### ~. 

# f, UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION2

Robert K. Warland, Director Division ofAir Resources New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway Albany, NY 12233-3250 Dear 

### Mr. Warland: 290 BROADWAY NEW YORK, NY 10<.<07- 1866

This letter is to review the current status ofthe particulate matter situation in Manhattan and to establish a basis for the New York State Department ofEnvironmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to proceed concerning a variety ofparticulate matter issues. The

**l'a ~.**  **~** and EPA, 's PM-10Attainment Determination Obligation On Januar y 20, 1994, New York County was redesignated a PM-I0 moderate nonattainment area. Th is designation was based on monitor readings recorded at the Manhattan microscale street canyon site at Madison Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets . ·Nonattainment areas designated m 1994 were required to come into attainment ofthe National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by December 31 , 2000. Further, by July 1, 2001 the Clean Air Act requires EPA to make a determination as to whether or not the State attained the NAAQS . EPA' s criteria for determining whether an area has attained the NAAQS is three consecutive years ofvalid data showing that the 24-hour and annual arithmetic mean concentrations did not exceed 150 g/m3 snd 50 glm3 , respectively . IfEPA made a finding that the area did not attain the NAAQS, we would be required to publish a Federal Register reclassifying the area as being 

### in serious nonattaimnent. Ev aluation o(N ew York's PM
-10Air QualityData andAttainment Status Since the PM-10 air quality data collected throughout the rest ofNew York City, and the entire State ior that matter, meets the NAAQS by a wide margin, the attainment status issue becomes solely a discussion about levels at the Madison Avenue monitor. The State first wrote to us on April 27 , 2000 regarding the reclassification ofthe Madison Avenue mopjtor as a special fmrpose monitor. More recently, in a letter dated July 26, 2001, you state that because ofinstrument and location changes made at the site in response to vandalism, L'le monitor doe§ not meet State and Local Ajr Monitoring Station (SLAMS) siting criteria outlined in appendix E of40 CFR 58 . This office has investigated the matter further and we agree with your assessment tha t the monitor does not meet siting criteria and thus, the recent data recorded at this site cannot be used to support NAAQS detenninations . Moreover, because ofa variety ofconstraints, the monitor cannot practicably be brought into compliance with the siting criteria. We therefor'!

**agre ~**  with your staffthat the monitor is most appropriately considered a "special purpose 1'lonitor" (SPM)

Internet Address (URL) • http ://www.epa
.gov

**~a.d/R~** • Pr1m.d with **V~etable** 011 a...d lnQ on Recyded Paper (Minlmu.n 50%

**Poa~ .** **wu~nsr cont~t)** pursuant to the criteria in EPA Part 58 monitoring regulations. You and your staffhave also presented information suggesting that the Madison Avenue monitor has not produced consistent quality data since late 1998 resulting from a variety ofcauses including dust and particles from construction/demolition at nearby buildings, scaffolding which obstructed the air flow in close proximity to the monitor, and monitoring equipment shut-downs. We have reviewed this information and concur that in addition to the siting problems noted previously, the most recent years' data [1999, 2000, and 2001] are rot reliable for these other reasons and should not be considered in the attainment determination. Based on the factor£ discussed above, we have concluded that the three most recent years ofvalid data for PM-10 at the Madison Avenue monitor are 1996, 1997, and 1998 which recorded an annual arithmetic mean of49.7 glm3• Since this attains the NAAQS of50 glm3 and since no other PM-10 monitor in New York County has recorded a violation ofthe NAAQS from 1994 to the present, we concur with New York that Manhattan is attaining the PM-1 0 NAAQS. Notwithstanding our concurrence with the attainment determination, since the Madison Avenue monitor measured P:tvi-1 0 levels very close to the NAAQS, continued monitoring ofthe situation is needed. In this regard, we have been working closely with your staffto find a replacement monitor for the Madison Avenue monitor and have several alternative locations near that site we may be able to use. On February 20, 2002 NYSDEC and EPA staffs conducted ajoint field survey ofthe midtown area. At that time, our staffs agreed to consider an alternative monitoring location (at the 47th Street entrance to Grand Central Terminal). We understand that NYSDEC Region 2 staffis now negotiating for use ofthe site and we ask that you keep us informed on its progress. I need your commitment to establish a replacement diesel traffic monitoring site that meets all siting criteria as s.:>on as practical. IfNYSDEC carmot use the Grand Central Terminal site, then it is essential that our staffs select a mutually satisfactory site as soon as practical.

**Redesi~ation** 

### forManhattan It is important to note, however, that this clean data determination does not constitute a redesignation to attainment. In order to redesignate the area to attainment, NYSDEC must officially request a redesignation as was recently done for carbon monoxide. This request needs to contain a fully approvable PM-10 SIP and a maintenance plan- see Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Clean Air Act for the five specific requirements an area must meet in order to be redesignated from nonattainment to attainment). Although the State submitted a PM-10 SIP several years ago, questions concerning off-road emission inventories and contingency measures still need to be resolved, and a copy ofthe public hearing record must be submitted prior to final EPA action on the SIP. Furthermore, as part ofthe maintenance plan, we believe a critical component is a SLAMS traffic-oriented (up to seven meters above ground level) monitoring site which would substitute for the one S:PM site currently operating at Madison Avenue. PM2.5 **Desi~rrations** As you know, the District ofColumbia Circuit Court has acted favorably on EPA's promulgation ofthe PM2.5 standard. With this in mind, EPA is likely to request the states' recommendations for PM2 .5 designations in the July 2003 time frame. EPA would then take rulemaking action on the designations during 2004 and 2005.· Considering the importance ofearly planning to address the particulate matter issues before us, I recommend that we meet within the next few weeks to plan our actions and to share information. Should you have any questions or ifyou would like to discuss this further, please contact Raymond Werner, Chiefofthe Air Programs Branch at (212) 637-4249.

Walter Mugdan, Director Division ofEnvironmental Planning and Protection

cc: 

### R. Werner, APB D. Shaw, NYSDEC N . Isabel, NYSDEC