474735 Proposed Rulemaking on Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)

DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON AIR QUALITY ISSUES

 

Proposed Rulemaking on Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)

 

Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held on Monday, September 13, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 512 at 1200 First Street, N.E., 5^th Floor, in Washington, D.C. This hearing provides interested parties an opportunity to comment on the District’s proposed rulemaking on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and negative declaration for four CTG categories.

 

The District has revised Title 20 (Environment) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), Subtitle A, Air Quality, Chapter 7, sections 700, 707, 708, 710, 714 through 717, 719 through 778, and 799. The proposed regulations are necessary to further reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the District. VOCs are precursors to ground-level ozone, a principal component of smog that is formed in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight. Ground-level ozone is a criteria pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA). The Washington metropolitan area, which includes the District, is in nonattainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for eight-hour ground-level ozone. Therefore, the District is required to adopt measures to reduce ozone levels, including precursor emissions of VOCs.

 

The proposed regulations incorporate Phase II amendments to model rules designed to reduce ozone in the eastern United States and promulgated by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), an entity created by the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7506a). Since VOCs are precursors to ozone, all members of the OTC (Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) have drafted similar rules as part of a regional strategy to attain and maintain the eight-hour ozone NAAQS.

 

In addition to incorporating the OTC model rules, this proposed rulemaking adopts the requirements of several control techniques guidelines (CTGs) published by EPA. In accordance with sections 182(b)(2)(A) and 183(e) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), CTGs contain reasonably available control technology (RACT) level controls for specified product categories. The categories addressed in this rulemaking are: flexible packaging and printing (§§ 710, 770 and 771); large appliance coatings, metal furniture coatings, and miscellaneous metal products and plastic parts coatings (§714); lithographic and letterpress printing (§716); miscellaneous industrial adhesives (§§ 743 to 749); and industrial cleaning solvents (§§ 770 and 771).

 

The District is also submitting a negative declaration (a letter of certification) for the four remaining CTG categories because no sources in the District were identified: flatwood paneling; paper, film, and foil coatings; auto and light-duty truck assembly coatings; and fiberglass boat manufacturing.

 

The proposed regulation and negative declaration are available for public review during normal business hours at the offices of the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), 1200 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, and on-line at http://ddoe.dc.gov/ddoe. A hard copy of each is also available for review at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001-4531.

 

Interested parties wishing to testify at this hearing must submit in writing their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and affiliation, if any, to Mr. William Bolden at DDOE by 4:00 p.m. on September 13, 2010. Interested parties may also submit written comments to Ms. Cecily Beall, DDOE Air Quality Division, at 1200 First Street, NE, 5^th Floor, Washington, DC 20002, or submit comment to her by email at [e-mail]. No written or email comments will be accepted after September 13, 2010. For more information, call Ms. Jessica Daniels at 202-741-0862 or email her at [e-mail].