Tesla successfully fended off proposed environmental regulations in Nevada late last year that would have applied more stringent rules on its battery production operations, according to records obtained by The Nevada Independent.
As the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) sought to create a new regulatory framework governing an array of hazardous materials, the company pushed back and quickly got its way.
Tesla, which builds battery packs and energy-storage products at its massive Gigafactory east of Reno, argued that regulations proposed by NDEP staff would threaten Nevadas leading position in a nascent industry that is crucial to diversifying the states economy beyond gaming and tourism. The proposed rules would put Nevada at a disadvantage when competing with other states to grow the lithium-ion battery recycling industry, a Tesla executive wrote to NDEP in a late October letter .
The proposals would have required companies including Tesla to obtain more onerous permits (which require ongoing compliance reports and could lead to federally mandated spill cleanups but are generally not required for recycling facilities) for certain operations. It also would have required companies to continue following more stringent federal waste regulations related to the handling of hazardous materials, which include scrap metals or sludges that can be ignitable, corrosive, reactive or toxic.
Two days after Tesla wrote NDEP, the companys lobbyist sent the same letter to Gov. Joe Lombardos office, which four days later participated in a meeting with officials from NDEP, Tesla and Redwood Materials, a Northern Nevada battery recycling company started by a co-founder of Tesla. One day after the meeting, held in the governors chief of staffs office and on Microsoft Teams, an updated version of the regulation was sent by NDEP to participants with everything Tesla had asked for in the letter.
Thank you very much for actioning the industry feedback so swiftly, a Tesla official emailed the day after receiving the updated regulation.
A panel of state lawmakers later adopted the new rules without controversy.
The previously unreported series of events, revealed in documents obtained from the governors office through a public records request, brings into question the role battery companies should have in developing environmental regulations that are designed to keep workers, the public and the environment safe.
Tesla did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Its Nevada lobbyist told The Indy in an email that the company does not comment on media inquiries as a general rule.
The governors office said in a statement that it has focused on streamlining regulations and implementing regulations that simultaneously support industry safety standards and pro-business policies, and that it regularly works with industry associations and state agencies to shape regulations.
In an interview with The Indy, NDEP officials said that the governors office has no defined role in the regulatory process, but it sometimes is involved.
Because of the growth of this economic sector, theyre interested in whats going on, NDEP Administrator Jennifer Carr said. The governors office did not get involved in our process. We never feel pressure to do anything from the governors office.
The governors office declined to make Lombardos chief of staff or its liaison to NDEP available for an interview, but it did respond to The Indys written request for comment.
NDEP received almost 70 comments regarding the proposed regulations, which the agency replied to as part of the normal regulation process. Agency officials told The Indy that it did not intend to make its rules more stringent than federal ones, but realized it had done so after meeting with industry officials.
Similar to many other businesses, Tesla has contracted with a lobbying firm in Nevada (Rowe Law Group) and has also engaged in lobbying efforts in other states, such as when CEO Elon Musk hired a dozen lobbyists in Texas this year to pass legislation advantageous to Tesla and another one of his companies, SpaceX.
Nevada officials across the political spectrum have embraced Tesla and the broader battery industry as a surefire way to expand the states tourism-dependent economy. State legislators approved a $1.25 billion tax incentive package for Tesla in 2014 an unprecedented deal in the Silver State and in 2023, state officials approved $330 million in additional tax breaks for a corporation valued at more than $1 trillion.
These investments are part of the states efforts to create a lithium loop, with the goal of encompassing all aspects of the process, from lithium extraction to its processing and eventual recycling.
Our state has the components to be world leaders in battery development, Lombardo said last year.
What the regulation means
The newly crafted regulation will likely lead to a system where fewer types of hazardous materials in Nevada are designated as waste, meaning there will be fewer requirements for certain companies that deal with hazardous materials.
The regulation was part of a broader effort to create a new framework in Nevada governing hazardous secondary materials, which are manufacturing byproducts that are not subject to certain federal waste regulations if they are legitimately recycled and meet other federal criteria. The state must validate that a company is meeting this criteria.
Corrado DeGasperis, CEO at Comstock Inc., a Northern Nevada-based company that was involved in the battery recycling industry but has since pivoted to solar panel recycling, said under the new framework, companies will be incentivized to recycle their products. Disposing them as waste triggers more government oversight.
Nevadas way, way, way better off with these materials being recycled, DeGasperis said.
In an interview, NDEP Deputy Administrator Jeffrey Kinder said the agency did not intend for the states hazardous secondary materials rules to be more stringent than the federal ones. It was only after input from industry officials that the agency recognized its proposed regulation would have been overly restrictive.
We do sometimes ask for more stringent regulations through our own state process if we think theres a gap in what the federal program does, he said. But that didnt exist. (It) is a fairly robust federal program thats been operating for a number of years in a number of states.
Six facilities, including Redwood and Tesla, have notified the state they have applied to handle these secondary materials, according to NDEP.
Discarded lithium batteries are typically designated as hazardous waste because of their ignitability and reactivity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But because the industry is still in its infancy, the recycling chain for lithium ion batteries is still being developed, according to Nevada lithium experts.
Top NDEP officials said, during their tenure, they have never been tasked with drafting regulations for a sector as large and rapidly evolving as the lithium recycling industry.
What Tesla got changed
Tesla objected to permit requirements that it said would have cost millions of dollars across a facilitys lifespan. These permits require ongoing compliance reports, and the EPA is able to issue orders or file lawsuits to these permitted facilities to require cleanups of spills.
These requirements, according to Teslas letter last year to state environmental regulators, could lead some lithium recyclers to be forced to choose between losing ground to competitors in other states or ceasing business altogether. Battery facilities have long eyed Nevada for its business-friendly environment, particularly the lack of state income tax.
Additionally, under the initial regulation, some materials would have still been classified as hazardous waste and subject to stricter oversight because the state did not intend to adopt certain federal rules. However, Tesla said in its letter to regulators that the decision to not adopt these rules effectively advantages select recyclers, while disadvantaging others.
Under the revised regulations, NDEP will now be solely responsible for validating whether battery facilities are meeting the requirements for legitimate recycling.
The agency has seven employees overseeing all hazardous waste compliance and enforcement for the entire state not just for the battery factories.
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The Nevada Independent is continuing to report on the states battery industry. Fill out this form if you have any information to provide.
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Carson Now reporter Kelsey Penrose contributed reporting.
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This story was produced with assistance from The Associated Press Local Investigative Reporting Program , which offers workshops, reporting tools and collaboration with AP journalists to help apply investigative techniques immediately and with impact.
根据《内华达独立报》获取的记录，特斯拉去年年底成功阻止了内华达州拟议的环境法规，这些法规本应对其电池生产业务实施更严格的规定。
当内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）试图建立一套针对多种危险材料的新监管框架时，该公司进行了抵制——并迅速得逞。
特斯拉在里诺市东部的大型超级工厂生产电池组和储能产品。该公司认为，内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）工作人员提出的法规将威胁该州在新兴产业中的领先地位，而这一产业对实现该州经济多元化（超越博彩和旅游业）至关重要。特斯拉一位高管在10月下旬致NDEP的信中写道，拟议的规则将使内华达州“在发展锂离子电池回收产业时与其他州竞争时处于劣势”。
根据这些提案，包括特斯拉在内的企业需为特定运营环节申请更严苛的许可证（此类许可要求持续提交合规报告，并可能引发联邦强制污染清理，但回收设施通常无需办理）。提案还要求企业继续遵守更严格的联邦危险废物处理法规，涉及包括易燃、腐蚀性、易反应或有毒的废金属与污泥等有害物质。
特斯拉致信内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）两天后，该公司说客将同一封信件发送至州长乔·隆巴多（Joe Lombardo）办公室。四日后，州长办公室与NDEP官员、特斯拉及红杉材料公司（Redwood Materials）举行会议——这家北内华达州电池回收企业由特斯拉联合创始人创办。会议于州长幕僚长办公室及微软Teams平台召开，次日NDEP便向与会各方发送了法规修订版，其中完全采纳了特斯拉信中的全部要求。
特斯拉一位官员在收到更新后的法规次日致信表示：“非常感谢你们如此迅速地落实了行业反馈。”
随后，州立法者小组毫无争议地通过了新规。
根据通过公开记录申请从州长办公室获得的文件披露，此前未被报道的一系列事件引发了人们对电池企业在制定旨在保护工人、公众和环境安全的环境法规中应扮演角色的质疑。
特斯拉公司未回应多次置评请求。其内华达州游说代表通过邮件向《印第安纳波利斯星报》表示，该公司“原则上”不对媒体问询发表评论。
州长办公室在一份声明中表示，其工作重点在于“简化法规并实施既能支持行业安全标准又有利于商业发展的政策”，同时“定期与行业协会及州政府机构合作”以制定相关法规。
内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）官员在接受《印第安纳波利斯星报》采访时表示，州长办公室在监管流程中并无明确职责，但偶尔会参与其中。
“由于这一经济领域的增长，他们对正在发生的事情很感兴趣，”内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）局长詹妮弗·卡尔表示。“州长办公室并未干预我们的工作流程，我们也从未感受到来自州长办公室的任何施压。”
州长办公室拒绝安排其幕僚长隆巴多或与内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）的联络官接受采访，但确实回应了《印第安纳波利斯星报》的书面置评请求。
内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）就拟议法规收到了近70条意见，并依照常规立法程序逐一作出回应。该机构官员向《印第安纳波利斯星报》表示，其本无意制定比联邦法规更严格的地方条例，但在与行业代表会谈后，发现实际条款已超出联邦标准。
与许多其他企业类似，特斯拉已与内华达州的游说公司罗律师事务所（Rowe Law Group）签订合约，并在其他州展开游说活动。例如，其首席执行官埃隆·马斯克今年在得克萨斯州雇佣了十几名说客，以推动对特斯拉及其另一家公司太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）有利的立法。
内华达州各派政界人士均将特斯拉及更广泛的电池产业视为提振该州依赖旅游的经济的可靠途径。2014年，州立法机构为特斯拉通过了12.5亿美元的税收优惠方案——这在"白银之州"堪称史无前例；2023年，州政府又为这家市值超万亿美元的企业追加了3.3亿美元的税收减免。
这些投资是该州打造“锂循环”产业链的举措之一，旨在覆盖从锂矿开采、加工到最终回收的全流程环节。
隆巴多去年表示：“我们州具备成为电池研发领域全球领军者的所有要素。”
这项规定的含义
新制定的法规或将导致内华达州更少种类的危险材料被归类为废弃物，这意味着某些涉及危险材料的企业将面临更少的监管要求。
该法规是内华达州为建立新监管框架所做更广泛努力的一部分，旨在管理“有害次级材料”——这类制造副产品若经合法回收并符合其他联邦标准，可不受某些联邦废物法规约束。州政府须核实企业是否符合该标准。
科拉多·德加斯佩里斯（Corrado DeGasperis）是总部位于内华达州北部的康斯托克公司（Comstock Inc.）的首席执行官。该公司曾从事电池回收业务，现已转向太阳能电池板回收领域。德加斯佩里斯表示，根据新框架，企业将受到激励回收其产品。若将其作为废物处理，则会引发政府更严格的监管。
德加斯佩里斯表示：“内华达州通过回收这些材料获得了巨大、巨大、巨大的收益。”
内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）副局长杰弗里·金德在采访中表示，该机构并未打算让州的危险二次材料规则比联邦法规更为严格。直到行业官员提出意见后，该机构才意识到其拟议的监管措施可能限制过度。
他表示："当我们认为联邦计划存在不足时，确实会通过本州程序要求更严格的监管条例。但（这次）情况并非如此。这是一个相当完善的联邦计划，已在多个州成功运行多年。"
根据内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）消息，包括红杉（Redwood）和特斯拉（Tesla）在内的六家设施已向州政府申报处理这些再生材料的资质。
美国环境保护署（EPA）指出，废弃锂电池因其易燃性和反应活性通常被列为危险废物。但内华达州的锂专家表示，由于该行业仍处于发展初期，锂离子电池的回收产业链尚在建设中。
美国国家环境计划署（NDEP）高层官员表示，在其任期内，他们从未接到过为锂回收行业这样规模庞大且快速发展的领域起草法规的任务。
特斯拉的变革之路
特斯拉反对相关许可要求，称这些要求将导致其工厂在整个生命周期内耗费数百万美元。此类许可要求持续提交合规报告，且美国环保署（EPA）有权向获许可设施下达命令或提起诉讼，要求其对泄漏事件进行清理。
根据特斯拉去年致州环境监管机构的信函，这些要求可能导致部分锂回收企业“被迫在失去其他州竞争对手的市场份额”与“彻底停业”之间做出抉择。内华达州因其商业友好环境（尤其是免征州所得税）长期受到电池企业的青睐。
此外，根据最初的规定，由于该州不打算采纳某些联邦法规，部分材料仍将被归类为危险废物，并受到更严格的监管。然而，特斯拉在致监管机构的信函中指出，不采纳这些规定的决定"实际上使部分回收企业获益，而其他企业则处于不利地位"。
根据修订后的法规，内华达州环境保护局（NDEP）将全权负责核实电池回收设施是否符合合法回收的要求。
该机构仅有七名员工负责监督全州范围内（而不仅限于电池工厂）所有危险废物的合规及执法工作。
《内华达独立报》持续关注该州电池行业动态。若您掌握相关线索，请填写此表格。
卡森新闻社记者凯尔茜·彭罗斯参与了报道。
本报道在美联社地方调查报道项目（The Associated Press Local Investigative Reporting Program）的支持下完成。该项目通过提供研讨会、报道工具以及与美联社记者的合作机会，帮助参与者快速掌握并有效运用调查报道技巧。
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