Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Illinois

On May 5, 1995, and May 31, 1995, the State of Illinois submitted a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishing regulations for motor vehicle refinishing operations in the Chicago and Metro-East ozone nonattainment areas, as part of the State's 15 percent (%) Rate of Progress (ROP) plan control measures for Volatile Organic Matter (VOM) emissions. VOM, as defined by the State of Illinois, is identical to ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOC), as defined by EPA. VOM combines with oxides of nitrogen in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog. Exposure to ozone is associated with a wide variety of human health effects, agricultural crop loss, and damage to forests and ecosystems. ROP plans are intended to bring areas which have been exceeding the public health based Federal ozone air quality standard closer to attaining this standard. This SIP revision contains rules which establish VOM content limits for certain coatings and surface preparation products used in automobile and mobile equipment refinishing operations in the Chicago and Metro-East areas, as well as requires these operations to meet certain equipment and work practice standards to further reduce VOM. Illinois expects that the control measures specified in this SIP revision will reduce VOM emissions by 16.30 tons per day (TPD) in the Chicago area and 1.2 TPD in the Metro-East area. This rulemaking action approves, through direct final, the Illinois motor vehicle refinishing rule SIP revision request.