Working with member companies and several other trade associations, SEMA submitted extensive comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to regulate certain paint-surface coating operations at the local level. In general, SEMA and the other association’s support the rule, in which the EPA backed away from regulating paints that contain heavy metals (hazardous air pollutants or HAP) at the retail level.
The EPA will instead require best industry practices (spray booths, high power spray guns, ventilators) when using paints containing HAPs. SEMA and other associations recommended that the EPA include a small volume exemption (250 gallons per year) so as to focus on the larger source emitters. This would effectively remove smaller business operations and the hobbyist community from the scope of the rule (the agency was unclear on whether the rule applied to hobbyists).
SEMA and other associations also recommended that the EPA require self-certification rather than having thousands of potential companies send in forms to register and certify with the agency. For additional information and to receive a copy of SEMA’s comments, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.