The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled to uphold the authority of that state's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to set VOC limits based on technologies that do not currently exist, according to a release from the American Coatings Association (ACA).
The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled to uphold the authority of that state's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to set VOC limits based on technologies that do not currently exist, according to a release from the American Coatings Association (ACA).
The appeals case stems from litigation launched in the wake of 2002 and 2003 amendments to SCAQMD Rule 1113, which imposed low VOC (volatile organic compound) limits on architectural and industrial maintenance coatings, including a limit of 275 VOC grams per coating liter (g/L) for "clear wood finishes"-including varnish and lacquer-and 50 VOC g/L for other clear floor coatings for concrete. The suit was filed by coatings manufacturers, and they were represented by the ACA. They contended that the amended limits "compromised important performance characteristics for many coatings," according to the release.
With the Supreme Court's ruling, SCAQMD could, for instance, lower the limits even more if it believes technologies to reach that limit will be available by a future compliance deadline. The Supreme Court concluded that "the relevant statutes give the District the authority to promulgate pollution standards based on technologies that do not currently exist but are reasonably anticipated to exist by the compliance deadline. In addition, we conclude that the District sufficiently demonstrated that its challenged emissions limits were achievable in each category and that the categories were reasonably drawn."
"The SCAQMD … has set the bar high in enacting the nation's toughest rules on VOC content in paint and coatings," Durability + Design, a journal for architectural coatings, wrote after the Supreme Court's ruling.
