G/TBT/N/USA/1995  
11 May 2023  
(23-3309) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [2026]  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
Please submit comments to: USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point, Email: usatbtep@nist.gov  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], 3.2 [  ], 7.2 [  ], 
other :  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Synthetic 
organic chemical manufacturing; polymers and resins; Environmental protection (ICS 
code(s): 13.020); Air  quality (ICS code(s): 13.040); Production in the chemical industry 
(ICS code(s): 71.020); Organic chemicals (ICS code(s): 71.080); Products of the 
chemical industry (ICS code(s): 71.100)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  New Source 
Performance Standards for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Synthetic Organic 
Chemical Manufacturing Industry and Group I & II Polymers and Resins Industry ; (126 
page(s), in English)  
6. Description of content:  Proposed rule - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) is proposing amendments to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that 
apply to the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industr y (SOCMI) and to the 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply to the 
SOCMI (more commonly referred to as the Hazardous Organic NESHAP or HON) and 
Group I and II Polymers and Resins Industries (P&R I and P&R II). The EPA is proposing 
decisions resulting from the Agency's technology review of the HON, P&R I, and P&R II, 
and its eight -year review of the NSPS that apply to the SOCMI. The EPA is also proposing 
amendments to the NSPS for equipment leaks of volatile organic comp ounds (VOC) in 
SOCMI based on its reconsideration of certain issues raised in an administrative petition 
for reconsideration. Furthermore, the EPA is proposing to strengthen the emission 
standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions and chloroprene emission s after considering 
the results of a risk assessment for the HON and Neoprene Production processes subject 
to P&R I. Lastly, the EPA is proposing to remove exemptions from standards for periods 
of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), to add work pract ice standards for such 
periods where appropriate, and to add provisions for electronic reporting. We estimate 
that the proposed amendments to the NESHAP would reduce hazardous air pollutants 
(HAP) emissions (excluding EtO and chloroprene) from the SOCMI, P &R I, and P&R II G/TBT/N/USA/1995  
 
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  sources by approximately 1,123 tons per year (tpy), reduce EtO emissions from HON 
processes by approximately 58 tpy, and reduce chloroprene emissions from Neoprene 
Production processes in P&R I by approximately 14 tpy. We also estimate tha t these 
proposed amendments to the NESHAP will reduce excess emissions of HAP from flares in 
the SOCMI and P&R I source categories by an additional 4,858 tpy. Lastly, we estimate 
that the proposed amendments to the NSPS would reduce VOC emissions from the SOCMI 
source category by approximately 1,609 tpy.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  Protection of the environment  
8. Relevant documents:   
88 Federal Register (FR) 25080, 25 April 2023; Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
Parts 60 and 63:  
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR -2023-04-25/html/2023 -07188.htm  
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR -2023-04-25/pdf/2023 -07188.pdf  
This proposed rule is identified by Docket Number EPA -HQ-OAR-2022-0730. The Docket 
Folder is a vailable on Regulations.gov at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA -HQ-
OAR-2022-0730/document  and provides access to primary and supporting documents as 
well as comments rec eived. Documents are also accessible from Regulations.gov  by 
searching the Docket Number. WTO Members and their stakeholders are asked to submit 
comments to the USA TBT Enquiry Point . Comments received by the USA TBT Enquiry 
Point from WTO Members and their stakeholders by 4pm Eastern Time  on 26 June 2023 
will be shared with the regulator and will also be submitted to the Docket  on 
Regulations.gov if received within the comment period.  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined  
Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined  
10. Final date for comments:  26 June 2023  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2023/TBT/USA/23_09600_00_e.pdf