                                       





                                       
                 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                            REGION IX AIR DIVISION




                          Technical Support Document 
                                      for
                              EPA's Rulemaking
                                    for the
                     California State Implementation Plan
                                       
        Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District Rule 323.1
                            Architectural Coatings
                                       














                              
                          Prepared by: Arnold Lazarus
                          Reviewed by: Andrew Steckel

                                September 2015





RULE IDENTIFICATION -
Agency
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD)
     
SIP Approved Rule
There is no previous version of this rule
Subject of this TSD
Rule 323.1  Adopted June 19, 2014 
Submitted  -  November 6, 2014
Completeness Finding
Determination of Completeness letter: December 18, 2014
Effective Date of Rule
January 1, 2015

BACKGROUND  -  The SBCAPCD has been classified for the 8-hour ozone standard as unclassifiable/ attainment. According to the Staff Report,"The intent of new Rule 323.1 is to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from coatings used in the painting of buildings and other structures."
"The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (District) expects Rule 323.1 will reduce VOC emissions by about 98 tons per year (TPY) in planning year 2020, thereby cleaning the air and allowing progress toward meeting state health standard for ozone. The estimated 98 TPY emission reduction is in addition to the emission reduction already achieved by the existing Rule 323." 
"Current Rule 323 established limits on the VOC content of architectural coatings supplied, sold, offered for sale, applied, solicited for application, or manufactured for use within the District. We propose to update the architectural coatings rule requirements in a new Rule 323.1 and ultimately phase out Rule 323. With this approach, stores can sell existing Rule 323-compliant coatings up to three years after Rule 323.1 becomes effective."
"Staff proposes to lower architectural coating VOC content limits for consistency with the California Air Resources Board Suggested Control Measure (SCM) for Architectural Coatings (adopted October 26, 2007), which other air districts have adopted and implemented."
This is being accomplished by an alignment that is almost identical to the SCM except for section numbers, headings, added definitions, updated VOC exemptions and updated testing methods. 
                                                                               
RULE SUMMARY  -  SBCAPCD Rule 323.1 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 SBCAPCD. 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 and from the associated solvents used for thinning and clean-up. Rule 323.1 establishes more stringent VOC limits than SBCAPCD's existing architectural coating Rule 323, but Rule 323.1 allows sources to sell existing stock of higher-VOC coatings for three years.  After the three-year sell-through period expires, SBCAPCD intends to remove Rule 323 and rely only on the more stringent Rule 323.1

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) and the Little Bluebook (Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability.  

      2.	Stringency  -  SBCAPCD has been classified for the 8-hour ozone standard as unclassifiable/attainment. The district has no obligation to satisfy Clean Air Act (CAA) section 182 Reasonably Available Control Techniques (RACT) or other similar CAA stringency thresholds because architectural coating is an area source and not a stationary source and because the area is not a moderate or above ozone nonattainment area. 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 against the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Suggested Control Measures (SCM) for Architectural Coatings, which is the basis for most of the most stringent architectural coating requirements in California.

      3.	SIP Relaxation - CAA §110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any SIP revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. 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. 	To help ensure enforceability, 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 323.1 consistently.    

      2. 	Rule 323.1 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. 	Rule 323.1 is more stringent than the existing requirements in Rule 323.  Therefore, 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 323.1 to preclude anything but a full approval of Rule 323.1.

EPA ACTION - The submitted Rule 323.1 strengthens the SIP, and the associated District staff report projects it will reduce VOC emissions by approximately 98 tons/year in 2020. The rule largely fulfils the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements. Therefore, EPA staff recommends full approval of Rule 323.1 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a). 

REFERENCES

   1. "Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations," (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988 (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/ozonetech/voc_bluebook.pdf).
   2. "Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies," (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/sips/littlebluebook2001.pdf).
   3. Project Description Summary of the Effects of New Rule 323.1, Architectural Coatings (Staff Report), SBCAPCD, May 15, 2014.
   4. SBCAPCD Rule 323, Architectural Coatings, adopted November 15, 2001; granted a limited approval limited disapproval into the SIP, January 2, 2004 (69 FR 34).
   5. SBCAPCD Rule 323.1 Architectural Coatings, Adopted June 19, 2014, Submitted November 6, 2014.
   6. CARB SCM for Architectural Coatings, Approved October 26, 2007.
   7. EPA's National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standard for Architectural Coatings (40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D).

