OAR 340-090-0690: Producer Responsibility Organization Fees

(1) Program Plan Review Fee. Each applicant producer responsibility organization that submits a plan under ORS 459A.875 will pay a fee of $150,000 for DEQ’s review of the plan. An applicant producer responsibility organization will pay the fee when it submits the plan to DEQ. A plan will not be considered submitted to DEQ until the fee is paid. (2) Annual Administration Fee. DEQ will assess an annual administration fee each calendar year in the amount of $4,000,000 for the first four years of the program (2025-2028) and $3,000,000 for all subsequent years of the program. (a) DEQ will invoice and a producer responsibility organization must pay the annual administration fee as follows: (A) In the first program year (covering 2025) DEQ will send an applicant producer responsibility organization a provisional invoice on or before September 1, 2024. DEQ will send a producer responsibility organization a final invoice upon completion of the producer responsibility program plan approval process under ORS 459A.878. A producer responsibility organization will pay the first program year’s fee within 30-days of DEQ sending it a final invoice. (B) In each year after the first program year DEQ will invoice a producer responsibility organization on or before September 1 of the preceding program year for payment within 30-days of invoicing. (b) DEQ may at its discretion reduce the fee in a given year if it determines that the full amount is not required to pay the costs of administering, implementing and enforcing the provisions of ORS 459A.860 to 459A.975 in that year. (c) If DEQ has approved only one producer responsibility organization plan under ORS 459A.878 for a given year that producer responsibility organization will pay the entirety of the annual administration fee. (d) If DEQ has approved more than one producer responsibility organization plan under ORS 459A.878 for a given year the annual administration fee will be divided among the producer responsibility organizations as follows: (A) In the first program year the producer responsibility organizations will pay to DEQ equal shares of the annual administration fee. On or before September 1, 2025, DEQ will notify the producer responsibility organizations of the interim modified market share calculations pursuant to OAR 340-090-0700(3). The producer responsibility organizations will reconcile payment with each other such that each producer responsibility organization pays a total amount of the annual administration fee that is proportional to its modified market share. (B) In each year after the first program year the fee will be divided between the producer responsibility organizations in proportion to their modified market share as determined by OAR 340-090-0700(2). (e) Reporting. Each fiscal year DEQ will report its current and projected program expenditures and revenue. (3) Producer responsibility organizations shall pay a w aste prevention and reuse fee each year as described in ORS 459A.941. DEQ will invoice a producer responsibility organization on or before September 1 for payment within 30-days of invoicing. (a) The fee shall be the lesser of: (A) $15 million, each year after 2025 adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; or (B) 10 percent of the three-year average of all producer responsibility organization’s annual expenditures summed, excluding payments of the fee established under this rule, as described in the organizations’ annual reports submitted to DEQ. (b) DEQ may at its discretion reduce the fee in a given year if it determines the full amount is not required to pay the costs of administering and implementing of ORS 459A.941 while ensuring that the fee reasonably covers expenditures of the program. (c) If DEQ has approved only one producer responsibility organization for a given year that producer responsibility organization will pay the entirety of the fee described in paragraph (a). If multiple producer responsibility organizations are approved to operate in the state in a given year, the fee described in paragraph (a) of this section will be divided between the producer responsibility organizations in proportion to their most recently calculated modified market share as determined by OAR 340-090-0700(2). (4) The Waste Prevention and Reuse Fund established in ORS 459A.950 shall be used for the purposes of reducing environmental impacts of covered products through means other than waste recovery as described in ORS 459A.941, including but not limited to the following: (a) DEQ expenses in administering programs pursuant to ORS 459A.941; (b) Staffing including wages and benefits; (c) Capital investments including equipment, buildings, and purchasing and leasing of land (to include remodeling existing infrastructure, construction of new infrastructure or procuring existing infrastructure to support activities related to environmental impact reduction); (d) Reusable and refillable items that allow for a reduction in the environmental impacts of covered products; (e) Repair and lifespan extension of covered products; (f) Research, evaluation, surveys, and assessment; (g) Pollution control technology that exceeds regulatory requirements; (h) Feasibility assessments and pilot projects; (i) Technical assistance; (j) Education, outreach, promotion, training, and skills development; (k) Community engagement; (l) Operation and maintenance costs; (m) Services and supplies; and (n) Indirect costs and overhead.