UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION IX AIR DIVISION

Technical Support Document 

for

EPA’s Rulemaking

for the

California State Implementation Plan

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Rule 442

Architectural Coatings

Prepared by: Arnold Lazarus

Reviewed by: Andrew Steckel

July 2016
1

RULE IDENTIFICATION

Agency Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District 

(SMAQMD)

SIP Approved 

Rule

Rule 442 – Architectural Coatings

Amended – September 5, 1996

Submitted - May 18, 1998

EPA Approved – November 9, 1998 (63 FR 60214)

Subject of this 

TSD

Rule 442 – Architectural Coatings 

Amended - September 24, 2015

Submitted - March 11, 2016

Effective – March 24, 2016

Completeness 

Finding

Determination of Completeness letter: April 19, 2016

BACKGROUND - EPA finalized an approval of a previous version of Rule 442 on 

November 9, 1998 (63 FR 60214). Rule 442 was revised in 2015 to align with the 

2007 California Air Resources Board (CARB) “Suggested Control Measure for 

Architectural Coating” (SCM).1 The SCM is a model rule designed to provide 

state-wide consistency in the regulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 

emitted from architectural coatings.

The SMAQMD has been designated as severe nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour 

ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. However, architectural coatings are 

considered area sources of VOCs and are not subject to federal Clean Air Act 

(CAA) section 182(b) reasonably available control techniques (RACT) 

requirements for severe ozone nonattainment areas, since there are no major 

architectural coating sources and there is no relevant EPA control techniques 

guidance (CTG) document. There are, however, national VOC content limits for 

architectural coatings that apply largely to coating manufacturers, importers and 

purveyors. These limits are described in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, 

Part 59.400, Subpart D-National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards 

for Architectural Coatings (40 CFR §59.400).

According to the staff report associated with SMAQMD’s 2015 rule revision, 

“Currently, architectural coating-related products are projected to emit 5.0 tons of 

VOC per day in 2018. Rule 442 amendments are projected to reduce those 

emissions by 1.4 tons per day in 2018.”2 Furthermore, according to the CARB 

Staff Report for the 2007 SCM, outside of the South Coast Air Quality 

Management District, the difference between adopting the 2007 SCM and the 

 1 http://www.arb.ca.gov/coatings/arch/docs.htm

2 Report to the SMAQMD Board of Directors by SMAQMD, Report ID# 2015-0924-11,”Analysis” 

September 24, 2015, p3.
2

2000 SCM, which Rule 442 was based upon,3 should represent a 28 percent 

overall emission reduction.4

RULE SUMMARY - SMAQMD Rule 442 controls VOC emissions from 

architectural coatings by establishing VOC limits on any architectural coating that 

is supplied, sold, offered for sale or manufactured for use within the SMAQMD. 

Architectural coatings are coatings that are applied to stationary structures and 

their accessories. They include house paints, stains, industrial maintenance 

coatings, traffic coatings, and many other products. VOCs are emitted from the 

coatings during application, curing, and from the associated solvents used for 

thinning and clean-up.

Changes from the 1998 version of the rule currently in the EPA-approved SIP 

include:

1. Elimination of an “Averaging” provision.

2. Coating categories have been reorganized, eliminating eleven specialty

categories and adding ten new categories. Coatings that are currently 

classified under a specialty category that has been eliminated are

reclassified into another specialty category or into one of the general

coating categories (flat, non-flat, or non-flat high gloss coatings).

3. The VOC content limits have been lowered to those of the SCM for

general flat, non-flat, or non-flat high gloss coatings, as well as for nine

specialty categories. Two new specialty coating categories were created

to reclassify two coating types that are currently classified in one of the

general coating categories (flat, non-flat, or non-flat high gloss

coatings).

4. An anti-bundling clause was added to the “Exemption” section, 110.3,

which provides an exemption to containers that are one litre or less.

5. Any coatings manufactured before the effective date, March 24, 2016, may

be sold for three years after the new requirements take effect under a

“sell-through” provision if they comply with the current Rule 442. Once

sold, those compliant coatings may be applied indefinitely.

6. Coatings that have complied with the rule requirements in effect on March

24, 2016, but did not comply with the current rule (e.g. Tub and Tile Refinish

coatings), may be sold immediately after rule adoption. Although this

provision is not in the SCM, nine other air districts have adopted this into

their SCM-based rules. 5

 3 Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, “Statement of Reasons, Rule 442, 

Architectural Coatings, Proposed Amendments,” August 24, 2015. p5.

4 Draft Staff Report, CARB technical support document (TSD) for 2007 SCM, September 2007, 

Chapter 2, p4.

5 Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, “Statement of Reasons, Rule 442, 

Architectural Coatings, Proposed Amendments,” August 24, 2015. P2.
3

EPA EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Enforceability - The Bluebook (Issues Relating to VOC Regulation 

Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations, EPA, May 25, 1988), the Little 

Bluebook (Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 

Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001), and State Implementation 

Plans, General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air 

Amendments of 1990 (57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992) were used to help 

evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for 

enforceability.

2. Stringency - The district has no obligation to satisfy reasonably available 

control technology (RACT) requirements for this rule as discussed above. 

Nonetheless, we have evaluated the rule for RACT-level controls as well as 

against EPA’s National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standard for 

architectural coating (40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D), and CARB’s SCM for 

architectural coating, which is the basis for the most stringent architectural 

coating requirements in California.

3. SIP Relaxation - Where previous versions of rules have been SIP 

approved, new submittals must comply with CAA §110(l) and §193 

regarding SIP relaxations. CAA §110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any 

SIP revisions that would interfere with any applicable requirement 

concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP). In addition, 

CAA §193 prohibits the modification of any SIP approved control 

requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area. 

In addition to the documents mentioned above, in applying these criteria to the 

submitted rule, we also referred to the following guidance and policy document:

1. Final Rule To Implement the 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS – Phase 2, 70 FR 

71612 (Nov. 25, 2005).

EPA EVALUATION - A summary of our evaluation of the three criteria follows.

1. Enforceability - The rule requirements and applicability are clear, and the 

monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting and other provisions sufficiently ensure 

that affected sources and regulators can evaluate and determine 

compliance with Rule 442 consistently. Therefore, we determine that rule 

442 adequately fulfills the enforceability requirements.

2. Rule Stringency – Rule 442 is as stringent as the SCM and more stringent 

than 40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D. Therefore, we determine that it implements 

RACT-level controls.

3. SIP Relaxation - The SIP is strengthened by the alignment of Rule 442 to 
4

CARB’s SCM. We propose to determine that our approval of the submittal 

would comply with CAA §§110(l) and 193 because (1) the proposed SIP 

revision would not interfere with the on-going process for ensuring that 

requirements for RFP and attainment of the NAAQS are met, and (2) the 

emission limits in the submitted rule are more stringent than the existing 

SIP-approved control requirements that they would replace. 

RULE DEFICIENCIES - We find no deficiencies with Rule 442 to preclude a full 

approval of Rule 442.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION – If further VOC 

emission reduction is needed, we recommend that SMAQMD consider replacing 

Exemption 110.3, (exempting containers that are less than one liter) with the more 

stringent South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Rule 1113(f) 

Exemptions (1) “Small Container Exemptions.” According to the SCAQMD “Draft 

Staff Report for Proposed Amended Rule 1113. Architectural Coatings,” 

November 2015, page 25, one percent of small container (1 litre or less) sales 

represents twenty percent of emissions for “Small Container Exemptions.”

EPA ACTION - The submitted Rule 442 strengthens the SIP, and the associated 

District staff report projects it will reduce VOC emissions by approximately 28%.

The rule fulfills the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements. Therefore, EPA 

staff recommends approval of Rule 442 pursuant to CAA §§110(k)(3) and 

§301(a). 

REFERENCES

1. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 

Deviations,” (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988.

2. “Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 

Deficiencies,” (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 

2001.

3. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40, Part 59.400, Subpart 

D-National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for 

Architectural Coatings (40 CFR §59.400).

4. SMAQMD Rule 442 “Architectural Coatings,” amended September 

5, 1996, submitted May 18, 1998 and EPA approved November 9, 

1998 (63 FR 60214).

5. SMAQMD Rule 442 “Architectural Coatings,” amended September 

5, 2015, submitted March 11, 2016

6. “Suggested Control Measure for Architectural Coatings,” CARB, 

October 2007. 

7. Draft Staff Report, CARB technical support document (TSD) for 

2007 SCM, September 2007.

8. South Coast Air Quality Management District, Rule 1113 

“Architectural Coatings,” amended February 5, 2016.
5

9. South Coast Air Quality Management District, “Draft Staff Report, 

Proposed Amended Rules 1113 – Architectural Coatings,” 

November 2015. P25.