Document ID: EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0619-0006
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2015-12-08T05:00Z

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                            REGION IX AIR DIVISION

                          Technical Support Document 
                                      for
                              EPA's Rulemaking
                                    for the
                     California State Implementation Plan
                                       
           Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District Rule 1113
                            Architectural Coatings 

                              
                          Prepared by: Arnold Lazarus
                         Reviewed by: Andrew Steckel 

                                September 2015

RULE IDENTIFICATION - 
Agency
Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD)
SIP Approved Rule
Rule 1113 Architectural Coatings
Adopted - March 18, 2003
Submitted - June 5, 2003 
EPA Limited Approval/Disapproval on August 26, 2004 (69 FR 52432)
Subject of this TSD
Rule 1113 Architectural Coatings 
	Amended - June 18, 2013
 Submitted - May 13, 2014

Completeness Finding
Determination of Completeness letter: July 18, 2014

BACKGROUND  -  The AVAQMD has been designated as severe nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Rule 1113 has been revised to align with the 2007 California Air Resources Board (CARB) "Suggested Control Measure for Architectural Coating" (SCM). The SCM is a model rule designed to provide state-wide consistency in the regulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from architectural coatings.  EPA finalized a simultaneous limited approval and limited disapproval of a previous version of Rule 1113 on August 26, 2004 (69 FR 52432). The disapproval primarily addressed a problematic averaging provision.

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, 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 District Staff Report associated with the most recent revision to AVAQMD Rule 1113, "The proposed amendments to Rule 1113 have been developed to conform the emissions limitations and other requirements of the rule to those set forth in the SCM for Architectural Coatings as adopted by CARB on October 26, 2007.  The proposed amendments mainly lower the VOC content limits for a number of coatings categories resulting in an estimated 15.2 tons per day reduction in VOC emissions state-wide which represents a 28 percent overall emissions reduction." "The AVAQMD's portion of this reduction is 0.33 tons per day as reflected in the statewide emission inventory as estimated by CARB." 
"The adoption of the amended SCM for Architectural Coatings and its subsequent adoption and enforcement by other air districts makes the coatings formulations required "reasonably available". Thus the SCM for Architectural Coatings has become a de-facto RACT standard for this source category." "The SCM for Architectural Coatings has been adopted by at least 7 of the local air districts in California and will therefore be considered RACT by USEPA."

RULE SUMMARY - AVAQMD Rule 1113 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 AVAQMD. 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 2003 version of the rule currently in the EPA-approved SIP include:

   1.       Elimination of the "Averaging" provision, the primary reason for EPA's 2004 limited disapproval of a prior version of Rule 1113.
   2.       Lowering all limits of Architectural Coatings to those of the SCM.
3.	Using every Definition of the SCM almost identically except for the definition of Gonioapparent, which is not used in the rule, and eliminating obsolete or no longer relevant definitions to Rule 1113.
4.	Referring to 40 CFR 51.100(s) for Exempt Compounds and adding a recordkeeping modification regarding tertiary butyl acetate (tBAc). 

EVALUATION CRITERIA - The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule.  
 	
         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. Rule Stringency - The district has no obligation to satisfy RACT 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 Coatings (40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D), and CARB's SCM for Architectural Coatings, which is the basis for most of 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 applying these criteria to the submitted rule, we referred to the following guidance and policy documents:

      1. Issues Relating to VOC Regulation, Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations (the "Blue Book"), US EPA, OAQPS (May 25, 1988).
      2. Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC and Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region IX (August 21, 2001, the "Little Bluebook").
      3. State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
      4. 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. 	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 1113 consistently. Therefore, we determine that rule 1113 adequately fulfils the enforceability requirements summarized in paragraph #1 above.

      2. 	Rule 1113 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.	The SIP is strengthened by the elimination of "averaging" and the alignment of Rule 1113 to 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 1113 to preclude a full approval of Rule 1113.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION - The following revision is not currently the basis for rule disapproval, but is recommended for the next time the rule is amended.

      1.	To prevent the practice of "bundling" small containers, we recommend replacing paragraph (A)(3)(c) with the following text, :
      
With the exception of containers packed together for shipping to a retail outlet, warehouse, or a military distribution or redistribution facility, any architectural coating that is sold in a container with a volume of one liter (1.057 quart) or less provided the following requirements are met:
                  a.	The container is not bundled together to be sold as a unit that exceeds one liter (1.057 quarts), excluding containers packed together for shipping to a retail outlet.
                  b.	The label or any other product literature does not suggest combining multiple containers so that the combination exceeds one liter (1.057 quarts).
                  
2.	References to EPA-Approved ASTM test methods should include the full title and date of the version being specified. 

      For example: 

   a.       ASTM Designation D3273-00, "Standard Test Method for Resistance to Growth of Mold on the Surface of Interior Coatings in an Environmental Chamber."
   b.       ASTM Designation D7088-04, "Standard Practice for Resistance to Hydrostatic Pressure for Coatings Used in Below Grade Applications Applied to Masonry."
3.	References to EPA-Approved state or local test methods should include the full title and may or not specify the date of the version.

For example:

   a.       South Coast Air Quality Management District Method 303-91 (Revised 1996), "Determination of Exempt Compounds."
   b.       Bay Area Air Quality Management District Method 43 (Revised 2005), "Determination of Volatile Methylsiloxanes in Solvent-Based Coatings, Inks, and Related Materials."
EPA ACTION 
 
The submitted Rule 1113 strengthens the SIP, and the associated District staff report projects it will reduce VOC emissions by 15.2 tons/year. The rule fulfils the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements.  Therefore, EPA staff recommends approval of Rule 1113 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a). 

REFERENCES

          1. Issues Relating to VOC Regulation, Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations (the "Blue Book"), US EPA, OAQPS (May 25, 1988).

          2. Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC and Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region IX (August 21, 2001, the "Little Bluebook").
   
          3. State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).

          4. Final Rule To Implement the 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS  -  Phase 2, 70 FR 71612 (Nov. 25, 2005).

          5. AVAQMD Rule 1113," Architectural Coatings," EPA Limited Approval Disapproval on August 26, 2004 (69 FR 52432).

          6. AVAQMD Rule 1113," Architectural Coatings," Amended  -  June 18, 2013, Submitted  -  May 13, 2014.

          7. "Suggested Control Measure for Architectural Coating," CARB, 2007.

          8. 40 CFR §59.400 Subpart D.

          9. 9.	Table 1 to Subpart D of 40 CFR Part 59.