What is OTC?
New VOC content regulations were established by the multi-state Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) that set lower VOC limits for architectural, industrial maintenance, and traffic paints and coatings. These regulations were effective January 1, 2005, in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, and in the surrounding Northern Virginia suburbs, including the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Manassas Park. All coatings used in OTC after January 1, 2005 must comply with these lower limits.
The OTC regulations were implemented Effective January 1, 2007 for New Hampshire and effective May 1, 2008 for Connecticut for products manufactured after those dates.
Effective January 1, 2006, Maine implemented a modified version of the OTC regulations with the following changes:
- A temporary higher VOC limit for the Varnish Category to 450 g/L instead of the OTC limit of 350 g/L. The 450-g/L limit remains in effect through 2010, dropping to 350 g/L effective 01/01/11.
- Creation of a new Coating Category: "Interior Wood Clear and Semi-Transparent Stains" with a VOC limit of 550g/L. (Standard OTC limit for all stains is 250 g/L.)
"Grandfather Clause". Coatings made prior to 1/1/06 can continue to be sold indefinitely as long as they were compliant with the national AIM regulations when they were made in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC. This sell-through provision no longer applies to New York or Virginia. It expires in Maine on 1/1/09, in New Hampshire on 1/1/10, and in Connecticut on 5/1/11.
