National Volatile Organic Compound
Emission Standards for Aerosol Coatings;
Proposed Rule

National Volatile Organic Compound
Emission Standards for Aerosol
Coatings

national reactivity-based volatile
organic compound (VOC) emissions
regulation for the aerosol coatings
(aerosol spray paints) category under
section 183(e) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA). The proposed standards
implement section 183(e) of the CAA, as
amended in 1990, which requires the
Administrator to control VOC emissions
from certain categories of consumer and
commercial products for purposes of
minimizing VOC emissions contributing
to ozone formation and causing non-
attainment. This regulation will
establish a nationwide reactivity-based
standard for aerosol coatings. States
have promulgated rules for the aerosol
coatings category based upon reductions
of VOC by mass; however, the Agency
believes that a national rule based upon
the relative reactivity approach may
achieve more reduction in ozone
formation than can be achieved by a
mass-based approach for this specific
product category. EPA believes that this
rule will better control a product’s
contribution to ozone formation by
encouraging the use of less reactive VOC
ingredients, rather than treating all VOC
in a product alike through the
traditional mass-based approach. We are
also proposing to revise EPA’s
regulatory definition of VOC exempt
compounds for purposes of this
regulation in order to account for all the
reactive compounds in aerosol coatings
that contribute to ozone formation.
Therefore, compounds that would not
be VOC under the otherwise applicable
definition will count towards a
product’s reactivity limits under this
proposed regulation. The initial listing
of product categories and schedule for
regulation was published on March 23,
1995 (60 FR 15264). This proposed
action announces EPA’s final decision
to list aerosol coatings for regulation
under group III of the consumer and
commercial product category for which
regulations are mandated under section
183 (e) of the Act.

on the proposed regulation must be
received by EPA by August 15, 2007,
unless a public hearing is requested by
July 26, 2007. If a hearing is requested,
written comments must be received by
August 30, 2007.

EPA requesting to speak at a public
hearing concerning the proposed
regulation by July 26, 2007, we will
hold a public hearing on July 31, 2007.

comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OAR–2006–0971, by one of
the following methods:

•E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
•Fax: (202) 566–1741.
•Mail: Air and Radiation Docket,

Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Please include a total of two copies. We
request that a separate copy also be sent
to the contact person identified below
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
In addition, please mail a copy of your
comments on the information collection
provisions to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), Attn:
Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW.,
Washington, DC 20503.

Public Reading Room, EPA West, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries
are only accepted during the Docket’s
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.

the applicable docket. EPA’s policy is
that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without
change and may be made available
online athttp://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes
information claimed to be confidential
business information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected through

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which
means EPA will not know your identity
or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an e-mail comment directly
to EPA without going through

and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses.

held, it will be held at 10 a.m. on July
31, 2007 at Building C on the EPA
campus in Research Triangle Park, NC,
or at an alternate site nearby. Persons
interested in presenting oral testimony
must contact Ms. Dorothy Apple, U.S.
EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Sector Policies and Programs
Division, Natural Resources and
Commerce Group (E143–03), Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711,
telephone number: (919) 541–4487, fax
number (919) 541–3470, e-mail address:

July 26, 2007 in the Federal Register.
Persons interested in attending the
public hearing must also call Ms. Apple
to verify the time, date, and location of
the hearing. If no one contacts Ms.
Apple by July 26, 2007 in theFederal

are listed in thewww.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically through

the EPA Docket Center, Public Reading
Room, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460. The Public Reading Room is
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1742,
and the telephone number for the Air
Docket is (202) 566–1744.

information concerning the aerosol
coatings rule, contact Ms. J. Kaye
Whitfield, U.S. EPA, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, Sector

Policies and Programs Division, Natural
Resources and Commerce Group (E143–
03), Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina 27711, telephone number:
(919) 541–2509, fax number (919) 541–
3470, e-mail address:

concerning the CAA section 183(e)
consumer and commercial products
program, contact Mr. Bruce Moore, U.S.
EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Sector Policies and Programs

Division, Natural Resources and
Commerce Group (E143–03), Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711,
telephone number: (919) 541–5460, fax
number (919) 541–3470, e-mail address:

entities potentially regulated by the
proposed regulation encompass aerosol
coatings operations. This includes

manufacturers, processors, wholesale
distributors, or importers of aerosol
coatings for sale or distribution in the
United States, or manufacturers,
processors, wholesale distributors, or
importers that supply the entities listed
with aerosol coatings for sale or
distribution in interstate commerce in
the United States. The entities
potentially affected by this action
include:

32551 Manufacturing of lacquers, varnishes, enamels, epoxy coat- ings, oil and alkyd vehicle, plastisols, polyurethane, primers, shellacs, stains, water repellant coatings.

This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
affected by this action. To determine
whether you would be affected by this
action, you should examine the
applicable industry description in
section I.E of this notice. If you have any
questions regarding the applicability of
this action to a particular entity, consult
the appropriate EPA contact listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this notice.

submit information containing CBI to
EPA throughwww.regulations.gov or e-
mail. Send or deliver information
identified as CBI only to the following
address: Mr. Roberto Morales, OAQPS
Document Control Officer (C404–02),
U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711, Attention: Docket
ID EPA–HQ–OAR–2006–0971. Clearly
mark the part or all of the information
that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD ROM that
you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the
disk or CD ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD ROM the specific information that is
claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI
must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.

to being available in the docket, an
electronic copy of this proposed action
will also be available on the Worldwide

Web (WWW) through the Technology
Transfer Network (TTN). Following
signature, a copy of the proposed action
will be posted on the TTN’s policy and
guidance page for newly proposed or
promulgated rules at the following
address:http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/.
The TTN provides information and
technology exchange in various areas of
air pollution control.

I. Background
A. The Ozone Problem
B. Statutory and Regulatory Background
C. What is Photochemical Reactivity?
D. Role of Reactivity in VOC/Ozone

Regulated Entities
B. Regulated Pollutant
C. Regulatory Limits
D. Compliance Requirements
E. Labeling Requirements
F. Recordkeeping and Reporting
G. Variance
H. Test Methods

III. Summary of Impacts
A. Environmental Impacts
B. Energy Impacts
C. Cost and Economic Impacts

IV. Rationale
A. Applicability
B. Regulated Pollutant
C. Regulatory Approach
D. VOC Regulatory Limits
E. Compliance Demonstration

Requirements
F. Labeling Requirements
G. Recordkeeping and Reporting

Requirements
H. Variance Criteria
I. Test Methods

Planning and Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children from Environmental Health and
Safety Risks

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions
to Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations

Ground-level ozone, a major
component of smog, is formed in the
atmosphere by reactions of VOC and
oxides of nitrogen in the presence of
sunlight. The formation of ground-level
ozone is a complex process that is
affected by many variables.

Exposure to ground-level ozone is
associated with a wide variety of human
health effects, as well as agricultural
crop loss, and damage to forests and
ecosystems. Controlled human exposure
studies show that acute health effects
are induced by short-term (1 to 2 hour)
exposures (observed at concentrations
as low as 0.12 parts per million (ppm)),
generally while individuals are engaged
in moderate or heavy exertion, and by
prolonged (6 to 8 hour) exposures to
ozone (observed at concentrations as
low as 0.08 ppm and possibly lower),
typically while individuals are engaged