Tracking Developments from SCAQMD, Washington DOE, and EPA

By Heidi McAuliffe

As the American Coatings Association (ACA) works to advance the needs of the paint and coatings industry, it closely monitors the development of legislation and regulations that impact the coatings industry at
federal, state, and local levels. ACA’s goal is to educate decision-makers and advocate for reasonable requirements. Many states and local air districts have implemented increasingly more stringent volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations over the past few decades, and this trend will continue as states and districts attempt to comply with the national ozone standards. More states and local districts are also
developing programs and regulations to encourage chemical substitution and phasing out raw materials used in coatings that are deemed hazardous. Some of the regulations ACA is tracking are from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Washington Department of Ecology (DOE), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The following are overviews of the regulations and
ACA’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the paint and coatings industry.