In 2004 and 2005, the NPCA, individual manufacturers and coatings users were engaged in an extensive advocacy effort using both political and legal strategies to amend California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1113 emphasizing important durability and performance issues surrounding some of the low-VOC limits that took effect on July 1, 2006. In that endeavor, NPCA and the industry relied heavily upon four individuals:

• Madelyn Harding, corporate manager for The Sherwin-Williams Company;

• Christine Stanley, group executive with Ameron Performance Coatings;

• Robert Wendoll, director of Environmental Affairs for Dunn-Edwards Corporation; and

• Ron Widner, Benjamin Moore & Company's Western regional manager for transportation and distribution.

As a result of the work, the district's board adopted certain amendments that were the direct result of NPCA's and its members' efforts, and should prove extremely helpful to NPCA members in complying with the provisions of Rule 1113. These include but are not limited to the approved use of tertiary butyl acetate, or TBAc, for industrial maintenance coatings; a one-year extension of the small-container sell-through provision for clear-wood finishes; and delays and higher limits for various coatings categories including high-gloss non-flats.