Fw:WestMojaveDesertReclassificationor“Bump-up”ColleenEhzabethAdams,AmyZimpfer,Doris04/11/201203:33PMThismessagehasbeenrepliedtoandforwarded.Goodnews!Seebelow.ColleenW.McKaughanAssociateDirector,AirDivisionUSEPA,Region9(520)498-0118ForwardedbyColleenMcKaughan/R9/USEPA/USon04/11/201203:38PMFrom:“MarshallK.Cheung,Ph.D.”<tribal-epa@att.net>To:ColleenMcKaughan/R9/USEPNUSEPADate:04/11/201203:27PMSubject:RE:WestMojaveDesertReclassificationor“Bump-up”GoodnewsColleen,IjustspokewithChairmanDarrellMikeandheapprovesbumpingupfor29Palms.Ifyouneedanythingmorefromus,pleaseletusknow.MarshallFrom:ColleenMcKaughan[mailto:McKaughan.Colleen@epamail.epa.gov]Sent:Wednesday,April11,20127:27AMTo:tribal-epa@att.netCc:AmyZimpfer;DorisLo;ElizabethAdams;MaeveFoleySubject:RE:WestMojaveDesertReclassificationor“Bump-up”Hi,Marshall,IfyoucouldtalktotheCouncilandgettheirfeedback,youcouldsendusanemailbyApril16thwiththeirresponseandthatwouldsufficeforustoproceed.Thanksagainforallyourhelponthisissue.ColleenW.McKaughanAssociateDirector,AirDivisionUSEPA,Region9(520)498-0118From:“MarshallK.Cheung,Ph.D.”<tribal-epaaft.net>To:ColleenMcKaughari/R9/USEPA/US@EPACc:ElizabethAdamstR9/USEPAIUS@EPA,AmyZimpfer/R9/USEPAIUSEPA,DorisLo/R9/USEPAIUS@EPA,MaeveFoley/R9/USEPAIUS@EPADate04/10/201205:08PMSubjectRE:WestMojaveDesertReclassificationor“Bump-upThankyouColleen,Baseonyourinfo,bumpingupseemslikeit’sthebestwaytogofortheTribe.IwillattempttopresentthistoChairmanDarrellMikeand/ortheTribalCouncilASAP.IftheTribeagrees,whatwouldyouneedfromthemandwhen?Marshall From: Colleen McKaughan [mailto: McKaughan.ColleencepamaiLeDa.aov1 Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 3:05 PM To: tribal-epaatt.net Cc: Elizabeth Adams; Amy Zimpfer; Doris Lo; Maeve Foley Subject: West Mojave Desert Reclassification

or “Bump-up” Dear Marshall, We appreciated

the opportunity

to speak with you about the reclassification

(or ‘bump up”) of the Western Mojave Desert ozone nonattainment

area from moderate

to severe yesterday.

As you know, the air qualityin this area

is poor. This bump
up will give California more time
to attain both the current and the new ozone standards.
The bump
up will shift the attainment
date for the new ozone standard from 2018 to 2027. We are planning

to bump
up this area within the next few weeks and will include the Twenty Nine Palms tribal land

in San Bemadino County unless your tribal leadershipdoesnotagreeand would like further consultation. The state
of California
has recently requested

the bump
up for the Western Mojave ozone nonattainment area and under the Clean Air Act, EPA

is required

to grant their request. The approval

of the bump
up must be completed shortly

in order

to complete

the final ozone designations

by the end of April. The state cannot request

a bump
up for tribal land, but EPA can bump
up tribal lands, therefore

we are interestedin your input. EPA believes that being bumped

up along with the surrounding
area would
be the best option for Twenty Nine Palms. This

is for several reasons: 1. If you are bumped

up with Western Mojave you can rely on the air quality controls, plans and limits that the state and local air district impose

on the surrounding Western Mojave area

in order

to bring the Tribe’s air quality into attainment. Sources

on tribal lands would not be regulated

by these state rules. 2. Most importantly

for Twenty Nine Palms, the bump
up does not change your major source permitting threshold

for any new sources such
as
a casino, industry

or other future project that may produce ozone. The current threshold

is 25 tons per year, and that permitting requirement

will stay the same even with the bump
up to the new classification.

The permitting threshold

of 25 tons will apply

to the rest of the Western Mojave ozone nonattainment

area,
as well. 3. The only change would
be to large federally funded and/or approved construction projects. Theseprojects typically include activities
like military base expansions, airport construction,

port expansions

and pipeline installations.

The new general conformity threshold

for federally funded projects would
be 25 tons per year, but

it is unlikely that the Tribe would
be responsible

for

a project

of the size that could trigger. general conformity. That responsibility typically falls
to the federal government. 4. Being bumped

up with the surrounding
area

in Western Mojave would make your air quality status consistent
with the surrounding nonattainment

area and the rest of your tribal lands

in Coachella Valley, which will have

a designation

and classification

of severe nonattainment

for the new ozone standard since the area was bumped

up in 2010. If you do not want
to be bumped

up along with the surrounding
area, your tribal lands

in San Bernadino County will be designated

as
a separate nonattainment

area for the new ozone standard
and will not be able
to rely on the controls

or plans that the state submits

for the Western Mojave area. Therefore,

the Tribe,

or EPA, may need

to develop plans
or control measures

in order for your reservation
land
to achieve both the current and the new ozone standardsnine
years earlier than the surrounding Western Mojave area. Please

let us know

if you have any questions

or if further consultation

is needed. You can contact Elizabeth Adams,

at 415-972-3183,

if you have any additional questions

or concerns.
We apologize

for the expedited nature

of this request,
but we will need

to finalize these actions

in the next week,

so we are hoping you can get back

to us by April 16. Thank you so very much. Colleen

W. McKaughan Associate Director,

Air Division USEPA, Region

9 (520) 498-0118