Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan and Revision to the Definition of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)-Removal of VOC Exemptions for California's Aerosol Coating Products Reactivity-based Regulation

The EPA is finalizing approval of a new consumer products regulation as part of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone under the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1990. This California regulation adopts a new approach to reducing ozone formation from volatile organic compounds (VOC) in aerosol coating products. The EPA is also approving the use of California's Tables of Maximum Incremental Reactivity (MIR) to allow implementation of their rule. This action also revises EPA's definition of VOCs so that compounds which we previously identified as negligibly reactive and exempt from EPA's regulatory definition of VOCs now count towards a product's reactivity-based VOC limit for the purpose of California's aerosol coatings regulation. These revisions were previously proposed in the Federal Register on January 7, 2005 (70 FR 1640) and are expected to help in California's efforts to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.