ACA’s Marine Coatings Council continues to engage in several issues relating to marine coatings at federal, state, and local levels in the United States. ACA’s advocacy efforts are currently focused on restricted uses of certain biocides in antifouling paints and the development of volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulations for marine and pleasure craft coatings. Read More…

Industrial applications of adhesives and sealants are subject to air quality regulations in various states and local air districts in California. Most states follow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Control Technique Guideline (CTG) for Miscellaneous Industrial Adhesives, while local air districts in California primarily align their industrial adhesive and sealant rules with neighboring air district regulations. ACA expects more states and local air districts to propose more stringent industrial adhesive and sealant rules in the future that align with either U.S. EPA’s CTG for Miscellaneous Industrial Adhesives or neighboring California air district regulations. Read More…

There are two primary regulating agencies that govern aerosol coatings: the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CARB adopted significant revisions to its reactivity standards for aerosol coatings in 2013, and these new standards came into effect in January 2017. As a result, there were no longer consistent, uniform categories and standards for aerosol coatings throughout the country because CARB’s standards were different than EPA’s standards. Consequently, ACA submitted three petitions to U.S. EPA asking the agency to update its aerosol coatings rule to align with CARB’s updated standards. In response to ACA’s petitions, U.S. EPA issued proposed amendments to the national aerosol coatings rule in September 2021. ACA developed and submitted extensive comments to EPA in November 2021. U.S. EPA is expected to issue a final rule soon. Read More…

States are under pressure to meet their state implementation plan (SIP) commitments, and emissions from consumer products will always be considered “low hanging fruit” since California regulates this source category more stringently than the rest of the country. OTC states, LADCO states, and several jurisdictions out West have tended to adopt the most recent standards from California. The OTC Model Rule for Consumer Products was amended in 2018 to stay consistent with California’s most recent standards, but that will continue to cause inconsistencies in regulations until all states choose to adopt the most recent standards, or until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates its regulation that would prevent this significant state activity and inconsistency altogether. Read More…

There are two primary regulating agencies that govern aerosol coatings: the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CARB adopted significant revisions to its reactivity standards for aerosol coatings in 2013, and these new standards came into effect in January 2017. As a result, there were no longer consistent, uniform categories and standards for aerosol coatings throughout the country because CARB’s standards were different than EPA’s standards. Consequently, ACA submitted three petitions to U.S. EPA asking the agency to update its aerosol coatings rule to align with CARB’s updated standards. In response to ACA’s petitions, U.S. EPA issued proposed amendments to the national aerosol coatings rule in September 2021. ACA developed and submitted extensive comments to EPA in November 2021. U.S. EPA is expected to issue a final rule soon. Read More…