...your favorite Federal Agency. And note, the new rules are expressly
aimed not only at commercial shops, but at "do-it-yourself
mechanics"....and those "certified users" who purchase materials and
then turn them over to "uncertified people".
Buster Evans
Nov 3, 2005
By: Michael Willins
Automotive Body Repair News
Environmental Protection Agency officials are continuing their fact-
finding mission this week as they march toward new regulations aimed
at cutting emissions from the refinish process in collision repair
facilities.
EPA Environmental Protection Specialist Kim Teal outlined to
Collision Industry Conference (CIC) attendees her agency's process
for developing the new rules impacting the refinish market. "The
rule will impact everyone, no matter how much you use," Teal told
the audience at the CIC meeting Tuesday in Mandalay Bay.
Teal and her colleagues have been busy visiting shops and gathering
data as they prepare to write a proposed rule by 2007. Full
implementation of the rule is targeted for August 2011.
Feedback, thus far, has helped the EPA identify a frustrated base of
shop owners who are eager to put an end to unsafe and
environmentally damaging painting practices performed by some shops
and do-it-yourself mechanics.
"Primarily they want a level playing field," said Teal. "They're
getting tired of having to comply with state and local regulations
when there is a shop around the corner that doesn't have to do
anything. This rule will [take care of that]."
And it's not just shops clamoring for change. Community groups have
become incredibly active in their attempts to stop their neighbors
from spraying paint at home in their garages at night, and to put an
end to bad practices by certain businesses. "No one right now has a
way to shut those bad shops or people down. That's what this rule is--
a way to shut them down," she said.
Another component of the developing rule is a restriction on
the "sale and use" of automotive paint products. Shops will have to
meet certain certification criteria giving them the green light to
spray paint. The rule will attempt to restrict sales of paint to
people who are not certified users. "These are the types of things
that I need your feedback on," said Teal.
During her staff's data gathering, Teal said shop owners have urged
the EPA to tighten the language to include "use" restrictions as
well as "sales" restrictions. The intent is to limit the sale of
products to certified users, who then turn those products over to
uncertified people.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) and National Automobile
Dealers Association (NADA) recently wrote Teal supporting
regulations that would control the sale and use of automotive
refinishing products.
Although the final language is far from settled, the national rule
will supercede any state rules shops face related to refinish
process compliance. However, in states such as California, where
automotive refinish regulations match or exceed the EPA's final
language, Teal does not foresee a need for shops to jump through
additional hoops to become certified to be compliant with the
national rule.
http://www.abrn.com/abrn/article/art....jsp?id=196423
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