July 15, 1996

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) Board will hold a public hearing to accept comments and consider adopting a revision to Rule 205 - Standards for Granting Applications. The revision will delete the definition of “Reactive Organic Compound” (ROC) for consistency with Rule 102 - Definitions.

Who is affected:
APCD rules apply to sources of air pollution located in Santa Barbara County and offshore within 28 miles. The rule revision will affect the oil and gas industry; manufacturers and users of paints, coatings, and solvents; and the aerospace, electronic, wood furniture, automobile refinishing, paper coating, and foam manufacturing industries.

About the proposed revision:
The APCD earlier proposed changes to the definition of “Reactive Organic Compound” in Rule 102 for consistency with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board definitions of Volatile Organic Compound. The revision will be considered by the APCD Board on July 18, 1996. If adopted, the new definition will exempt acetone, ethane, parachlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF), volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS), five halocarbons and four classes of perfluorocarbons.

If Rule 102 is revised, the definition of ROC in Rule 205 would become inconsistent, and would deny the exemptions to businesses seeking APCD permits under New Source Review. To correct this inconsistency, the definition of ROC in Rule 205 will be deleted, and the rule will rely on the definition contained in Rule 102.

Negative Declaration Pursuant to CEQA:
An Initial Study/Proposed Negative Declaration was prepared for the proposed revision to Rule 102 pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The document examined the potential adverse impacts of the proposed revision and determined that there are no significantly adverse impacts. The APCD will rely on the this Negative Declaration for the present revision to Rule 205.

Copies of the proposed revision to Rule 205 may be reviewed at the following locations:


Santa Barbara County APCD 26 Castilian Drive, B-23 Goleta, CA 93117	Santa Barbara County APCD 240 East Highway 246, Ste. 207 Buellton, CA 93427
County Clerk’s Office 401 East Cypress, Ste. 101 Lompoc, CA 93436	County Clerk/Recorder 511 East Lakeside Pkwy, Ste. 115 Santa Maria, CA 93455

For more information or to comment on the proposed rule revision, please contact Bette Easton, Rule Development Section, APCD, 26 Castilian Drive, B-23, Goleta, CA 93117, (805) 961-8898. You may also comment at the August 15 hearing in Santa Barbara.

Published Monday, July 15, 1996

Return to FAQs- Definition of Reactive Organic Compounds (ROC)