With some variations in the specifics, a group of six Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia have finalized stringent new VOC regulations on architectural and industrial maintenance coatings, with a set of VOC limits that went into effect Jan. 1. The region, one of the most densely populated and developed parts of the country, represents a significant market for the coatings industry.

The states, members of the 12-state Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), are imposing VOC limits as low as 100 g/L. The states are New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C., with several counties in northern Virginia also joining the group in enacting a VOC rule. Some of the OTC's six other member states in New England are expected to approve VOC rules, but none were finalized in time to go into effect Jan.1.