UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REG

I ONS The Ho nora ble Mary Fallin Gove rnor of Oklahoma 2300 L i ncoln Boulevard, Suite 212 Oklah oma City, Oklahoma 73105 Dear G overnor Fallin: 1445 ROSS AVENUE

,SUITE 1200 DA LLA S ,T E XAS 75202

-2733 February 11 ,2016 Office of the Regiona

l Administra

t or Thank you for your recommendations dated August 17 ,2015, onair quality designations for the st ate of Okl aho ma for the 2 0 10 re vision to the primary Nat i onal Ambient Air Qualit y Standard (NAAQS) for sulf ur diox id e (S02). R edu cin gl e vels of **S~**pollution is an important part of the U .S .Environmental Prote ct ion Agency's commi tm ent to a clean, h ealthy environme

nt. Exposure to S02 can cause a range of adver
se health effects, in cludi ng narrowing of the airways which can cause difficulty breathing and incre ased asthma symptoms. This letter is to notify you of the EPA's preliminary intentions regarding your re commended desig nat ions. On Ju ne 3, 2010, the EPA strengt hened the health-based or "primary" standard for S02 by establi

s hing a standard for 1 -hour average S0 2 concentrations

at al evel of 7 5 parts per billion. With
i n one year after a new or revised standar d is estab li s hed, the C le anAir Act requ ires the Governor of each state to submit to the E PA alist of all ar easi nthe state

,wi th recommendations for whether each area meets the standard. Through ani nteractive process, the EPA consi d ers the recommendations and then promulgates desig nat ions for all areas across the country. On July 25
,2013, the EPA des ig nated 29 areasin 16 state s asnon attainment, but did not at that time designate other areas. Pursuant to a March 2, 2015, courtorder ed schedule,

Ithe EPA must complete the remaini n g so2 designations by three specific deadlines: July 2, 2016, December

3 1, 2017

,and December

3 1 ,2020. Th is current round of d esi gna tions

,to be com pl et ed by July 2 ,2 0 16 ,addres

ses two groups of areas:

( 1) areas
t h at have newly moni tore d v io l ations of t he 2010 S02 NAAQS based on the most recent three calendar years of certified monitored ambient air quality data

,and ( 2) areas th at contain any stationary sourc e that had not been announced as of Marc h 2, 2015

,for retirement and that according to t he EPA's Air Markets Database emi tt ed in 2012 either

( i) more than 16,000 tons of S02 or (ii) more than 2 ,600 tons of S02 with an annua

l average emission rate of at least 0.45 pounds of S0 2/ mmBTU. After c arefully considering Ok l a homa's recommendations and other avai
l able technical information

,the EPA

·i nte nds to designa

t eas nonattainme nt or unclassifiab
le / attainment

t he following areas

,includin
g the following counties or port ions of count ies : 1 Sier raClub v. McCarthy

,No. 3 -1 3-cv-3953 (S I) (N.D. Cal. Mar. 2, 2015). This paper

i s pr

i n t ed with vegetable

-oi

l -based

i nks and

i s 100 - percent
p ostco n sumer

r e c ycled mater

i a
l , ch

l or

i ne-free
- processed and
r ecyc

l ableIn t ended No nattainment Area Muskogee
C o unty, Oklahoma (part)* Intende d No n attainment Counties Muskogee County (p) (p) indicates portion of county The asterisk (*) in dicates th e designation and b o undary fo r the intended nonattainment area repre se nts a modification

t o the design a tion and boundary

t h at you have recommen

d ed. In t e nd e d Uncl assifiab le / Attainment Area No ble County, Oklah oma Choctaw C o unty

, Ok l ahoma Intended Unclassifiab

l e / Attainment Area Co unties No ble County Choc taw C ounty The enclosed Technical Su pp ort Document provides

a detailed analysis tha t supports
o ur intended designation decis
i ons. If yo ur state has additio n al inf o rmation that the E PA shou
l d conside

r prior to finalizing these d e s i gnations

, please submi

t 

### it to u s by A p rill9, 2016. We also will be publishing

a notice in the Fed e ral Reg
i st e r announcing

a 30-day period fo r the public to provide input o n th e EPA

' s intended designat

i on deci s ions. We will prom u l gate the designations for the se areas by July 2, 20 1 6. We will designate all o t he r previously undesignated areas in the state on a sched u le consistent with
t he prescribed timing of th e court order, i.e., by Decem b er 3 1 , 2 017
, or December

3 1 , 2020. We look forw ard t o a con t i nu ed dia l ogue w i th yo u and your staff as we work together to complete

t he area designations and
i mp l ement the 2010 pri m ary S0 2 standard. For additional informat

i on regardin
g designations under the S0 2 s tandard

, please v i sit our website at w w w . epa

. go v/s o2de s ignations. Shou

l d you have any que s ti o ns, please do not hesitate to ca ll me, or have your staf f contact 

### Mr . Guy Donald

s on of my staff at (214) 6 65-724 2, or via email a t Dona ld son.g uy @epa

. gov. R o n Curry

, Re g ional **dmini~**

**to r**  Enclos ur e cc: Mr. Michael Teague Oklaho ma Se c retary o f E nergy and Environment 

### Mr. Scott Th o m p son Executive D irec to r , Okl ah oma Department of En v i ronmenta

l Qua
l ity