RHODE ISLAND 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 

235 Promenade Street, Providence, Rl 02908-5767 TDD 401 -222-4462 

27 October 2009 

David Conroy 

EPA - New England, Region I 

1 Congress Street, Suite 1100 

Boston, MA 02114-2023 

Dear Mr. Conroy: 

The Office of Air Resources (OAR) is hereby submitting amendments Rhode Island Air 

Pollution Control (RI APC) Regulation Nos. 25, 31 and 33 and new Rl APC Regulation No. 44 

as fonnal revisions to the Rhode Island State Implementation Plan (SIP). 

The revisions to Regulation No. 31, "Control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from 

Consumer Products," and No. 33, "Control ofVOC from Architectural Coatings and Industrial 

Maintenance (AIM) Coatings," and new Regulation No. 44, "Control ofVOC from Adhesives 

and Sealants," limit the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of 102 categories of consumer 

products, 53 categories of architectural and .industrial maintenance coatings and 40 categories of 

adhesive and sealant products, consistent with the model rules for those source categories 

developed by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). 

The revision to Regulation No. 25, "Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from 

Cutback and Emulsified Asphalt," prohibits the use of cutback asphalt and limit the VOC content 

of emulsified asphalt used for road paving, maintenance or repair between May and September of 

each year, beginning in 2010. 

A public notice announcing a public comment period and hearing on the proposed adoption of 

the plan and amended regulations was published in the Providence Journal-Bulletin on 20 

January 2009. The hearing was held on 20 February 2009. 

The following support documents are included in this submittal package: 

1. A copy of the Notice of Public Hearing, Mailing List, and Affidavit of Publication for the 

hearing notice, which was published on 20 January 2009; 

2. A copy of the transcript of the Public Hearing; 

3. A copy of the hearing officer's Decision; and 

ft 

~J 30% post-consumer filx:r 
4. A copy of the final amended regulations and new regulation, including revisions noted in 

the Decision. Note that Section 25.2.3, which reads "Wherever the term Volatile Organic 

Compound or VOC is used in this regulation, this term should be read as Volatile 

Organic Compound and Halogenated Compound or VOC and HOC" has been stricken 

from the attached copy of Regulation No. 25. 

If you have any questions about this submittal, please contact me at (401) 222-2808 ext. 7012. 

Very truly yours, 

Barbara Morin, Supervising Envirorunental Scientist 

Office of Air Resources 
State of Rhode Island 

Department of Environmental Management 

Office of Air Resources 

Notice ofPublic Hearing and Comment Period 

Concerning adoption of proposed amendments to Air Pollution Control Regulations Nos. 

25, 31 and 33 and proposed new Air Pollution Control Regulation No. 44. 

Notice is hereby given that a public hearing regarding adoption of proposed amendments to Air 

Pollution Control Regulations Nos. 25, 31 and 33 and proposed new Air Pollution Control 

Regulation No. 44 will be held in Room 300 of the Department of Environmental Management, 

at 235 Promenade Street, Providence, Rhode Island on Friday, February 20, 2009 at I 0:00AM, 

at which time interested parties will be heard. 

The proposed revisions to Regulation No. 31, "Control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) 

from Consumer Products," and No. 33, "Control ofVOC from Architectural Coatings and 

Industrial Maintenance Coatings," and proposed new Regulation No. 44, "Control ofVOC from 

Adhesives and Sealants," would limit the VOC content of 102 categories of consumer products, 

53 categories of architectural and industrial maintenance coatings and 40 categories of adhesive 

and sealant products. VOC is a precursor to the formation of ozone in the ambient air. The 

proposed revision to Regulation No. 25, "Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions 

from Cutback and Emulsified Asphalt," would prohibit the use of cutback asphalt and limit the 

VOC content of emulsified asphalt used for road paving, maintenance or repair during the ozone 

season (April through September). 

The proposed amendments and new regulation are based on control measures developed by the 

Ozone Transport Commission (OTC); these measures have previously been adopted by 

neighboring states. Based on the OTC analysis of the technical and economic feasibility of these 

measures, the Office of Air Resources has determined that implementation of these regulatory 

changes significantly reduce VOC emissions but would not have a significant adverse economic 

impact on small businesses, cities or towns. Copies of the proposed amended and new 

regulations and associated fact sheets are available from the Office of Air Resources, 235 

Promenade Street, Providence, Rhode Island, between 8:30 am and 4:00 PM and from the Air 

Resources section of the Department's web site at www.dem.ri.gov/. For more information 

contact Barbara Morin at ( 40 l) 222-4700, ext. 7012, TCDD ( 401) 222-6800. 

Written comments may be sent to the Office of Air Resources at the above address until 4:00PM 

on Friday, February 20, 2009, at which time the comment period will end, unless extended by the 

hearing officer. It is requested that persons who wish to make comments during the public 

hearing submit a copy of their statement for the record. Members of the Office of Air Resources 

may question commenters concerning their remarks.