Coatings World - December 2012

CSLC

The California State Lands Commission (CSLC), operating under a statutory directive from the state Legislature to establish regulations “governing the management of hull fouling on vessels arriving at a California port or place” and “based on the best available technology economically achievable,” proposed a biofouling rule for all ships greater than 300 gross tons that carry ballast water entering California ports. Released in September 2011, the proposal mandated “performance standards” with a ranking system to determine if a ship’s hull is clean enough to enter California waters. The CSLC biofouling rule was akin to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) “Guidelines for Control and Management of Ships’ Biofouling to Minimize the Transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species,” which were adopted as an IMO Resolution on July 15, 2011 and were largely supported by the U.S. paint and coatings industry. However, the California proposal deviates significantly from the IMO guidelines in that it mandates the “performance standards” with a ranking system. Because of the difficulty in interpreting such a subjective scale, coupled with the fact that antifouling paints have never been subjected to such a system, the IMO did not incorporate performance standards into the international guidelines. The U.S. marine coatings industry, through ACA, commented on multiple drafts of the proposal, urging CSLC to delete the performance standards from its proposal and, instead, confine its provisions to those in the IMO guidelines. The U.S. marine coatings industry believes that, due to the international nature of shipping and in order to maintain a level playing field in the highly competitive marine industry (in 2010, U.S. shipments of marine coatings, including original equipment manufacturer and refinish applications, totaled 13. 9 million gallons valued at $430 million), biofouling standards should be adopted consistently across the globe. The U.S. marine coatings industry maintains that vessels following the IMO guidelines that enter California waters will present a low risk for translocation of invasive species into California waters. California law requires that rules such as the biofouling rule be promulgated within a year. CSLC did not include the issue on the August or October agenda and therefore will need to begin the rulemaking process anew.

Control Technique Guideline (CTG) for
Pleasure Craft Coatings
The pleasure craft CTG continues to inhibit the marine coatings
industry as it is adopted in a patchwork fashion across the 50
states and local air districts. The PC CTG was finalized by the
EPA in 2008 with little- to-no input from industry and is based
on the South Coast Air Quality District’s rule 1106.1. Because
of the lack of consultation with coatings experts, the VOC levels
of certain categories and the definitions provided in the CTG
are problematic. Additionally, there is at least one crucial coat-
ing category that was not included in the PC CTG. Over the
last several years the American Coatings Association has been
lobbying individual states to modify their PC CTG (after all,
the CTG only offers guidance to the states) to include the more
realistic VOC levels, as well as adding the Antifouling Sealer/
Tie Coat category, among other things. While some states are
amending EPA’s recommendations, others are adopting the CTG
“as is.” This is creating confusion not only within the manufac-
turing world — having to create different formulas for different
jurisdictions — but also with customers. This year Maryland
adopted a version of the PC CTG and Maine has just begun
the rulemaking process to adopt the CTG. New York and
Pennsylvania are expected to follow suit in the coming year.

Vessel General Permit (VGP) / Small Vessel
General Permit (sVGP)

In November 2011, U.S. EPA issued two draft vessel general permits that would regulate discharges from commercial vessels, excluding military and recreational vessels. The draft Vessel General Permit, which covers commercial vessels greater than 79 feet in length, would replace the current 2008 Vessel General Permit, when it expires in December 2013. VGP is a CWA National Polluant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that authorizes 27 discharge categories for vessels larger than 79 feet in length. The differences between the 2008 VGP and the new draft VGP include numeric ballast water discharge limits for most vessels and some minor changes to recordkeep-ing and reporting requirements.

The new draft Small Vessel General Permit would cover vessels smaller than 79 feet in length and would provide such vessels with the Clean Water Act permit coverage they will be required to have as of December 2013. The draft permit speci-fies best management practices for several broad discharge management categories including fuel management, engine and oil control, solid and liquid maintenance, graywater management, fish hold effluent management and ballast water management. ACA submitted comments to EPA in February 2012 asking that EPA not discourage use of safe, effective biofouling controls.

Forecast and Conclusion

California will continue to set the pace for the domestic and even international marine coating regulations in the coming year. Additionally, Maine, Pennsylvania and New York are expected to adopt the pleasure craft CTG. The VGP and sVGP are expected to go into effect in 2013 and EPA intends to issue the final permits in November 2012. ACA’s Marine Coating Committee and Anti-Fouling Work Group will continue to work to preserve the market for antifouling coating systems, while remaining ever mindful of protecting domestic waters, safeguarding the environment, and promoting the development of safer technologies for marine coatings. CW

Marie Hobson serves as Counsel in the American Coatings Association’s (ACA) Government Affairs Division as well as Counsel to the International Paint and Printing Ink Council (IPPIC). Hobson serves as staff to ACA’s Marine Coatings Committee and its Antifouling Workgroup, ACA’s Auto-refinish Coalition as well as ACA’s newly formed International Affairs Committee. She graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Political Science before earning a law degree with a focus on environmental law from the Widener University School of Law.