UPDATED INFORMATIVE DIGEST

PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO

THE CALIFORNIA REGULATION FOR REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM CONSUMER

PRODUCTS PERTAINING TO AUTOMOTIVE WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID

PRODUCTS

Sections Affected : A mendments to sections 94508 and 94509 title 17

, California Code of Regulations (CCR).

Background :

Section 41712 of the California Heal th and Safety Code requires the A ir R esources Board ( ARB or Board ) to achieve the maximum feasible reduction in volatile organic

com pound ( 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 regulations 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 adopted which requires the elimination of a product form.

Secti on 41712 is primarily directed at attaining the State and federal ozone standards.

Pursuant to Health and Saf ety Code section 41712, ARB has adopted the Regulation for Reducing VOC Emissions from Consumer Products (the “Consumer Products Regulation”

, titl e 17, CCR, sections 94507

- 94517). The regulation has been amended numerous times to adopt VOC limits for over 100 different product categories. These limits have reduced VOC emissions from consumer products by about 50 percent. Most recently, in Novembe r 2010, the Board approved and subsequently adopted new or lower VOC limits for 11 product categories. When fully effective, these amendments will result in VOC emission reductions of about 7 tons per day . About 6.7 tons per day of

these reductions w ere realized at the end of 2012, with the remaining reductions occurring at the end of 2013.

Automotive Windshield W asher F luid (AWWF) products were first re gulated under

“Phase I” of the C onsumer P roducts R egula tion adopted in October of 1990

. The regulat ion set VOC limits for AWWF products based up on areas where they are sold.

At that time

, it was acknowledged that areas experienc ing freezing temperatures (termed Type “A” areas) during the winter months require products with higher VOC
content to prevent the fluid from freezing. To address this need, the Board adopted a VOC limit of 35 percent by weight for Type “A” areas and a 10 percent by weight VOC limit for all other areas of the State. The limits became effective in 1993. Subsequent

amendments lo wered the VOC limit from 10 to 1 percent by weight for areas outside of Type “A,” effective December 2002. In 2008, a 25 percent by weight VOC limit became2

effective in Type “A” areas. Overall, VOC emissions from AWWF products have been reduced by over 2 5 tons per day.

AWWF product s are sold as both ready

- to

- use (premixed) products and dilutable

concentrate d product s

. Premixed products make up the majority of the market. In Type “A” areas premixed products can be sold with a VOC content of up to 25 pe rcent by weight, while in all other areas of the State premixed products must contain no more than 1 percent by weight VOC. Dilutable products may be sold in all areas of the State as long as the product labels include clear dilution instructions for Type “A” and all other

areas.

D escription of A dopted R egulatory A ction :

On Octob e r 18 , 20 12 , ARB approved for adopt ion amendments to the existing Consumer Products Regulation . The se amend ments redefine Type “A” areas because

the existing desc ription did not include some areas that routinely experience freezing temperatures in the winter. The areas added to Type “A” are mountainous areas of the following counties: Butte, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Madera, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis O bispo, Santa Barbara, Tehama, Tulare, and Ventura. The adopt ed amendments also add one area to the existing Type “A” areas within Placer County

.

The effect of including these n ew areas in Type “A” is to allow, but not require, the sale of premixed AWWF w ith a VOC content of up to 25 percent by weight, rather than the current 1 percent by weight product.

T he new areas are described by ZIP codes. ZIP codes are easily understood and succinctly identify the areas add ed to Type “A

, ” while minimizing the em issions impacts. The amendments also clarify the existing Type “A” areas by listing these areas by county name rather than by air basin

.

In additio n, the amendments allow additional instructions to be included on the labels of

concentrated products. R esponsible Parties may include, along with the currently required dilution instructions, language advising consumers to dilute the product for Type “A” specifications if traveling to areas where freez ing temperatures are expected.

Consumer s should benefit from the adopt ed amendments by having access to AW WF products that provide freeze protection, and by having clear language on the labels of concentrated products indicating that these products can be diluted for Type “A” areas, regardless of their locatio n, when traveling to areas where freezing temperatures are expected.

Because premixed AWWF products with a 25 percent by weight VOC content may be

sold in the new Type “A” areas, the amendments result in a small increase in VOC

emissions. Staff estimates the statewide VOC emission increase to be about 0.12 tons per day. However, t he estimated statewide VOC reduction of 6.7 tons per day from3

VOC limits adopted as part of the 2010 rulemaking for consumer products, which

bec a me effective at the end of 2012, more than offsets the small increase in VOC emissions from this proposal. Thus, overall VOC emissions from consumer products

will continue to decline

Comparable Federal Regulations :

The U nited S tates Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has pro mulgated a national consumer products rule under section 183(e) of the federal Clean Air Act: National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Consumer Products. (40 CFR Part 59, subpart C, sections 59.201 et seq. ) The rule specifies VOC limits f or a number of consumer product categories, and is similar in format to ARB’s Consumer

P roduc ts R egulation.

Although the national regulation is similar in many aspects to the California regulation, it

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. Such is the case for the AWWF category. The national VOC limit is 35 percent b y weight for all areas whether freezing temperatures exist or not. Because California has uniq ue air quality problems, reducing VOC emissions from all categories, including consumer products, to the maximum

extent feasible is necessary to attain the feder al and State ambient air quality standards

for ozone.

The U.S. EPA’s rule also differs from ARB’s regulation 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 b efore the effective date of the limits, whereas California law l imit s the

sell

- through period to three years

.

Changes to Underlying Laws : None

Changes to the Effect of the Regulation : None

Changes to the Proposed Regulation since the Publication of th e Notice :

Staff proposed, and the Board approved, one modification to the originally proposed

amendments. Table 94508(a)(20)(B) of section 94508(a) was modified to add ZIP code 92325 for the community of Crestline in San Bernardino County to the areas defined as Type “A.” This ZIP code was inadvertently omitted during drafting of the originally proposed amendments. The modified proposal was made available for a 15

- day comment period, beginning November 6, 2012.