Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

Mobile Spray CoatingMobile Spray Coaters

Permitting & registration

Mobile spray coating operations for motor vehicles are required to be registered with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, as required by Regulation I, Article 5 and Regulation I, Section 9.16.  As specified in Regulation I, Section 9.16(e)(9), each mobile spray coater is required to provide a copy of the current Agency registration document to each customer prior to starting work at a site.  There are two pathways to becoming an active Registered source with this Agency – the Notice of Construction (NOC) Application Review/Approval process and direct Registration.  The details and requirements for each pathway are provided below.

Permitting - Notice of Construction Review

Mobile spray coating operations typically require a Notice of Construction (NOC) Order of Approval prior to commencing operation in the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency area.  This activity is not exempt from NOC review in Regulation I, Section 6.03(c), with one exception.  A mobile spray coater that operates exclusively with airbrushes with a cup capacity of less than or equal to 2 fluid ounces and an air flow of 0.5-2.0 cfm would be exempt from NOC review.

To obtain an NOC Order of Approval, an applicant must complete an NOC application using forms provided by the Agency.  Each applicant needs to complete a Form SCO and a SEPA Environmental Checklist and submit them with a filing fee of $1,000.  Upon receipt of the application and filing fee, Agency staff will review the application for completeness, identify the balance of the NOC review fees [Reg. I, Section 6.04), prepare a draft Order of Approval for review, and issue a final Order once all fees are paid.  If the NOC application is incomplete, or the NOC review fees are not paid, or if the NOC application requested approval of equipment that fails to meet existing requirements, then the application may be denied.

Registration – Active Status

The Registration program represents the annually renewable authorization to operate as a source subject to Puget Sound Clean Air Agency regulations.  Sources included in the registration program are sent an annual invoice each November, which is due at the end of the calendar year.  It covers the costs for compliance and enforcement work by the Agency staff in association with registered sources.  Payment of the annual Registration invoice maintains a source’s active status, which also keeps previously obtained NOC Orders of Approval active.  Unpaid invoices remove the source from active Registration and will invalidate the NOC Order of Approvals previously received.  In that circumstance, a source wanting to reactivate in this program would have to start over with a new NOC application.

For mobile spray coating operations which operate exclusively with airbrushes with a cup capacity of less than or equal to 2 fluid ounces and an air flow of 0.5-2.0 cfm, direct registration is possible without the NOC application.  Mobile spray coaters in that category shall submit a Questionnaire for Registration form to the Agency.

Sources which receive an NOC Order of Approval during the calendar year between Registration invoice cycles are considered actively registered for that calendar year after the Order of Approval is issued.  Registration invoices are prepared and sent to each source in mid-November for the next year.