UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 6 1445 ROSS AVENUE, SUITE 1200 DALLAS, TX 75202-2733 

### JUN 1 

### 4 2010

The Honorable Rick Perry Governor ofTexas Post Office Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711

Dear Governor Perry:
Thank you for your recommendations on air quality designations for the revised National AmbientAir Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead throughout Texas. Reducing levels oflead pollution is an importantpart ofthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) commitment to a clean, healthy environment. Lead exposure can cause a range ofadverse health effects, most notably in children. Exposures to low levels oflead early in life have been linked to effects on IQ, learning, memory and behavior. This letter is to notify you ofEPA's response to Texas's designationrecommendations, and to inform you ofour approach for completing the designations for the revised lead NAAQS.

On October 15, 2008, EPA substantially strengthenedNAAQS for lead. The new standards, set at 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/rrr'), are 10 times tighterthan the previous standards. In conjunction with strengthening the lead NAAQS, EPA also established new criteria for siting ambient lead monitors. The pre-existing ambient lead monitoring network was inadequate for determining whethermany areas are meeting the revised lead NAAQS. Monitors meeting the new network siting requirements were to begin operation January 1, 2010.
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to complete the initial designationprocess within two years ofpromulgating a new or revised NAAQS. Ifthe Administrator has insufficient informationto make these designations, EPA has the authority to extend the designation process by up to one year. In light ofthe new monitoring network which will generate additional information in the upcoming year, EPA intends to complete the lead designations in two rounds. In the first round, to be completed by October, 15,2010, EPA is designating as "nonattainment" any area that is violating the 2008 lead NAAQS based on data from the pre-201Omonitoring network. For all other areas, EPA is extending the deadline for designations by up to one year so that data from the newly deployed monitors can be considered in making appropriate designation decisions. EPA will complete the second round oflead designations no later than October 15, 2011.

Consistentwith the Clean Air Act, and after carefully considering Texas's October 14, 2009, recommendation letter and all the associated technical information for the 2008 lead NAAQS, including the mostrecent air quality data from 2007-2009, EPA is proposing to adopt the State's recommended nonattainment designation and boundary for a portion ofCollin County. The enclosed draft Technical Support Documentprovides a detailed analysis that supports our preliminary decisions.

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Ifyour state has additional information that you want EPA to consider with respect to a designation recommendation EPA proposes to modify, please submit it to us by August 16, 2010. We are also making EPA's preliminary designation decisions and supporting documentation available to the general public for review. We are accepting public comments on our preliminary decisions through August 16, 2010. We will review any information we receive from the State ofTexas and the general public by this date, and we plan to promulgate the first round offinal designations by October 15, 2010.
For all other areas in Texas, EPA is deferring the designations decisions for up to one additional year so that additional lead air quality datacan be collected. Ifyou would like to submit updated recommendations for those areas for our consideration in the second round of designations, we request that you do so by December 15,2010. For the second round of designations, we will notify states and tribes ofour preliminary responses to their recommendations no later than June 17, 2011.

We look forward to a continued dialogue with you and your staffas we work together to implementthe 2008 lead NAAQS. Ifyou have any questions, please call me at (214) 665-2100, or your staffmay call Mr. Emad Shahin ofmy staffat (214) 665-6717.

Enclosure

cc: Bryan W. Shaw, Ph.D. Chairman, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Susana Hildebrand, P.E. ChiefEngineer, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality