UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

The Honorable Bill Haslam 

Governor of Tennessee 

1st Floor, State Capitol 

Nashville, Tennessee 37243 

Dear Governor Haslam: 

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 steps to reduce emissions that contribute to violations of the standard. 

On December 14, 2012, the EPA strengthened the annual, health-based fine particle standard from 15.0 

micrograms per cubic meter (pg/m3

) to 12.0 pg/m3. Thousands of scientific studies have linked exposure 

to these tiny particles- approximately 1130th the size of a human hair-with serious human health 

problems including premature death in people with heart and lung disease, nonfatal 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. The EPA identified data quality issues earlier this year that 

invalidated fine particle pollution monitoring data for nearly all of Tennessee. As a result, the EPA does 

not have sufficient air quality monitoring data for 2011-2013 to determine whether areas in your state 

meet the 2012 annual fine particle standard or contribute to a nearby violation. The EPA expects that 

additional monitoring data collected after 2013 will provide the requisite amount of valid data for 

designations and the EPA is deferring final designations for most of the state. Once we have determined 

that sufficient quality assured data are available, we will proceed with a final designation. 

However, the monitoring data for some areas in Tennessee can be used for initial area designations. 

After considering your recommendations, reviewing the most recent certified fine particle air quality 

data for the Chattanooga area and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby levels of fine 

particle pollution, I am pleased to inform you that at this time, three Tennessee counties in the 

Chattanooga area (i.e., Hamilton, Marion and Sequatchie Counties) do not violate the 2012 standard or 

contribute to a nearby violation of the standard. As a result, the EPA is designating those counties 

"unclassifiable/attainment." 

lntemet Address (URL) • http://www.epa.gov 

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Because air quality monitoring for 201 4 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 2012-2014. 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 27,2015. 

The EPA shares responsibility with the states and tribes for managing particle pollution levels. Efforts 

by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine particle pollution standards are already working to 

reduce unhealthy levels of fine 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. 

Together, we have made considerable progress to reduce fine particle pollution. Nationwide, monitored 

levels of fine particle pollution have fallen 34 percent since 2000 when we first began nationwide 

monitoring for particles of this size. I am confident this progress will continue as we work together 

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 Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations, at rupp.mark(akpa.Qov or at (202) 564-7 178. 

Sincerely,