EPA Definition of "Hobbyist" Automotive Painters

Like many car enthusiasts I occasionally paint and do paint touch-up to my own vehicles and/or vehicle parts.

Recently I did some re-painting to the hood & trunk of my XK120 out of my garage. A week or so later a Municipal Code Enforcement Officer from our City Police Department showed up at my house. Apparantly a neighbor had complained about me painting and working on my cars. The officer verified that I did indeed own all three Jaguaqrs I work on and that I was not doing repairs and painting as a "business" which is in violation of City Code. The officer also told me that I could not paint cars in my garage, which it turns out was misinformation on his part.

I sent a request to the EPA for information about "are there any special rules for hobbyist auto painters?"

I just got very nice reply from Kim Teal, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. EPA, North Carolina (teal.kimepa.gov)

I ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

I would like to know where I can find EPA regulations related to
ÔÇ£Hobbyist Automotive PaintersÔÇØ. I tried the www.epa.gov website FAQ but
could not locate any related information.

Is there a provision that allows a hobbyist to paint 1 or 2 cars
per year?
Are there simple guidelines for disposal of solvents, paints and
for cleaning equipment?
Do hobbyists need to be certified (licensed) in order to buy
paint, etc?

Please provide a ÔÇ£linkÔÇØ to EPA Guidelines on Hobbyist Automotive
Painting rules & regulations

Thanks in advance,

Bob Sheridan
La Verne, CA 91750

KIM TEAL RESPONDED BACK AS FOLLOWS:

Mr. Sheridan,

The regulation you're referring to is actually for autobody refinishing
shops; however, we had many questions about what activities qualify as
hobbyist and so we added a definition to this rule clarifying what we
consider to be hobbyist activities. See pages 1745 (last column),

COMMENTS: Several comments noted that the applicability of the proposed
rule, as written, could be interpreted to apply to all paint stripping
and surface coating operations, and included no exemptions for
automobile hobbyists or homeowners stripping and painting their own
property or vehicles. Nearly all commenters felt that paint stripping
and surface coating by hobbyists and homeowners should be exempt from
the rule. Several commenters suggested that EPA establish a de minimis
usage threshold, based on either major source surface coating rules or
state volatile organic compounds (VOC) rules, to exclude noncommercial
paint stripping or surface coating operations. The commenters noted that
hobbyist and homeowner activities are difficult to locate because they
are located in residential areas and are intermittent. However, one
commenter suggested that the rule should have no exemptions and any
individual painting vehicles should be subject to the proposed equipment
and training requirements.

RESPONSE: EPA re-examined the scope of the source categories that we
listed based on the 1990 national emissions inventory. The analyses that
were the basis for the source category listing for paint stripping,
miscellaneous surface coating, and motor vehicle and mobile equipment
surface coating focused on commercial operations, along with some
government and institutional operations, such as municipal garages that
service fleet vehicles. Homeowners and hobbyists were not part of these
analyses and were not intended to be part of the listed source
categories. Therefore, the final rule has been revised to clarify that
it does not cover paint stripping and surface coating performed by
individuals on their personal vehicles, possessions, or property, either
as a hobby or for maintenance. This subpart also does not apply when
these operations are performed by individuals for others without
compensation, which is akin to the hobbyist and homeowner activities
not considered in the baseline inventory that formed the basis for the
listing of the source categories at issue here. However, for motor
vehicle and mobile equipment surface coating operations, an individual
surface coating more than two vehicles per year will be covered by the
rule. This limit on the number of vehicles coated per year was included
so that commercial automobile surface coating shops could not avoid
compliance by claiming to be a hobby shop. The limit was based on
information collected from automobile hobbyists during the rule
development. The hobbyists that provided information to the EPA
suggested that a legitimate hobbyist would complete no more than two
automobile restorations or customizations per year.

* * *
1760
What This Subpart Covers
?º 63.11169 What is the purpose of this subpart?
Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, this subpart
establishes national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants
(HAP) for area sources involved in any of the activities in paragraphs
(a) through (c) of this section. This subpart also establishes
requirements to demonstrate initial and continuous compliance with the
emission standards contained herein.
* * *
?º 63.11169 (d) This subpart does not apply to any of the activities
described in paragraph (d)(1) through (6) of this section.
* * *
?º 63.11169 (d) (3) Surface coating or paint stripping performed by
individuals on their personal vehicles, possessions, or property, either
as a hobby or for maintenance of their personal vehicles, possessions,
or property. This subpart also does not apply when these operations are
performed by individuals for others without compensation. An individual
who spray applies surface coating to more than two motor vehicles or
pieces of mobile equipment per year is subject to the requirements in
this subpart that pertain to motor vehicle and mobile equipment surface
coating regardless of whether compensation is received.

(See attached file: Final Paint Stripping and Misc Surface Coating Area
Source Rule.pdf)

In summary, hobbyists have NO requirements under this rulemaking. They
are NOT a regulated entity.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Kim R. Teal
Environmental Protection Specialist
U.S. EPA/OAR/OAQPS/SPPD/NRCG
E143-03
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
EMAIL: teal.kimepa.gov
DIRECT: (919) 541-5580

I hope some of you "hobbyist painters" such as me appreceiate having the latest information. I anyone wants me to send them the EPS .pdf file containg the "January 2009 Paint Stripping and Surface Coating Final Rule" send an email to me at Bob5837La.twcbc.com