THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASH I NGTON , D
. C
. 20460

The H onorable Michell Hicks Principal Chief of Eastern Band of Cherok ee Indi ans P .O. Box 455 Qualla Boundary C h ero kee, North Caro li na 28 719 D ea r Principal Chief Hi cks : 

## DEC \ 8 20Vt

I would li ke to summarize the U.S. Envirorunental Protection Agency's recent action to address fineparticle po ll ution on your reservation. As required by the Clean Air Act, the EPA has determined whi ch areas are meeting th e national ambient

- air-qu ality stand ards for fine-particle polluti on and which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that contribute to violations of the standard. The EP A on December 1 4,2012, s trengthened the annual , health-based fine-particle standard from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter

**{~g/m )**  to 12.0 !lg/m 3

. Thousands of scientific studie s have linked exposure to these tiny particles- approximatel y 1130t h the size of a human hair

- with serious health problems including premature deat h in people with heart and lung disease , nonfatal heart attacks and increased ho sp ital adm issions and doctor and emergency-room vis it s for respiratory and cardiovascular disease. I appreciate the information yo u and yo ur staff ha ve s hared with the E PA througho ut thi s process to assess fine-particle-pollution l evels in communities across you r reservat io n and the impact of emission so urces th at could be contributing to unhealthy air. After conside rin g your recommendations, reviewing th e most recen t certified fin e-particle air-quality data for your reservati on and evaluating f actors to assess co n tribut ion to n ear b y l evels of fine-part i cle polluti on, I have determined that no area within the Eastern Band of Chero k ee Indians reservation violates the 2012 standard or contributes to a nearby violation of the standard. As a result, the EP A i s designating all of the Eastern Band of Cheroke e Indians reservation "u nclas sifia ble /attairunent." Becau se air-quality monitoring for 2014 is nearly complete , the EPA, at a tribe's request, will evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine

- particle-monitoring data for 2012-14. If you would like the EPA to re-evaluate any areas within your reservation , please s ubmit complete, quality-assured a nd certified ai r-qu ality data for 2014 to the EP A by February 27 , 2015. I recognize tha t the EPA shares respons ibili ty with th e 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-part icle polluti on. In add ition, current and up coming fede ra l standards a nd safeg uards, including pollution-reduction ru l es for power plants, vehicles and fuels will ensure steady reducti o n s of fine -p article pollution and wi ll protect public health in communities ac ro ss the nat ion.

This paper i s pr i nted with vegetable-oil-base d i nk s and is 100-percent post consumer recyc l ed mater i al. c hl orine- f ree-processed and recyclableTogether we have made considerable progress in reducing fine - particle pollut i on. Nationwide monitored levels of fine-particle pollution have fallen 34 percent s i nce 2000 when we first began such monitorin g for part icl es of this size. I am confident this progre ss will cont inu e as we work toward our shared goal of clean air.

For addit io na l i nformation about these designation s, please visit www.epa.gov/pmdesignations.