UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENC Y WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

The Honorable Rick Perry Governor of Texas P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711-2428 Dear Governor Perry: 

# .DEC 

# t 8 2 014 THE ADMINISTRATOR

I am writing to summarize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent action to address fine particle pollution in your state
. As required by the Clean Air Act, the EPA has determined which areas are meeting the national ambient air quality standards for fine particle pollution and which areas must take s teps to reduce emissions that contr ibute to v i olations of the standard. On December 14 , 2012 , the EPA strengthened the annual , health

- based fine particle standard from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter**(~-tg/m )**  to 12.0**~-t .**  Thousands of scientific studies have li nked exposure to these tiny particle s- approximately 1130th th e size of a human hair

- with serious human health problems including prema ture death in people with heart and lung disease , nonfatal heart attacks, and increased hospital admiss ions and doctor and emergency room vis its for respiratory and cardiovascular d i sease . I appreciate the information you and your staff have sha red with the EPA throughout this process to assess fine particle po ll ution levels in communities across your state and the impact of emission sources that cou ld be contributing to unhealthy air. After considering your recommendations , reviewing the most recent certified fine particle air qual ity data for your state and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby leve l s of fine particle pollution, I h ave determined that no area w ithi n Texas vio l ates the 2012 standard or contributes to a nearby violation of the standard

. As a result , the EPA is designating all of Texas "unclass ifiab le/ at tainment. '' Because air quality mon itoring for 2014 i s nearly comp lete , if a state or tribe requests it, th e EPA will evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine particle monitoring data for 2012-2014. Ifyou wou ld like the EPA to re-evaluate any areas within your state , please submit to the EPA, comp lete , quality

- assured and certified air quality data for 2014 by February 27 , 2015. Th e EPA shares respons ibility wit h the states and tribes for managing particle pollution levels. E fforts by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine particle pollution standards are already workin g to reduce unhealthy levels of fine particle polluti on. In addit i on , current and upcomi ng federal standards an d safeguards , in cluding po ll ution reduction rules for power plants , vehicles and fuels will assure steady reductions of fine particle pollution and will protect public health in communit ies ac ross the country.

I nternet Address (UR L ) • http : //www

. epa
. gov Recycted!Recyclable • Printed w i th Vegetab l e Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer , Process Chlori ne Free Recycled PaperTogether , we have made considerab l e progress to reduce fine partic l e pollution. Nationwide, monitored levels of fine particle pollution fell 34 percent since 2000 when we first began nationwide moni t oring for particles of this size . I am confident this progress will accelerate as together we continue to work towards our shared goa l of clean air . For add i t i ona l information about these designations, please visit our webs i te at: www.epa.go v/ pmdesignations .

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or your staff may con t ac t Mark Rupp, Deputy Associate Administrator for I ntergovernmental Relations, at rupp.mark @ epa . gov or at (202) 564 - 7178.