THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

The Honorable Elizabeth Kipp Chairperson of Big Sandy Rancheria 37387 Aubery Mission Road Auberry, Ca li fornia 93602 Dear C hairperson Kipp: WASHING T ON , D

. C. 2 0 4 6 0

I would like to s ummarize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent action to address fineparticle po ll ution on your reservation. As required by the Clean Air Act, the EPA has d etermined which areas are meeting the n a t iona l ambient -air-qu ality standards for fine -particle pollution a nd which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that contribute to violations of the standard. The EPA on D ece mber 14, 2012 , strengthened the annual , health-based fine-particle standard from 15.0 microgram s p er cubic meter (j..tg/m 3 ) to 12.0 j..tg/ m 3

. Thousands of scientific studies have linked exposure to these tiny particles

- approxim ate ly l / 30th the size of a human hair- with serious health problems inclu ding premature death in people w ith heart and lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks and increase d hospital a dmi ss ions and doctor a nd emergency-room visits for respi ra tory and card io vascular di sease. I appreciate the information you and your staff have shared with the E PA throughout this proces s to assess fine-particle -p ollution levels in communities across your re serva tion and the impact of emission so urces that could be contributing to unhealthy air. After reviewing the m ost recent certified finep articl e air-quality data for the s tate of Ca li fornia and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby levels of fine particle polluti on, I h av e determined th at some areas in California do not meet th e 2012 annual fine particle standard or they contribute to a nearby violat ion of the standard. The E P A i s designat in g those areas "nonattainment." Some of these areas also include areas of Indian country , including the reservation of the Big Sandy Ran cheria. Nonattainment areas w ill be required to take action to reduce fine-particle po ll ution and meet the standard no later than 2021. As required by the C lean Air Act, those action s may include stricter controls on indu strial fac ili ties and addition al planning requirement s for transportati on - r e lated sources. While tribes are not re quire d to take act ion s, th e EPA will work with tribe s to d eve l op plans as necessary o r appropriate to ensure trib a l areas meet the standard no later than 2021. Because a ir-qual ity monitoring fo r 20 1 4 is nearly complete, the EPA, at a tribe 's request, will evaluate the status of an area based on it s annual fine-particl e -monitorin g data for 2012-14. I f you wou ld li ke the EPA to r e-eval ua t e any areas wi thin your reservati on , p lease submi t co mpl ete, quality-assur e d and cert ifie d air-quality data for 20 14 to the EPA by February 27 , 20 1 5. I recognize that the EP A shares respon sibility with the states and tribes for mana g ing particle-po ll ution leve ls . Efforts by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine-particle -p ollution standards are a lready working to redu ce unh ealthy levels of fine-particle po ll ution. In addition , current and up co min g

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.federal standards and safeguards , including pollution-reduction rules for power plants , vehicles and fuels will ensure steady reductions of fine-particle pollution and will protect public health in communities across the nation. Together we have made considerable progress in reducing fine-particle pollu t ion. Nationwide moni t ored levels of fine-particle pollu t ion have fallen 34 percent since 2000 when we first began such monitoring for particles of this si z e. I am confident this progress will continue as we work toward our s hared goal of clean air.

For additional information abo u t t he s e designations , please visit www.epa.gov / pmdesignations.