UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY R E GION 4

The Honorable Nathan D eal Governor of Georg ia 203 State Capi tol Atlanta , Georg ia 3033 4 Dear Governor Deal: ATLA NTA FE DE RAL CE NT E R 61 FOR SYT H ST R E ET AT LA NT A, G EO R G IA 3 0 303-896 0 

# FE B 1 6 2016

Thank yo u f o r yo ur updated recomme ndati o ns, subm itted o n behalf of you by Jud son 

### H. Turner , Director of the Georgia Env iro nme ntal Protec tion D ivision (GA EPD) , dated September 17, 2015 , on a ir quality des i gna tions for t he State of Georg ia for th e 2010 revision to the primary Nat ional Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for sulfur dio x id e (S 0 2)

. Reducin g leve l s of S0 2 pollution is an imp o rtant part of th e U. S. Enviro nmenta l Protection Agency ' s commitment to a clean , hea lthy environment. Exposure to S02 can cause a range of adverse health effects, including narrowing of the a irways which can cause difficulty breathing and incr eased asthma sy mptom s. Thi s le tter i s to noti fy yo u ofthe EPA 's p re lim inary intentions regarding yo ur recommend e d designations. On Jun e 3, 2 010 , the EPA stre ngth e ned the health-b ased or " primary " stand ard for S0 2 by establishing a s tandard for 1

- hour average S02 concentrations at a level of 75 parts per billi on. Within I year after a new or revise d standard is estab li shed, the Clean Air Act requires the Governor of eac h state to su bmit to the EPA a li st of all areas in the s tate , with reco mmendati ons for whether each area meets th e sta nd ard. Through an interactive process , the EP A considers the recommendations and then prom u lgates des i gnations for all areas across the cou n try. On Jul y 25, 2013 , the EPA designated 29 areas in 1 6 states as nonatt a inment , but did not at t hat t ime des ig nate othe r area s . Pur s u ant to a March 2, 20 15 , courto rd ered sche dule , 1 the E P A must comp le te the remaining S0 2 desi gnations by three spec ific de ad lin es: July 2, 2016, Dec e m ber 31 , 2017, and D ecember 3 1 , 2020. This curr e nt round of designations , to be comp leted by July 2, 2016 , ad dress es two groups of areas: ( 1 ) areas that have newly monitored violations of the 20 I 0 S 0 2 NAA QS based on the mo s t recent three ca l e ndar years of ce rtifi e d monitor ed ambi e nt a ir quality data , a nd (2) area s that contain a ny s tati onary so urce that had not been anno un ced as of March 2 , 20 15 , for ret irement and that acco rding to the E P A ' s Air Markets Database emitted in 20 12 either: ( i) more than 16 , 000 tons of S0 2 or ( ii ) more than 2,600 ton s ofS0 2 with an annu a l ave ra ge em is s ion rate of at least 0.45 pounds ofS0 2/ mmBTU.

1 

### S ie rra Club v. M cC arthy, No. 3-13 -cv- 3953 (S I) (N. D. Ca l. Mar

. 2, 20 15 ).

I nternet Address (URL) • http ://www. epa.gov Recy l ed/ Recyc l able • Pnn l od with Vege table Oil Base d I n ks o n Recyc l ed P aper (M inimum 30% Postcon s ume r )After carefully con s idering Georgia ' s recommendation s and other available technical information , the EPA intends to designate as unclassifiable / attainment the following area , including the following counties or portions of counties:
Inte nded U nclassifiable / Attainment Area Juli ette, GA Area* Intended Unclassi fiable/ Attai nment Area Counties Butts

**Cra~rford** Ja s per J o nes Lamar Monroe Upso n The asteri sk (*) indicates the boundary for this intended unclassifiable / attainment area represents a modification to the boundary that you have recommended.
Based on ambient air qual it y data collecte d betw ee n 2012 and 20 14 indicating a violation of the 20 I 0 S0 2 NAA QS , the E PA initially ide ntifi ed C hatham County in Geo r gia as an area that would potentially create the ob li gation for u s to desi g nate b y Jul y 2, 2016. The consent decree directs the EPA to e valuate data collected for the most r ecent 3 years ( i. e. , between 2013 and 2015) , and Georgia has submitted to the E PA complete , quality ass ured , and certified data for calendar year 2015 for Chatham County indicating compliance with the 20 10 S0 2 NAAQS. As a result , Chatham County is no lon ger s ubj ect to the Jul y 2, 20 16 , d ea dlin e under th e con se nt decree , and the EPA int ends to designate this area by e ither Dec e mber 3 1, 2017 , or D ece mber 31 , 2020

. The e nclo sed Technical S upport Document pro v ides a detailed analys i s that s upport s our inte nded designation decisions. I f your State has additio n a l information that th e E PA s hould cons ider prior to finali z ing these de s ignations , plea se submit it to us by April 19 , 2016. We also will be publishing a notic e in th e Federal Regis ter announcing a 30-day period for the public to pro vi de input o n the E P A's inte nd ed designation decisions. We will promulgate th e designation for this area by July 2 , 201 6. We

w ill designate all other previously und es ignated areas in the State on a schedu le con s istent w i th th e prescribed timing of the court order , i

. e., by De cember 31, 201 7, or D ecember 31, 2020.

We look forward to a continued d ialogue with yo u and yo ur staff as we work together to complete the
area designations and impl e ment the 20 I 0 primary S0 2 s tandard. For ad ditional information regarding de s i gnation s und e r the S0 2 s tand a rd , plea se visit o ur website at www.epa.gov /

so2des i g natio ns. Should you have a ny questions , please do not hes itate to call me , or have your staff contact Beverly H. B anister, Dir ec tor , Air, Pe sticides and Taxie s Management Di vis ion at (404) 562-9070 or bani s ter. be ve rlv(ci), epa. gov. 

# rAY

Heather McTeer



# To **ne ~**  Reg ional Ad mini stra tor

### E nclosure

cc: Jud son H. Turner Director , GA EPD Karen Hays C hi ef , GA EPD, Ai r Protectio n Branch Janet G. McCabe , Ac tin g As s i s tan t Administrator for Air and Radiation Stephen D

. P age , Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards