Bryan Leiker, MFACA, Discusses CARB Public Hearing Over Calif. Hex Chrome Ban

Bryan Leiker, executive director, Metal Finishers Association California (MFACA)
Photo Credit: Products Finishing

This installment of On the Line follows up on an ongoing story for the finishing community and the topic of a recent interview with Bryan Leiker, executive director for the Metal Finishing Association of California (MFACA) — and that is the latest regulatory discussion over a proposed ban of hexavalent chromium use for plating and anodizing operations in the state.

On January 27, 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) conducted a public hearing where members of the finishing community had the opportunity to voice their concerns over the proposed ban. Leiker recently sat down with Products Finishing to offer a recap of the event and the next steps in this important industry discussion.

Hundreds of finishing industry employees attended CARB’s public hearing on January 27, 2023, to make their voices heard.
Photo Credit: MFACA

PF: Members of MFACA and the finishing community at large recently had the opportunity to address CARB regarding the impending hex chrome phase-out in California. How was the turnout for the hearing and what kind of impact do you think was made?

BL: We had a good turnout — a lot of the local shops came out, the employees, business owners, we had folks fly down from Northern California to testify. We had about 150 supporters from our industry, about half of them testified in person, we also had a few more testify virtually. There was a wide range of comments, all beneficial to our cause. I’d just like to say a special thank you to the business owners that had their shop employees turn out that day — the shop employees really stepped up to discuss their jobs and what’s at stake.

The family of finishing industry employees shows a graph illustrating the percentage of hexavalent chromium emissions attributed to finishing operations in the state. Finishing operations are reported to make up only 1.27% of emissions.
Photo Credit: MFACA

PF: MFACA has done a lot of work to try to educate CARB and invite them into facilities to see first-hand how the processes work. Is an emissions-based rule completely off the table at this point?

BL: California politically, through a lot of different avenues, is entrenched and banning hexavalent chrome in our industry. So I feel that any type of rule that’s going to come from CARB has to have a ban — it has to have a phase-out. Now, what we’ve been able to do is bring into question when that phase-out is and how it happens.

I feel like one of the wins we have here is to add more time to the clock, our industry continues to try anything possible to get to an emission-based rule like 1469. But, the odds of that realistically happening are very slim right now. That would be a kind of a scrapping of the existing rule where they would start over and rewrite it. We continue to hope that maybe that’s a possibility. But worst-case scenario, we’re going to push for maximum fairness and time on the clock.

PF: So there’s a little time between now and the vote. Are there any next steps that MFACA — or members of the finishing community — can pursue in the meantime?

BL: Right now, it’s still good to contact CARB staff about this, but at this point, the process is for the staff to listen to the board member’s comments, and then present possible rule changes to the board to consider. So, while there’s not too much that individuals can do right now, continuing the pressure on CARB and state legislatures in California by calling and sending letters does not hurt.

The association [MFACA] is currently reaching out to staff, seeing if we can add some more input, seeing if we can help. Our goal right now is to continue to work with CARB. We all want to come together here with a working rule that doesn’t put people out of business.

Listen to the full interview with Bryan Leiker in an episode of PF’s On the Line podcast: short.pfonline.com/carb012723

Hex Chrome in California — Key Points

•   Finishing operations make up only 1.27% of hex chrome emissions in the state, making the industry one of the smallest contributors, yet also the heaviest regulated.
•   Finishing operations in California have reduced hexavalent chromium emissions 99.9% since 1995 and continue to reduce emissions through compliance with California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Rule 1469.
•   According to the Metal Finishing Association of California (MFACA), which runs the southern and northern state chapters of the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), more than 100,000 people are employed at surface finishing facilities. These facilities supply coatings for the aerospace, defense, automotive, industrial, architectural and medical sectors.
•   Proposed phase-out dates are as follows: decorative hex chrome operations to cease by 1/1/2027, hard chrome and anodizing operations to cease by 1/1/2039.

Landscape Source: MFACA