2012 Annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard Designation 

Recommendations for Kansas

November 25, 2013
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 2 | Page

Overview

On December 14, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a revised primary annual 

PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The PM2.5 NAAQS was published in the Federal 

Register on January 15, 2013 [78 FR 3086]

1

. In that action, the EPA revised the primary annual PM2.5 standard, 

strengthening it from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) to 12.0 μg/m3. In that same action, EPA 

retained the existing secondary annual standard for PM2.5, the existing primary and secondary 24-hour standards 

for PM2.5, and the existing primary and secondary standards for particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters 

of 10 microns or less (PM10).

Section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act requires each state to submit area designation recommendations of 

attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable, with appropriate boundaries, to EPA within one year of 

promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS. EPA can either accept the recommendations or make modifications, 

as necessary. Section 107(d)(1)(A) of the Clean Air Act defines a nonattainment area as any area that does not 

meet or that contributes to nearby areas not meeting the NAAQS.

Kansas has until December 13, 2013 to submit designation recommendations for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 

NAAQS to EPA. EPA will then notify Kansas concerning any modifications to the recommendations and allow 

for comments to their changes by August 14, 2014. Kansas then has until October 29. 2014 to comment on the 

EPA modified recommendations, which will be finalized by December 12, 2014.

The purpose of this document is to summarize the analysis prepared to support the Kansas 2012 Annual PM2.5

designation recommendations to EPA. This analysis is based on information and data collected for calendar 

years: 2010 – 2012, and the April 16, 2013 USEPA Memorandum – Initial Area Designations for the 2012 

Revised Primary Annual Fine Particle National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

2

Summary of Recommendation

Based on 2010-2012 quality assured ambient air quality data for all Kansas and Nearby PM2.5 Monitors it was 

determined that there are no areas in or nearby Kansas that are violating the 2012 Annual PM2.5 National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard. The State of Kansas recommends that all 105 counties in Kansas (as listed in 

Table 1) be designated individually as “unclassifiable/attainment” for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 

These designation recommendations do not include any of the following Indian Country within Kansas: the 

Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, the Prairie Band 

Potawatomi Nation and the Iowa Tribe in Kansas and Nebraska.

 1 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-30946.pdf 2 http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/2012standards/docs/april2013guidance.pdf
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 3 | Page

Table 1. Kansas Classification Recommendations for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS

County Classification Recommendation

Allen unclassifiable/attainment

Anderson unclassifiable/attainment

Atchison unclassifiable/attainment

Barber unclassifiable/attainment

Barton unclassifiable/attainment

Bourbon unclassifiable/attainment

Brown unclassifiable/attainment

Butler unclassifiable/attainment

Chase unclassifiable/attainment

Chautauqua unclassifiable/attainment

Cherokee unclassifiable/attainment

Cheyenne unclassifiable/attainment

Clark unclassifiable/attainment

Clay unclassifiable/attainment

Cloud unclassifiable/attainment

Coffey unclassifiable/attainment

Comanche unclassifiable/attainment

Cowley unclassifiable/attainment

Crawford unclassifiable/attainment

Decatur unclassifiable/attainment

Dickinson unclassifiable/attainment

Doniphan unclassifiable/attainment

Douglas unclassifiable/attainment

Edwards unclassifiable/attainment

Elk unclassifiable/attainment

Ellis unclassifiable/attainment

Ellsworth unclassifiable/attainment

Finney unclassifiable/attainment

Ford unclassifiable/attainment

Franklin unclassifiable/attainment

Geary unclassifiable/attainment

Gove unclassifiable/attainment

Graham unclassifiable/attainment

Grant unclassifiable/attainment

Gray unclassifiable/attainment

Greeley unclassifiable/attainment

Greenwood unclassifiable/attainment

Hamilton unclassifiable/attainment

Harper unclassifiable/attainment

Harvey unclassifiable/attainment
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 4 | Page

County Classification Recommendation

Haskell unclassifiable/attainment

Hodgeman unclassifiable/attainment

Jackson unclassifiable/attainment

Jefferson unclassifiable/attainment

Jewell unclassifiable/attainment

Johnson unclassifiable/attainment

Kearny unclassifiable/attainment

Kingman unclassifiable/attainment

Kiowa unclassifiable/attainment

Labette unclassifiable/attainment

Lane unclassifiable/attainment

Leavenworth unclassifiable/attainment

Lincoln unclassifiable/attainment

Linn unclassifiable/attainment

Logan unclassifiable/attainment

Lyon unclassifiable/attainment

Marion unclassifiable/attainment

Marshall unclassifiable/attainment

McPherson unclassifiable/attainment

Meade unclassifiable/attainment

Miami unclassifiable/attainment

Mitchell unclassifiable/attainment

Montgomery unclassifiable/attainment

Morris unclassifiable/attainment

Morton unclassifiable/attainment

Nemaha unclassifiable/attainment

Neosho unclassifiable/attainment

Ness unclassifiable/attainment

Norton unclassifiable/attainment

Osage unclassifiable/attainment

Osborne unclassifiable/attainment

Ottawa unclassifiable/attainment

Pawnee unclassifiable/attainment

Phillips unclassifiable/attainment

Pottawatomie unclassifiable/attainment

Pratt unclassifiable/attainment

Rawlins unclassifiable/attainment

Reno unclassifiable/attainment

Republic unclassifiable/attainment

Rice unclassifiable/attainment

Riley unclassifiable/attainment
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 5 | Page

County Classification Recommendation

Rooks unclassifiable/attainment

Rush unclassifiable/attainment

Russell unclassifiable/attainment

Saline unclassifiable/attainment

Scott unclassifiable/attainment

Sedgwick unclassifiable/attainment

Seward unclassifiable/attainment

Shawnee unclassifiable/attainment

Sheridan unclassifiable/attainment

Sherman unclassifiable/attainment

Smith unclassifiable/attainment

Stafford unclassifiable/attainment

Stanton unclassifiable/attainment

Stevens unclassifiable/attainment

Sumner unclassifiable/attainment

Thomas unclassifiable/attainment

Trego unclassifiable/attainment

Wabaunsee unclassifiable/attainment

Wallace unclassifiable/attainment

Washington unclassifiable/attainment

Wichita unclassifiable/attainment

Wilson unclassifiable/attainment

Woodson unclassifiable/attainment

Wyandotte unclassifiable/attainment

Technical Considerations

These recommendations have been developed based on a review of the technical information as suggested by 

the April 16, 2013 USEPA guidance. The following is a summary of the ambient air quality monitoring data in 

all relevant Kansas counties and in all relevant counties in nearby states. 

Figure 1 displays the Kansas PM2.5 ambient air monitoring network. Table 2 lists the 2010 – 2012 design 

values for all equivalent method ambient PM2.5 monitors, confirming attainment with the 2012 Annual PM2.5 

NAAQS.

Figure 2 displays the annual PM2.5 design values in three year intervals from 2003 – 2012 for all monitors in 

Kansas for comparison to the annual PM2.5 NAAQS. As seen in the figure, there is an evident decline in annual 

PM2.5 concentrations over the past ten years in Kansas. The continued improvement in air quality, as it pertains 

to PM2.5 concentrations, over the past decade is a valid indication for the continued designation of 

unclassifiable/attainment for all counties in the state. 
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 6 | Page

Figure 1. Kansas PM2.5 Monitoring Network (2010 – 2012)

Note: Cedar Bluff continuous PM2.5 analyzer is not an equivalent method.

Table 2. Kansas Ambient PM2.5 Monitor Design Values (2010 – 2012)

Site Name AQS Site ID County 2010 – 2012

Annual PM2.5 Design Value (μg/m3)

Justice Center 20-091-0007 Johnson 9.0

Heritage Park 20-09-10010 Johnson 7.7

Mine Creek 20-10-70002 Linn 9.1

Wash & Skinner 20-173-0008 Sedgwick 8.9

Pawnee & Glenn 20-173-0009 Sedgwick 9.2

Wichita Health Department 20-173-0010 Sedgwick 8.9

KNI 20-177-0013 Shawnee 9.2

Peck 20-191-0002 Sumner 8.6

JFK 20-209-0021 Wyandotte 10.2

Midland Trail Elementary School 20-209-0022 Wyandotte 8.8
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 7 | Page

Figure 2. Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Kansas PM2.5 Monitors (2003-2012)

Per Section 107 of the Clean Air Act, areas should also be designated nonattainment if they contribute to 

ambient air quality in a nearby area that does not meet the national ambient air quality standard. To determine 

if sources in Kansas contribute to violations in nearby areas outside of the state, data from PM2.5 monitors 

located within 50 km of the Kansas border were also evaluated. Four monitors located in Missouri fall within 

the 50 km range (see Figure 3). None of these monitors have design values in violation of the 2012 Annual 

PM2.5 NAAQS (see Table 3); and therefore no further evaluation was conducted. 
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 8 | Page

Figure 3. Nearby PM2.5 Monitors Outside Kansas (2010 – 2012)

Table 3. Nearby PM2.5 Monitor Design Values (2010 – 2012) 

Site Name AQS Site ID County 2010 – 2012

Annual PM2.5 Design Value (μg/m3)

St. Joseph Pump Station 29-021-0005 Buchanan 11.3

Liberty 29-047-0005 Clay 9.4

Troost 29-095-0034 Jackson 10.3

RG-South 29-037-0003 Cass 11.1
2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS Designation Recommendations 9 | Page

Conclusion:

As discussed in the Summary of Recommendations, all PM2.5 monitors in the state have 2010 – 2012 design 

values demonstrating attainment with the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. All monitors located outside of Kansas 

but within 50 km of the state border also have 2010 – 2012 design values demonstrating attainment with the 

2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, there is a continuing trend of declining PM2.5 concentrations at all 

PM2.5 monitors in Kansas. Therefore it is recommended that all counties in the state be designated 

“unclassifiable/attainment” for the purposes of the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.