UPDATED I NFORMATIVE DIGEST

PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO

THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRODUCTS REGULATIONS

SECTIONS AFFECTED :

Proposed amendments to sections 94508, 94509, 94510, 94512, and 94515, title 17, California Code of Regulations (CCR) and proposed amendments to Method 310, which is incorporated by reference in section 94515, title 17, CCR, to amend section 2.0 and

add ne w subsections 3.3.8 and 4.2.3.

BACKGROUND:

Section 41712 of the California Health and Safety Code requires the Air Resources Board (Board or ARB) to adopt regulations to achieve the maximum feasible reduction in VOC emissions from consumer products. As part of the regulatory process, ARB must determine that adequate data exist for it to adopt the regulations. ARB must also determine that the regu lations are technologically and commercially feasible, and necessary to carry out the Board’s responsibilities under Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. In addition, Health and Safety Code section 41712(c) provides that no regulation shall be adopt ed which requires the elimination of a product form. The Health and Safety Code further stipulates in section 41712(e) that public health agencies be consulted, and their recommendations be considered, prior to adopting regulations for health benefit prod ucts. Section 41712 is primarily directed at attaining

the State and federal ozone standards.

Pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 41712, ARB has adopted the Regulation for Reducing Emissions from Consumer Products (the “Consumer Products Regulat ion;” title 17, CCR, sections 94507

- 94517).

On September 25, 2007, ARB adopted the State Strategy for California’s 2007 State Implementation Plan (2007 SIP). The 2007 SIP serves as California’s overall plan to provide the emission reductions necessary to meet the federal ozone standard of 0.08 parts per million averaged over eight hours. As part of the 2007 SIP, ARB has committed to achieve an additional 30 to 40 tons per day of VOC emission reductions statewide from consumer products by January 1, 2014 . In 2008 and 2009, the Board adopted amendments to the Consumer Products Regulation to set new or lower VOC limits. These limits will result in 19.2 tons per day of VOC emission reductions once fully effective. Achieving additional VOC emission reducti ons from consumer products is an important element of the 2007 SIP and is necessary to attain State and federal air quality standards. This rulemaking is the third increment toward meeting the 2007 SIP

commitment. Including the e mission reductions from t his rulemaking, t otal reductions

toward the commitment wo uld be about 26 tons per day.2

Method 310 was adopted on September 25, 1997, and has been subsequently amended. Method 310 is used for compliance purposes to determine the VOC content

of a consume r product and the presence of any compounds prohibited by ARB regulations.

DESCRIPTION OF ADOPTED REGULATORY ACTION :

On November 18, 2010, the Board considered amendments to the existing Consumer Products Regulation

. After a 15

- day comment period, the amendments were subsequently adopted by the Board’s Executive Officer. The amendments include the

addi tion and modif ication of product category definitions and establish new or lower VOC limits for a number of consumer p roduct categories. Most of the new or lower VOC limits become effective on December 31, 2012. The remainder become effective on December 31, 2013. The adopted VOC limits will result in VOC emission reductions of about 6.9 tons per day once fully effecti ve.

In addition, various other modifications were made to the existing regulatory language.

These include the amend ment of several definitions to clarify the types of products included or excluded in specific categories. Several new definitions were al so added to describe additional product categories. Following is a d escription of other amendments

that were adopted

.

An amendment was adopted to m odify the definition of Artist’s Solvent/Thinner to specify that an Artist’s Solvent/Thinner is a product packaged in a container of 34 ounces or less. At present, Artist’s Solvents/Thinners are defined as products packaged in containers equal to or less than 32 ounces. This change was made because some Artist’s Solvents/Thinners are commonly packaged in metric units, ( e

. g

. a liter, which is 33.8 ounces), rather than English units ( e

. g

. a quart, which is 32 ounces).

An amendment was adopted to modify the definition of Oven Cleaner to include grill cleaning products. T o allow the necessary time to reformulate , n ewly added Oven or Grill Cleaner products were given until December 31, 2012, to comply. An additional

amendment increase d the limit for nonaerosol Oven or Grill Cleaner products from

1 percent to 4 percent by weight VOC to accommodate use of noncaustic technologies. To expedite providing this alternative, the adopted limit revision will become effective on

the date the amen dments become legally effective. This amendment will result in a small emission increase of about 0.1 tons per day. However, emission reductions from the other categories adopted in this regulatory action will offset this small shortfall.

An additiona l amendment was adopted to i nclude spot remover products used on dry clean only fabrics into the currently regulated “Spot Remover” category. These are primarily products used at dry cleaning operations. To accommodate t he necessary time for these produc ts to reformulate

, an amendment was adopted to delay the

effective date of the VOC limit for “Spot Remover” products from December 31, 2010, to3

December 31, 2012. This change result s in delaying about a 0.25 ton s per day VOC emission reduction for two yea rs. The existing prohibition on use of methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene for “Spot Remover” products will also apply to the newly added products effective December 31, 2012.

Mitigation measures under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) were also adopted for some categories. For the categories “ Anti

- Seize Lubricant,” “Cutting or Tapping Oil,” “Gear, Chain, or Wire Lubricant ,” “Metal Polish or Cleanser,” “Rust

Preventative or Rust Cont rol Lubricant,” and “Silicone

- based Multi

- purpose Lubricant,” prohibitions were adopted on the use of the toxic air contaminants methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene . These prohibitions were adopted to ensure that use of these toxi c air contaminants does not occur as products are reformulated to

meet the adopted VOC limits. The adopted prohibitions are contained in section 94509(m).

A second CEQA mitigation measure w as adopted to prohibit use of compounds with global warming pot ential (GWP) values of 150 or greater in “Anti

- Seize Lubricant,” Cutting or Tapping Oil,” “Flying Bug Insecticide,” “Furniture Maintenance Product,” “Gear, Chain, or Wire Lubricant,” “Metal Polish or Cleanser,” “ Rust Preventative or Rust Control Lubricant, ” “Spot Remover,” and “Wasp or Hornet Insecticide” products. These prohibitions were adopted to ensure that use of compounds with GWP values greater than or equal to 150 does not occur as products are reformulated. The adopted prohibitions are contained in section 94509(n).

Another mitigation measure was adopted to prohibit the use of alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants in “General Purpose Cleaner” (nonaerosol), “General Purpose Degreaser” (nonaerosol), “Glass Cleaner” (nonaerosol), “Heavy

- duty Hand Cleaner or Soap” (nonaerosol) produ cts, and “Oven or Grill Cleaner” products. These prohibitions were adopted to ensure that use of these compounds, which are known to be toxic to aquatic species, does not occur as products are reformulated. The adopted prohibitions are

contained in secti on 94509(m).

Several subsections within section 94509 contain ed provisions prohibiting the use of specific chlorinated toxic air contaminants. A mendments were adopted to consolidate

t hese requirements into two ta bles contained in a single subsection. One table include s all of the categories where use of methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene is prohibited. A second table includes the categories where use of

para

- dichlorobenzene is prohibited. The modified subsection also consoli date s the provisions that specify sell

- through dates and exemptions for impurities (except no exemption for impurities is provided for para

- dichlorobenzene). The modifications were adopted t o simplify the regulation and make it easier to find the requirem ents for all categories where these compounds are prohibited. The adopted consolidation of toxic air contaminant prohibitions is contained in section 94509(m).

Several subsections in section 94509 contain ed prohibitions on the use of compounds

that hav e GWP values of 150 or greater. Amendments were adopted to consolidate4

these provisions into a single subsection. The modified subsection also consolidate s the provisions that specify sell

- through dates and exemptions for impurities. The

modifications w ere adopted t o simplify the regulation and make it easier to find the limitations on use of compounds with higher GWP values. The adopted con solidation of

GWP limits is contained in section 94509(n).

An amendment was adopted to the Most Restrictive Lim it provision contained in

section 94512(a) to clarify the regulation’s applicability when two defined categories

exclude each other within their definitions. As adopted , when a definition for a specific category excludes another specific category and vice versa , the product is subject to the VOC limit for whichever category is lower.

Along with the amendments to consolidate toxics prohibitions and GWP limits, other adopted modifications include deleting several subsections and renumbering remaining

subs ections.

A mendment s to Test Method 310 were adopted to incorporate additional testing procedures and standard test methods to analyze consumer products for compliance. These modifications specify the procedures to be used to analyze for the aromatic

co mpound content in “Paint Thinner” and “Multi

- purpose Solvent” products and the VOC

content of “Fabric Softener

- Single Use Dryer Product.”

COMPARABLE FEDERAL REGULATIONS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has promulgated a national consumer products rule under section 183(e) of the federal Clean Air Act (40 CFR Part 59, subpart C, sections 59.201 et seq. ). The rule specifies VOC limits for a number of

con sumer product categories and is similar in format to ARB’s Consumer Products Regulation.

Although the national regulation is similar in many aspects to the California regulation, it is less effective in reducing VOC emissions from consumer products. The U.S. EPA’s rule does not include a number of product categories that are currently regulated under the ARB regulation. For the categories that are regulated under both rules, many of ARB’s limits are more stringent than the U.S. EPA’s limits. Because Ca lifornia has unique air quality problems, reducing VOC emissions from all categories, including consumer products, to the maximum extent feasible is necessary to attain the federal and State ambient air quality standards for ozone.

The U.S. EPA’s rule als o differs in that it applies nationwide to consumer product manufacturers, importers and distributors (but not retailers), while the ARB regulation applies to any person (including retailers) who “sells, supplies, offers for sale, or

manufactures consumer products for use in the State of California.” Finally, the

U.S. EPA’s rule has an unlimited “sell

- through” period for noncomplying products manufactured before the effective date of the limits, whereas California law limits the

sell

- through period to thr ee years.5

U.S. EPA’s consumer products rule does not prohibit the use of certain toxic air contaminants or alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants and there is no comparable federal regulation related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in consumer products

.