[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 10, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40550-40552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16809]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0468; FRL-9698-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Revision for the Control of Volatile Organic Compounds 
Emissions From Vehicle Refinishing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the State of Maryland. The SIP revision amends 
Maryland's COMAR 26.11.19.23 ``Control of Volatile Organic Compounds 
Emissions from Vehicle Refinishing'' to establish new volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) content limits for coating and cleaning solvents used 
in vehicle refinishing and standards for coating application, work 
practices, monitoring, and recordkeeping. This action is being taken 
under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 9, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2012-0468 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0468, Donna Mastro, Acting Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2012-0468. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at 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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured 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.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 in www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal 
are available at the Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emlyn V[eacute]lez-Rosa, (215) 814-
2038, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Maryland was designated nonattainment with respect to the 1-hour 
ozone NAAQS on November 15, 1990, with several serious nonattainment 
areas, including: the Baltimore, Maryland area, the Maryland portion of 
the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area, and the Maryland 
portion of the Washington, DC area. Section 182(b)(1) of the CAA 
requires states with ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate 
or above to submit a SIP revision that provides VOC emissions 
reductions of at least 15 percent from the baseline emissions of 1990. 
In Maryland, the 15 percent plans (the 15% rate-of-progress plans) were 
required for the 1-hour ozone nonattainment areas.
    Pursuant to this requirement, Maryland revised its SIP on August 4, 
1997 to adopt COMAR 26.11.19.23 ``Control of Volatile Organic Compounds 
Emissions from Vehicle Refinishing.'' The regulation would achieve 
fully enforceable VOC emissions reductions from vehicle refinishing 
sources throughout the State of Maryland, which were creditable towards 
the 15% rate-of-progress plans. The rule, which followed EPA's 
``Alternative Control Techniques (ACT) Document: Automobile Body 
Refinishing'' (EPA-453/R-94-031, April 1994), established standards for 
vehicle refinishing based on VOC content of coatings, methods for 
calculating the VOC content of a coating system, and standards for 
operating, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping. The coating 
categories included: pretreatment coatings, precoatings, primer 
surfacers, primer sealers, topcoats, multi-stage coating systems, and 
specialty coatings.
    Section 183(e) of the Act authorizes EPA to establish national 
standards to

[[Page 40551]]

reduce VOC emissions from consumer and commercial products, including 
the automobile refinishing coatings. On September 11, 1998, a final 
rule ``National Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Standards for 
Automobile Refinish Coatings'' (EPA's National Rule) was published by 
EPA under the authority of section 183(e) of the CAA (63 FR 48806), as 
identified in 40 CFR part 59, subpart B. The federal rule applies to 
all automobile refinish coatings that are manufactured or imported for 
sale or distribution in the United States, and sets VOC content limits 
by automotive refinish category. See EPA's August 1998 report 
``Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Automobile Refinishing--
Background Information for Promulgated Standards'' (EPA-453/R-96-011b).
    On January 9, 2008, EPA published the final rule 40 CFR part 63 
subpart HHHHHH ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants: Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating 
Operations at Area Sources'' (EPA's 6H NESHAP), which includes 
automobile refinishing. This Federal rule specifically applies to area 
sources that engage in paint stripping operations that use methylene 
chloride (MeCl) containing paint stripping formulations, and in spray 
application of coatings to motor vehicle and mobile equipment, plastic 
and or metal substrate, where the coatings contain compounds of 
chromium, lead, manganese, nickel, or cadmium. Motor vehicle or mobile 
equipment surface coating operations may petition the EPA's 
Administrator for an exemption from this rule if the owner or operator 
can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the EPA's Administrator, that 
the spray applied does not include coatings containing any of these 
compounds. This rule establishes important requirements for these types 
of facilities, among the following: Training certification of all new 
and existing personnel who spray surface coatings, minimum training 
requirements, and installation to all facilities of a filtered spray 
booth and enclosed spray gun cleaner.
    Maryland's 1997 SIP-approved regulation COMAR 26.11.19.23 ``Control 
of Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Vehicle Refinishing'' 
complies with the federal standards established in EPA's rules. On May 
8, 2012, EPA received a revision to the Maryland SIP submitted by the 
Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). The SIP revision 
(12-04) amends Maryland's COMAR 26.11.19.23 ``Control of 
Volatile Organic Compounds from Vehicle Refinishing,'' in order to 
establish new standards and requirements for VOC, including: VOC 
content limits for coatings and solvents, controls on emissions from 
equipment cleaning, the use of coating application methods, 
recordkeeping, maintenance activities, and operator training. These 
amendments are based on the 2009 ``Model Rule for Motor Vehicle and 
Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations'' (MVMERR) 
developed in conjunction with member states of the Ozone Transport 
Commission (OTC). The MVMERR established requirements which comply with 
those established in EPA's National Rule and 6H NESHAP.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    The proposed SIP revision establishes VOC content limits for 
automotive coatings and cleaning solvents used in vehicle refinishing, 
and standards for coating application, work practices, monitoring, and 
recordkeeping, to be effective for all affected sources as of July 1, 
2013. Sources subject to the requirements of this regulation include: 
auto body and repair facilities, fleet operator repair and paint 
facilities, new and used auto dealer repair and paint facilities, and 
after-market auto customizing and detailing facilities located 
throughout the State of Maryland; manufacturers, suppliers, 
distributors of coatings and cleaning solvents intended for use and 
application to motor vehicles, mobile equipment, and associated 
components within the State of Maryland; and manufacturers, suppliers, 
and distributors of application equipment and materials storage such as 
spray booths, spray guns, and sealed containers for cleaning rags for 
use within Maryland.
    The regulation establishes VOC content limits for 11 categories of 
automotive coatings and two categories of cleaning solvents which are 
used in the preparation, application, and drying phases of vehicle 
refinishing. The VOC content limits established for the automotive 
coatings and solvents exclude water and exempt compounds as listed in 
40 CFR 51.100(s), and are provided in Table 1 and Table 2, 
respectively.

  Table 1--VOC Content Limits for Automotive Coatings for Motor Vehicle
  and Mobile Equipment Refinishing and Recoating VOC Content Limit for
                           Automotive Coatings
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Maximum VOC content
            Coating category             -------------------------------
                                              lbs/gal           g/L
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adhesion promoter.......................             4.5             540
Automotive pretreatment coating.........             5.5             660
Automotive primer.......................             2.1             250
Clear coating...........................             2.1             250
Color coating, including metallic/                   3.5             420
 iridescent color coating...............
Multicolor coating......................             5.7             680
Other automotive coating type...........             2.1             250
Single-stage coating, including single-              2.8             340
 stage metallic/iridescent coating......
Temporary protective coating............             0.5              60
Truck bed liner coating.................             1.7             200
Underbody coating.......................             3.6             430
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[[Page 40552]]


 Table 2--VOC Content Limits for Cleaning Solvents for Motor Vehicle and
    Mobile Equipment Refinishing and Recoating VOC Content Limit for
                            Cleaning Solvents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solvent category                           Maximum VOC content
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleaning solvent (other than     0.21 lbs/gal.......  25 g/L.
 bug and tar removers).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bug and tar removers**.........             40% VOC by weight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The regulation provides methods for calculating the VOC content of 
coatings and cleaning solvents and a list of test methods to be used 
for demonstrating compliance with provisions of this regulation. 
Instead of complying with the VOC content limits specified, a person 
subject to this regulation may use an emission control device that has 
been approved by MDE, which achieves an overall emission control 
efficiency of 85 percent or greater, as determined in accordance with 
the approved test methods. The regulation requires using at least one 
of the approved methods for applying an automotive coating, including: 
Flow or curtain coating, dip coating, brush coating, cotton-tipped swab 
application, electrodeposition coating, high volume-low pressure (HVLP) 
spraying, electrostatic spraying, airless spraying, or an alternate 
spray equipment method approved by MDE. Work practice standards include 
procedures for cleaning the spray gun equipment for applying automotive 
coatings. Affected facilities are also required to keep extensive 
records on the total amount of coating used, VOC actual and regulatory 
contents, purchase records, and system operating parameters of any 
emission control device installed. Additional information concerning 
EPA's review and rationale for proposing to approve this SIP revision 
may be found in the Technical Support Document (TSD) for this action 
which is available on line at www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-
R03-OAR-2012-0468.

III. Proposed Action

    The Maryland SIP revision for the control of VOC emissions from 
vehicle refinishing under Regulation COMAR 26.11.19.23, as adopted by 
the State of Maryland on March 26, 2012, meets the applicable 
requirements of the CAA and the applicable EPA regulations. The SIP 
revision will achieve emission reductions of VOC throughout the State 
of Maryland. EPA is proposing to approve this Maryland SIP revision 
submitted on May 8, 2012. EPA is soliciting public comments on the 
issues discussed in this document. These comments will be considered 
before taking final action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this proposed rule, pertaining to Maryland's COMAR 
26.11.19.23 ``Control of Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from 
Vehicle Refinishing,'' does not have tribal implications as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the 
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the State, 
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: June 27, 2012.
 W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2012-16809 Filed 7-9-12; 8:45 am]
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