BOARD MEETING DATE: July 13, 2007
AGENDA NO. 28

PROPOSAL:

Amend Rule 1113 - Architectural Coatings

SYNOPSIS:

The proposed amendments to Rule 1113 - Architectural Coatings amend the definition of metallic pigmented coatings to remove reference to mica to be consistent with the federal architectural coating rule, update the test method used to determine the weight percent of elemental metal in metallic coatings to reflect current practice, and delete obsolete language.

COMMITTEE:

Stationary Source, February 23, 2007, March 23, 2007 and May 25, 2007, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Adopt the attached resolution:

1. Certifying the Notice of Exemption for Proposed Amended Rule 1113 – Architectural Coatings; and
2. Amending Rule 1113 – Architectural Coatings.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Rule 1113 – Architectural Coatings was first adopted in 1977 and has been amended numerous times. It is applicable to manufacturers, distributors, and end-users of architectural coatings. In November 1996, the Board amended Rule 1113 to include an averaging compliance provision as a flexibility option providing a more cost-effective and flexible approach for manufacturers to transition compliant product lines into the marketplace. To use the Averaging Compliance Option (ACO) successfully, a manufacturer must be able to distribute sufficient volumes of products with VOC content below applicable limits in order to offset the excess emissions from products with VOC content above the limits. One limitation of the ACO is that a manufacturer is required to have a broad array of commercial products, with sufficient volume of sales of products that are below the applicable VOC limit.

One manufacturer, affected by the limitation of the ACO described above, recently requested that the Stationary Source Committee, a subcommittee of the Board, direct staff to prepare amendments to Rule 1113 to remove the specialty primer category from the ACO provision because they were at a competitive disadvantage. The Stationary Source Committee, as a result of these discussions, directed staff to propose an amendment to Rule 1113 – Architectural Coatings to remove specialty primers from the ACO provision. After staff commenced rule making and subsequent to the Stationary Source Committee’s direction to staff, the manufacturer withdrew its request. The Stationary Source Committee then directed staff to not include the original request as a part of the proposed amendments.

However, in unrelated matters, during implementation of recent amendments to the rule, it became apparent that by adding mica to the definition of metallic pigmented coatings it is improperly less restrictive than the federal definition and a correction to delete mica from the definition is therefore necessary. Staff also became aware that the test method in the rule used to determine the metal content of metallic pigmented coatings was outdated. In addition, during the public outreach it was pointed out that a sentence in the Appendix to the Rule is obsolete and therefore it is proposed to be deleted.

The proposed amendments do not affect air quality or emissions and have no cost impact.

Proposal

Staff is proposing the following amendments to clarify issues related to rule implementation.

• Amend the definition of metallic pigmented coatings to make it consistent with the federal Architectural and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) Coatings rule.
• Update the test method used to determine the weight percent of elemental metal in metallic coatings, to reflect current practice.
• Delete obsolete sentence from Appendix A, Section A of the rule.

Emission Inventory and Emission Reduction

There is no change in emission inventory or emission reduction associated with the proposed amendments.

Cost-Effectiveness

There will be no additional compliance cost associated with the proposed changes; therefore, a cost-effectiveness and an incremental cost-effectiveness analysis are not applicable.

CEQA

The AQMD has reviewed the proposed project pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines §15002 (k)(1). Since the proposed amendments to Rule 1113 only address clarity and enforceability and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the project is exempt from the requirements of CEQA, pursuant to state CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3). A Notice of Exemption has been prepared in accordance with state CEQA Guidelines §15062 for the proposed project and will be filed with the county clerks immediately following the adoption of the proposed amendments to the rule. A copy of that notice has been included as Attachment G of this letter.

Socioeconomic Analysis

The proposed amendments do not affect air quality or emissions limitations. Therefore, a socioeconomic assessment is not necessary or required.

AQMP and Legal Mandates

The proposed amendment to the definition of metallic pigmented coatings to make it no less stringent than the federal rule for architectural and industrial maintenance coatings is necessary for Rule 1113 to be approvable by U.S. EPA for inclusion into the SIP. Moreover, California State law requires AQMD to enforce federal standards.

Implementations and Resources

Existing AQMD resources will be sufficient to implement the proposed changes to this rule with minimal impact on the budget.

Attachments (EXE 3.34mb)

1. Summary of Proposed Amendments
2. Rule Development Process Flow Chart
3. Key Contacts
4. Resolution
5. Rule Language
6. Staff Report
7. CEQA – Notice of Exemption