## MORONGO BANDOF 

### MISSION INDIANS

June 18, 2009

Deborah Jordan 

# •

ASOVEREIGN NATION
Director, Air Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

Re: Request for Participation in Process for Designation of Separate Tribal NonattainmentArea forthe Morongo Indian Reservation

Dear Ms. Jordan:

This will respond, on behalfofthe Morongo Band of Mission Indians ("Morongo" or "Tribe"), to the Regional Administrator's letter ofJanuary 13, 2009 and a more recent contact from your agency encouragingtheTribeto participate in the process for designating areas underthe 2008 revised ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).

As you know, Morongo recently submitted a letteron May 29,2009, along with supporting rationale and documentation, requesting creation ofa separate nonattainment area for the Morongo Indian Reservation. In that letter, Morongo addressed in detail each ofthe nine factors thatthe Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") plans to consider in evaluating and makingdecisions on nonattainment area boundaries, as discussed in EPA's December 4,2008 memorandum entitled "Area Designations for the 2008 Revised Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards" ("December 2008 Memo"). Previously, Morongo had also requested consultation with your agency regarding its review ofthe State of California's request to reclassify ("bump-up") the ozone nonattainment classification ofthe South Coast Air Basin ("SOCAB"), which currently includes the Reservation, from "severe 17" to "extreme." In
our letter ofOctober 7, 2008 requesting consultation, we stated the reasons why such a reclassification would negatively impact Morongo's efforts to develop atribal air permit program and to engage in economic development on the Reservation. Our more recent letter requesting creation ofa separate nonattainment area forthe Reservation elaborates on those reasons and provides additional justification for EPA to modifythe State's nonattainment area designations for ozone underthe 2008 Revised NAAQS by

12700 PUMARRA WAD 3i\NNINC**c~** 92220excludingthe Reservation from the SOCAB and creating a separate tribal nonattainment
area. We also made it clear that, should EPA determinethat creation ofa separate tribal nonattainment area was not approvable, the boundary ofthe Coachella Valley Nonattainment Area should be adjusted to include the Reservation. In short, Morongo has significant interests at stake in both the

### designation ofareas for purposes of implementingthe 2008 revised primary and secondary ozone NAAQS and the 

### reclassification ofthose nonattainment areas.

For the reasons stated above and in our recent letterof May 29,2009, we recommend thatthe SOCAB ozone nonattainment boundary be adjusted to exclude the Morongo Indian Reservation and that a separate nonattainment area be created for the Reservation. Our recommendation is consistent withthe December 2008 Memo's suggested framework for area-specific analyses and supports creation ofa nonattainment area for the Reservation, the boundaries ofwhich are distinctfrom lithe presumptive area starting point." 

### See December 2008 Memo, at p. 3.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns. We look forward to active participation and consultation with your agency as it implementsthe ozone nonattainment area designation and classification processes.

# Since:~~.**ICL-J~** 

# ­ I

Robert Martin, Chairman Morongo Band of Mission Indians

cc: Liz Bogdanski, Director, Environmental Protection Department Colleen McKaughan, EPA Region IX Stephen Quesenberry, Karshmer 

### & Associates Gary Rubenstein, Sierra Research