(1)
Effective July 1, 2015, no producer shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute
architectural paint in Colorado unless the producer is implementing or participating
in a paint stewardship program approved by the executive director. The executive
director may approve an earlier start date as part of his or her approval of a paint
stewardship program plan submitted in accordance with subsection (2) of this
section. A paint stewardship program must commence within ninety days after the
executive director's approval of the paint stewardship program plan.
(2) One or more producers, or a stewardship organization contracted by one
or more producers, shall submit for approval a paint stewardship program plan to
the executive director by January 1, 2015. To be approved, a paint stewardship
program plan must:
(a) Identify the following:
(I) A list of each producer participating in the program;
(II) The contact information for the producer or stewardship organization
implementing the program; and
(III) A list of all brands covered by the program;
(b) Describe the manner in which the program will collect, transport, reuse,
recycle, and process postconsumer architectural paint, including a description of
the following:
(I) Energy recovery and disposal; and
(II) Standards to ensure the use of environmentally sound management
practices, including collection standards;
(c) Describe the manner in which the program will collect postconsumer
architectural paint. At a minimum, a program plan must establish collection
practices that:
(I) Provide convenient collection sites throughout the state;
(II) To ensure adequate collection coverage, use demographic and
geographic information modeling to determine the number and distribution of
collection sites based on the following criteria:
(A) At least ninety percent of Colorado residents must have a permanent
collection site within a fifteen-mile radius of their homes;
(B) An additional permanent site must be provided for every thirty thousand
residents of an urbanized area, as defined by the United States census bureau, and
distributed in a manner that provides convenient and reasonably equitable access
for residents within each urbanized area, unless the executive director approves
otherwise; and
(C) For the portion of Colorado residents who will not have a permanent
collection site within a fifteen-mile radius of their homes, the plan must provide
collection events at least once per year; and
(III) Include specific information on how to serve geographically isolated
populations and a proposal for how to measure and report service to those
populations. This information must include a description of how the program will
work with existing recyclers and local governments that wish to continue to be
involved in paint recycling and collection.
(d) Notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraphs (I) and (II) of
paragraph (c) of this subsection (2), the plan may, in lieu of providing collection
sites for a specified geographic area or population, identify an available curbside
service that provides access to residents that is at least as convenient and
equitably accessible as a collection site;
(e) Describe how the paint stewardship program will incorporate and fairly
compensate service providers for activities that may include:
(I) For services such as permanent collection sites, collection events, or
curbside services, the coverage of costs for collecting postconsumer architectural
paint and architectural paint containers;
(II) The reuse or processing of postconsumer architectural paint at a
permanent collection site; and
(III) The transportation, recycling, and proper disposal of postconsumer
architectural paint;
(f) Provide a list of the names, locations, and hours of operation for facilities
accepting postconsumer architectural paint for recycling under the program;
(g) Identify one or more designated persons responsible for:
(I) Ensuring the program's compliance with this part 4 and the rules
promulgated under this part 4; and
(II) Serving as a contact person for the department with respect to the paint
stewardship program;
(h) Describe the manner in which the program will achieve the following
goals:
(I) Reducing the generation of postconsumer architectural paint;
(II) Promoting the reuse of postconsumer architectural paint; and
(III) Using best practices that are both environmentally and economically
sound to manage postconsumer architectural paint. These practices should follow a
waste handling hierarchy, which provides a preference for source reduction, then
reuse, followed by recycling, energy recovery, and finally waste disposal.
(i) Include an education and outreach program that must:
(I) Target consumers, painting contractors, and paint retailers;
(II) Reach all architectural paint markets served by the participating
producers; and
(III) Include a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the education
and outreach program on an annual basis, including methods for determining the
percentage of consumers, painting contractors, and retailers who are aware of:
(A) Ways to reduce the generation of postconsumer architectural paint; and
(B) Opportunities available for the reuse and recycling of postconsumer
architectural paint;
(j) (I) Demonstrate sufficient funding for the architectural paint stewardship
program described in the plan through the imposition of a paint stewardship
assessment that each producer shall charge retailers and distributors for each
container of the producer's architectural paint sold in Colorado. Each producer shall
remit the paint stewardship assessments collected to the paint stewardship
program. Each retailer and distributor shall add the amount of the paint
stewardship assessment to the purchase price of a container of the producer's
architectural paint sold in Colorado. The paint stewardship program must not
impose any fees on customers for the collection of post-consumer architectural
paint.
(II) To ensure that a paint stewardship program's funding mechanism is
equitable and sustainable, the funding mechanism must:
(A) Provide a uniform paint stewardship assessment that does not exceed
the amount necessary to recover program costs; and
(B) Require that any funds generated by the aggregate amount of fees
charged to consumers be placed back into the program.
(k) Include a proposed budget and a description of the process used to
determine the paint stewardship assessment required by paragraph (j) of this
subsection (2).
(3) (a) The executive director shall review a paint stewardship program plan
submitted in accordance with subsection (2) of this section for compliance with this
part 4, including a review of the proposed paint stewardship assessment required
by paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of this section, to ensure that the paint
stewardship assessment does not exceed an amount necessary to recover program
costs. The executive director shall approve or reject a plan in writing within ninety
days after receipt of the plan. If a plan meets the criteria of subsection (2) of this
section, the executive director shall approve the plan. If the executive director
rejects a plan, the executive director shall include in the written rejection the
reason or reasons for rejecting the plan.
(b) (I) If the executive director approves a paint stewardship program plan,
the executive director shall add:
(A) The producer or group of producers participating in the paint
stewardship program plan to a list of producers participating in an approved paint
stewardship program plan; and
(B) The brands being sold by the producer or group of producers to a list of
brands included in an approved paint stewardship program plan.
(II) The executive director shall publish the lists on the department's
website, and he or she shall update the published lists as necessary.
(c) The executive director's rejection of a paint stewardship program plan
constitutes a final agency action that may be appealed in accordance with the
procedures set forth in section 24-4-106, C.R.S.
(d) If the executive director's decision to reject a paint stewardship program
plan is not appealed pursuant to section 24-4-106, C.R.S., or the executive director
prevails on appeal, the producer, group of producers, or stewardship organization
that submitted the paint stewardship program plan must submit a revised plan
within ninety days after the date on which the executive director's decision was
affirmed or, if no appeal was pursued, the date on which the time for appeal
expired. The revised plan must provide the information required by subsection (2) of
this section. The executive director shall approve or reject a revised plan under the
procedure set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). The executive director's
rejection of a revised plan may be appealed in accordance with section 24-4-106,
C.R.S.
(4) When submitting a paint stewardship program plan, a revised plan, or an
annual report, as required by section 25-17-405, one or more producers or a
stewardship organization contracted by one or more producers shall pay a paint
stewardship program plan fee, revised plan fee, or annual report fee in an amount
that the commission has established or adjusted by rule. In establishing or adjusting
a fee by rule, the commission shall consult with the executive director and, as
needed, with an association of producers.
(5) The aggregate amount of fees charged to consumers pursuant to this
section shall be in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the program.