California Air Resources Board (CARB)
will finish its work on the Multi-Purpose
Lubricant category and propose an
alternative reactivity limit for it. This
proposal will go to the CARB Executive
Board in May of 2018.
Following that, CARB will begin work
on its next VOC rule. It will also release
the Consumer Products survey results
most likely late in the first quarter of 2018.
Industry will subsequently need to review
all this data and comment back to CARB. Later in 2018, likely
this summer, CARB will begin holding workshops on new VOC
rules that will probably continue through the end of 2018.
Next, the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) will begin
work on a new Model VOC Rule in the first quarter of 2018.
This process will likely continue through the first half of 2018.
Several states will then likely continue to adopt the current
future model rules.
In addition to the VOC regulations, several other issues will
need the industry’s attention this year:
• The Dept. of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is expected
to continue its work on the Safer Consumer Products rule
dealing with Methylene Chloride and paint strippers. Possibly
later in 2018, DTSC will work on its three-year plan, which
includes numerous Consumer Products.
• New Proposition 65 labeling requirements will become
effective come August of 2018. Thus, products containing Prop
65 chemicals will need new labeling when produced after Aug.
20, 2018.
• The new Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 will
need to be reviewed in detail. This is the SB 258 Bill that was
passed in California in 2017 and deals with ingredients disclosure
for many cleaning products in California.
Finally, the aerosol industry will likely need to monitor and
work on any new legislative bills that arise throughout the year;
2018 appears to be a challenging year as far as regulatory issues
are concerned.
•••
Douglas Troutman, General Counsel & VP, Government Affairs,
American Cleaning Institute (ACI)
The American Cleaning Institute continues
to generate data and information to fill
safety and efficacy data gaps identified
by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
(FDA) regarding five active ingredients
used in consumer and health care antiseptic
products. ACI has obtained a deferral from
rulemaking for benzalkonium chloride
(BAC), benzethonium chloride (BZT),
chloroxylenol (PCMX), alcohol and
povidone-iodine to allow time for its work
to completed. In December, ACI submitted acknowledgements
to FDA that data gaps will be filled for BAC and alcohol used in
consumer antiseptic rub products along with a multi-year work
plan for filling data gaps on povidone-iodine used in health care
products.
In 2018, we will proactively and collaboratively address
product and ingredient transparency proposals to ensure they
are workable for manufacturers as well as useful and meaningful
Regulatory Outlook…
Nicole Quinonez, Randlett/ Nelson/ Madden, consultant to the
National Aerosol Association (NAA) and multiple consumer
product manufacturers
This time last year, President Trump had
barely taken office, but his plan to ease
environmental regulations was already
being led by U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt. According
to a New York Times analysis published in
October 2017, the Trump administration had
overturned twenty-nine rules and was still
in the processes of reversing twenty-four last
year. We should expect the administration
to stay on course, but if 2017 has proven
Quinonez
anything, it’s that President Trump is hardly predictable.
What is almost always predictable is that California is pursuing
the most aggressive environmental protections in the nation.
In 2017, the state passed an extension to the cap-and-trade
program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990
levels. This year, the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
will work on the regulations to guide the state toward this
ambitious goal.
In the first half of this year, CARB intends to release
consumer products survey data. From this data, staff will develop
regulations to establish or lower volatile organic compound
(VOC) limits in consumer products. We should expect to see
draft regulations during the second half of the year. CARB will
most likely look to product categories with high or no VOC limits
to maximize its reductions, but everything remains on the table.
From product to packaging, CalRecycle plans to pursue
statutory authority from the California legislature to regulate
product packaging. This legislature adopted a 75% recycling goal
by 2020. Product packaging represents approximately 25% of the
state’s current waste stream and CalRecycle believes it will play
a significant role toward meeting the 75% goal. If CalRecycle is
granted oversight authority in 2018, we can expect it to adopt
regulations for specific packaging types as soon as 2019. This is
one piece of the broader conversation around extended producer
responsibility and end-of-life management, which we expect to
be the next big challenge for the consumer products industry.
The Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program under the
Dept. of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is slowly gaining
speed. We can expect the spray polyurethane foam listing
regulations to be effective on April 1, initiating the first
Alternatives Analysis process. The comment period for paint
strippers with methylene chloride ended in January and we
expect DTSC to finalize this year. DTSC will also release an
updated three-year work plan this winter for comment. We
expect some of the products/chemicals from the current plan
to remain, but DTSC aims to narrow the plan, as well as make
some additions.
This is only some of what we know to expect this year, so stay
tuned for what we didn’t see coming!
•••
Doug Raymond, Raymond Regulatory Resources (3R), LLC
The aerosol industry will be busy for 2018 in the regulatory
arena. Volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations will be
worked on in two different regions of the country. First, the
20 Spray February 2018
Raymond
Troutman