Statement of the Air and Radiation Management Administration 

Department of the Environment 

for the 

Public Hearing Relating to 

Proposed Amendments to Regulation .01 Applicability and Exemptions under COMAR 

26.11.35 Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Adhesives and Sealants 

held on March 18, 2009 Baltimore, MD

My name is Husain Waheed. I am the Public Health Engineer of the Regulation 

Development Division of the Air and Radiation Management Administration, Department of the 

Environment. 

This public hearing is being held pursuant to the requirements of 40 CFR Section 51.102 

and Sections 2-301 et.seq. of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. It is also 

being held in conformance with the State Administrative Procedures Act under the State 

Government Article, beginning at Section 10-101. 

Notice of this hearing appeared in the: 

Maryland Register on Feb 13, 2009; 

Baltimore Sun on Feb 13, 2009; 

Saint Mary's Enterprise on Feb 13, 2009; 

Cumberland Times-News on Feb 13, 2009; 

Frederick News-Post on Feb 13, 2009; 

Salisbury Daily Times on Feb 13, 2009; 

Washington Post on Feb 12, 2009; and the 

MDE's website from February 12, 2009 through March 18, 2009. 

Copies of these notices were submitted for the record. 

Copies of the proposed action and supporting documents were submitted for review to 

the State Clearinghouse and are also submitted at this time into the hearing record. Copies were 

also made available for public inspection at the Air and Radiation Management Administration 

offices in Baltimore, Cumberland, and Salisbury, and at all local health departments or local air 

quality control offices. 

 The purpose of today's hearing is to give the public an opportunity to comment on the 

proposed amendments to Regulation .01 Applicability and Exemptions under COMAR 26.11.35 

Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Adhesives and Sealants. 

Background 

COMAR 26.11.35 Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Adhesives and Sealants 

was adopted on January 11, 2008. The regulations affect a large number of sources and materials 

and provide significant reductions of VOCs. Due to the large scale impact of the regulations, the 

Department adopted the standards after an extensive analysis and outreach effort in 2007. The 

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purpose was to give affected sources and manufacturers sufficient time to test new materials and 

make process changes to meet the new standards. 

In January 2008, the EPDM Roofing Association raised concerns about the VOC 

limitations for roofing adhesives when applied at lower temperatures. EPDM recommended a 

seasonal phase-in to the VOC regulation, requiring the use of VOC-compliant adhesives during 

the warmer “ozone season” months while continuing to allow higher VOC adhesives during the 

colder months for a period of time necessary to develop a new low-VOC technology that could 

be effective on a year-round basis. The Department requested the OTC to review these concerns 

with the intention of reaching consensus among states as to how to address this issue. The OTC 

did not make changes to the model rule after its review, but rather left it up to the states to decide 

on how to respond to the request. A number of states have decided to give non-ozone season 

exemption in the initial years of implementation. The Department met with manufacturers, 

installers and association representatives regarding additional time in the non-ozone season 

period to better train and modify practices for the use of new materials at lower temperatures. As 

a result of discussions and in order to provide more time for training, the Department agreed to 

provide a limited exemption for the non-ozone period in the initial phase of implementing the 

regulation. 

Summary of Amendments 

 COMAR 26.11.35.01 Applicability and Exemptions is being amended to limit the 

applicability of VOC standards for single-ply roof membrane installation and repair adhesives, 

single-ply roof membrane sealants and single-ply roof membrane adhesive primers according to 

the following schedule: 

(1) For the year 2009, from May 15 through September 15; 

(2) For the year 2010 and 2011, from May 1 through September 30: and 

(3) On and after January 1, 2012. 

Maryland’s State Implementation Plan (SIP)

These amendments will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 

revision to Maryland’s State Implementation Plan. 

Consideration of Comments 

The Department will consider all comments before making a decision to adopt these 

amendments.