WASHINGTON -- During a series of public hearings, coatings-industry representatives urged the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to make significant revisions to a proposed VOC rule for architectural and industrial maintenance (AIM) coatings.

New York is one of 12 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia that are expected to enact AIM coatings VOC rules recommended by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). The state of Delaware recently enacted the first such regulation.

The OTC-recommended regulation calls for significant reductions in VOC content in AIM coatings, effective Jan. 1, 2005. The proposal would effectively eliminate the use of many existing products based on VOC content, the NPCA says.