposes performance goals, consistent with RCW 70A.555.050, including establishing performance goals for each of the next three upcoming calendar years of program implementation;

(c) Describes how the battery stewardship organization will make retailers aware of their obligation to sell only covered batteries and battery-containing products of producers participating in an approved plan;

(d) Describes the education and communications strategy being implemented to effectively promote participation in the approved covered battery stewardship program and provide the information necessary for effective participation of consumers, retailers, and others;

(e) Describes how the battery stewardship organization will make available to retailers, for voluntary use, in-store signage, written materials, and other promotional materials that retailers may use to inform customers of the available end-of-life management options for covered batteries collected by the battery stewardship organization;

(f) Lists promotional activities to be undertaken, and the identification of consumer awareness goals and strategies that the program will employ to achieve these goals after the program begins to be implemented;

(g) Includes collection site safety training procedures related to covered battery collection activities at collection sites, including appropriate protocols to reduce risks of spills or fires and response protocols in the event of a spill or fire, and a protocol for safe management of damaged batteries that are returned to collection sites;

(h) Describes the method to establish and administer a means for fully funding the program in a manner that equitably distributes the program's costs among the producers that are part of the battery stewardship organization. For producers that elect to meet the requirements of this chapter individually, without joining a battery stewardship organization, the plan must describe the proposed method to establish and administer a means for fully funding the program;

(i) Describes the financing methods used to implement the plan, consistent with RCW 70A.555.060, including how producer fees and fee modulation will incorporate design for recycling and resource conservation as objectives, and a template reimbursement agreement, developed in consultation with local governments and other program stakeholders;

(j) Describes how the program will collect all covered battery chemistries and brands on a free, continuous, convenient, visible, and accessible basis, and consistent with the requirements of RCW 70A.555.070, including a description of how the statewide convenience standard will be met and a list of collection sites, including the address and latitude and longitude of collection sites;

(k) Describes the criteria to be used in the program to determine whether an entity may serve as a collection site for discarded batteries under the program;

(l) Establishes collection goals for each of the first three years of implementation of the battery stewardship plan that are based on the estimated total weight of primary and rechargeable covered batteries that have been sold in the state in the previous three calendar years by the producers participating in the battery stewardship plan;

(m) Identifies proposed brokers, transporters, processors, and facilities to be used by the program for the final disposition of batteries and how collected batteries will be managed in:

(i) An environmentally sound and socially just manner at facilities operating with human health and environmental protection standards that are broadly equivalent to or better than those required in the United States and other countries that are members of the battery stewardship organization for economic cooperation and development; and

(ii) A manner consistent with the battery management hierarchy, including how each proposed facility used for the final disposition of batteries will recycle or otherwise manage batteries;

(n) Details how the program will achieve a recycling efficiency rate, calculated consistent with RCW 70A.555.090, of at least 60 percent for rechargeable batteries and at least 70 percent for primary batteries;

(o) Proposes goals for increasing public awareness of the program, including subgoals applicable to public awareness of the program in vulnerable populations and overburdened communities identified by the department under chapter 70A.02 RCW, and describes how the public education and outreach components of the program under RCW 70A.555.080 will be implemented; and

(p) Specifies procedures to be employed by a local government seeking to coordinate with a battery stewardship organization pursuant to RCW 70A.555.070(4)(c).

(2) If required by the department, a battery stewardship organization must submit a new plan to the department for approval:

(a) If there are significant changes to the methods of collection, transport, or end-of-life management of covered batteries under RCW 70A.555.070 that are not provided for in the plan. The department may, by rule, identify the types of significant changes that require a new plan to be submitted to the department for approval. For purposes of this subsection, adding or removing a processor or transporter under the plan is not considered a significant change that requires a plan resubmittal;

(b) To address the novel inclusion of medium format batteries or large format batteries as covered batteries under the plan; and

(c) No less than every five years.

(3) If required by the department, a battery stewardship organization must provide plan amendments to the department for approval:

(a) When proposing changes to the performance goals under RCW 70A.555.050 based on the up-to-date experience of the program;

(b) When there is a change to the method of financing plan implementation under RCW 70A.555.060. This does not include changes to the fees or fee structure established in the plan; or

(c) When adding or removing a processor or transporter, as part of a quarterly update submitted to the department.

(4) As part of a quarterly update, a battery stewardship organization must notify the department after a producer begins or ceases to participate in a battery stewardship organization. The quarterly update submitted to the department must also include a current list of the producers and brands participating in the plan.

(5) No earlier than five years after the initial approval of a plan, the department may require a battery stewardship organization to submit a revised plan, which may include improvements to the collection site network or increased expenditures dedicated to education and outreach if the approved plan has not met the performance goals under RCW 70A.555.050.