Complete Story
10/21/2020
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Detroit Re-Classified by USEPA
New Regulations Will Require Printing Operations to Take Several Actions
Source: Gary Jones, PRINTING United Alliance, October 16, 2020
Both Ohio and Michigan share many things including a border, and unfortunately both also have the same problem when it comes to ozone and ozone nonattainment. Ozone is one of the pollutants regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). USEPA has established a concentration of acceptable ozone that is protective of human health and the environment. Areas that exceed this limit are classified as nonattainment and states with ozone nonattainment areas are required by the Clean Air Act to take certain measures to reduce the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere.
USEPA is required to review the ozone standard every 5 years. It was last revised in 2015 resulting in a reduction of the standard to 70 parts per billion (ppb). The actions that are required to be taken by a state are dictated by the degree of nonattainment or the classification of the area.
With the reduced ozone standard, many areas in the United States became classified as nonattainment. In Ohio, the list includes the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati metro areas. In Michigan, the list includes parts of Allegan and Muskegon counties, Berrien County, and the counties in the Southeast Michigan area. All of these areas were initially classified as marginal nonattainment and only one, Columbus, was able to be redesignated as an attainment area.
Since the remaining areas failed to meet the ozone standard this year, they will be reclassified to Moderate nonattainment. This reclassification is significant because both Ohio and Michigan are now required to take definitive action to reduce the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds and Nitrogen Oxides, the two main precursors of ozone. As a result, both states will need to develop and implement new regulations that will impact business and industry, including printing operations. Both Ohio and Michigan have formed workgroups to identify which regulations will be imposed and printing will get regulated. As a minimum, new regulations impacting lithographic printing presses, presses producing flexible packaging and cleaning solvents for all printing operations will be imposed.
The regulations will require printing operations to take several actions. The first will be that a certification of compliance will have to be submitted to the state. The second will be meeting the limits, which will be on inks, fountain solutions, and cleaning solvents. Meeting these limits may require process changes and working with vendors. Lastly, facilities will be required to keep records to demonstrate compliance as inspections by the state air agency will occur once the rules are put in place.
It is imperative that the printing industry be represented in the rule making process and the Government Affairs staff of PRINTING United Alliance has become engaged with both states. Our goal throughout the process is twofold. First, to ensure that any regulations developed will not be more stringent than regulations adopted by other states. And second, to ensure that the regulations reflect and allow the industry to use the technologies necessary to produce the variety of products printed.
2020 Regional Council Annual Meetings
Sponsored by:
The Annual meetings will be held on the following dates via Zoom:
Michigan Regional Annual Meeting - Monday, November 9th at 10:00 am
Northern Region Annual Meeting – Tuesday, November 10th at 10:00 am
Central Region Annual Meeting – Wednesday, November 11th at 10:00 am
Southern Regional Annual Meeting – Thursday, November 12th at 10:00 am
The regional annual meetings are open to all Graphic Media Alliance members and guests. The meeting will also serve as the fourth quarter meeting of each Regional Advisory Council and new officers and members will be elected. The meeting and presentation should be completed no later than noon.
Program:
All four meetings will start with a business meeting nominating and electing regional council members and board representatives. This will be followed by a presentation on EPA and OSHA regulations and updates.
Featuring:
Gary Jones, Director of Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance
Gary Jones will be the featured speaker and his talk will be specific for each region but will include the following for all four regions:
- Air Quality (Ozone non-attainment), updates
- EPA de-regulatory efforts
- OSHA updates and enforcement
- How will the election results affect EHS impact in our industry
For more information, please contact your BDD or call the Association at 888-576-1971.
