THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

The Honorab le Mark A. Macarro Chairman of Pechanga Band

of Luiseno Mission Indians P.O. Box 1477 Temecu la, California 92596 Dear Chairman Macarro: WAS HI NGTON, D . C . 20460

I would li ke to summarize the U.S. Env ironmental Protection Agency's recent action to address fine particle pollution on your rese rvation. As required by the Clean Air Ac t , the E PA has determined which areas are meeting the national ambient - air-quality standards for fine -p article pollu ti on and which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that contribute to vio l ati ons of the standard. The EPA on December 14,20 12, streng t hened the annual, heal th-based fine-part i cle standard from 15.0 m i crograms per cubic me ter (Jlg/m 3 ) to 12. 0 Jlg/m3

. Thousands of scientific studies have linked exposure to these tiny particles - approximately 1130th the size of a human hair - w ith serious health problems i ncluding premature death in people with heart and lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks and inc reased 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-po ll ution leve l s i n communities across yo ur reservation and the impact of emission sources that cou l d be contributing to unhealthy air. After considering your recommendations, reviewing the most recent certified fine-particle air-quality data for your reservation and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby leve l s of fine-particle polluti on , I have determined that no area withi n the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Miss ion Indians reservation violates the 2012 standard or contributes to a nearby violation of the standard. As a result, the EPA is designating all of the Pechanga Band of Lu i seno Mission Indians reservat ion "unclass ifiab le/attai nment." Because air - quality monitoring for 2014 is nearly complete, the EPA , at a tribe's request, w ill 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, p lease submit complete, quality-assured and certified air-quality data for 2014 to the EP A by February 27,2015 . I recognize that the EPA shares respons ibility with the states and tribes for man aging particle -po ll ution leve l s. Efforts by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine - particle - pollution s tandards are already working to reduce unhealthy leve ls of fine-part icle pollut i on. In addition, current and upcoming federa l standards and safeguards, including po ll ution -reduc tion rules for power plants, ve hi cles and fue l s will ensure s teady reductions of fine -particle pollution and will protect pub li c health in communities across the nation.

This paper is pr i nted with vegetab l e - o il - based i nks and i s 1 00 - percen t postco n s u mer recycled materia l , chlorine -free-processed and recyc l able .Together we have made considerable progress in reducing fine-particle pollution. Na t ionwide monitored le vels of fine-particle pollution ha ve fallen 34 percent since 2000 when we fi r st began such moni tor ing for particles of thi s s ize. I am confident this progress will continue as we work toward our shared goal of

c l ea n air. For additional information about t hese designations, please visit www.epa.gov/pmdesignations.