EPA FINALIZES LONG-AWAITED RULE TO REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM INDUSTRIAL COATINGS

EPA last week finalized a long-awaited and much-maligned rule that will set new national Clean Air Act standards to control volatile organic compounds from architectural and industrial maintenance (AIM) coatings. The rule contains emissions limitations that are similar to those originally proposed by the agency in 1996 proposal. But EPA has augmented the proposal with an innovative compliance provision that will allow companies to pay an exceedance fee in cases where they can not meet their emissions limit. EPA's work...