UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

The Honorable Jay Inslee Governor of Washington P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, Washington 98504-0002 Dea r Governor Inslee: 

# DEC 1 

## 3 ? 014 THE ADM I NISTRATOR

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 steps to reduce emissions that contribute to violations ofthe standard. On December 14,2012
. the EPA strengthened the annual , health-based fine particle standard fro m 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (11g/m3 ) to 12.0 11g /m3

. Thousands of scientific studies have linked exposure to these tiny particle s-approximately l/30th the size of a human hair-with serious human health problems including premature death in people with heart and lung disease, nonf atal heart attacks, and increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency room visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease. I appreciate the information you and your staff have shared with the EPA throughout this process to assess fine particle pollution levels in communities across your state and the impact of emission sources that could be contributing to unhealthy air. After considering your recommendations, r eviewing the most recent certified fine particle air quality data for your state and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby levels offine particle pollution, I have determined that no area within Washington violates the 2012 standard or contributes to a nearby violation of the standard. As a result, the EPA is designating all ofWashington "unclassifiab le/attainment." Because air quality monitoring for 2014 is nearly complete, if a state or tribe requests it, the EPA will evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine particle monitoring data for 2012-2 014. If you would like the EPA to re-evaluate any areas within your state, please submit to the EPA, complete, quality

-assured and certified air quality data for 2014 by February 27 ,2 015. The EPA shares responsibility with the states and tribes for managing particle pollution level s. Efforts by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine particle pollution standards are already working to reduce unhealthy levels offine particle pollution. In addition, current and upcoming federal standards and safeguards, including pollution reduction rules for power plants, vehicles and fuels will assure steady reductions of fine particle pollution and will protect public health in communities across the country.

l n temet Address ( U R L) • h ttp :f/www
.epa .gov Recycled/Recyclable • Printed w ith Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Ch lorine Free Recycled PaperToget h e r , we have made cons i derable progress to reduce fine particle po ll ution . Nat i onwide, monitored leve l s of fine particle po ll ution fell 34 percent since 2000 when we first began nationwide monitoring

for particles of this size. I am confident this progress will acce l erate as together we cont i nue to work towards our shared goal of clean air . For additional information about these designations, please visit our website at: www . epa . gov / pmdesignations .

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or your staff may contact Mark Rupp, Deputy Associate Admin i strator for Intergovernmenta l Relations , at rupp.mark @ epa . gov or at (202) 564-7178.