OSr4. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYIREGIONIXPRO

75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco,
CA 94105.3901 ,E‘)fl12OFFICEOFTHEILiVVLUkJREGIONALADMINISTRATOR The Honorable Benigno

R. Fitial Juan A. Sablan Memorial Building Capital Hill, Caller Box 10007 Saipan, Commonwealth

of Northern Mariana Islands 96950 Dear Governor Fitial: Thank you for your recommendations
dated June

1, 2011 on air quality designations

for the Commonwealth

of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for the 2010 revision

to the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). Reducing levels of SO 2 pollution

is an important part of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) commitment

to a clean, healthy environment. Exposure

to SO 2 can cause

a range of adverse health effects, including narrowing

of the airways which can cause difficulty breathing and increased asthma symptoms. This letter
is to notify you of the EPA’s preliminary intentions regarding your recommended designations. On June
3, 2010, the EPA strengthened

the health-based

or “primary” standard forSO2 by establishing

a standard for 1-hour average SO 2 concentrations

at a level of 75 parts per billion. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to complete the initial designations process within two years of promulgating

a new or revised standard.

If the Administrator

has insufficient information

to make these designations,

the EPA has the authority

to extend the designation process by up to one year. On July 27, 2012, the EPA announced that
it had insufficient information

to complete
the designations

for the 1-hour SO 2 standard within two years and extended the designations deadline

to June
3, 2013. At this time the EPA
is proceeding with designating

as nonattainment most areas in locations where existing monitoring data from 2009-20

1
1 indicate violations

of the 1-hour SO 2 standard. The EPA intends

to address the designations

for all other areas in separate future actions. With input from

a diverse group of stakeholders, EPA has developed

a comprehensive implementation strategy for these future actions that focuses resources

on identifying
and addressing unhealthy levels of SO 2 . The strategy

is available

at: www.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/implement.html.

The EPA will continue to work closely with you and our other partners

at the state, tribal and local levels
to ensure healthprotective, common sense implementation

of the 1-hour SO 2 standard. The EPA’s review of the most recent monitored

air quality data from 2009-2011 shows no violations

of the 2010 SO 2 standard

in any areas in the CNMI. Consequently,

the EPA
is not yet prepared

to propose designation action
in CNMI and is therefore currently deferring action
to designate areas in CNMI. The EPA expects

to be able to proceed with designation action
in CNMI once additional data are gathered pursuant

to our comprehensive implementation strategy.

In a separate future action
or actions the EPAPrintedonRecycledPaperwillnotifyyouofourintendeddesignationsfortheseareas,andseekpubliccommentontheseactions,nolaterthan120dayspriortopromulgatinganyfinaldesignations.Welookforwardtoacontinueddialoguewithyouandyourstaffasweworktogethertoimplementthe2010primarySO2standard.ForadditionalinformationregardinginitialdesignationsoftheSO2standard,pleasevisitourwebsiteat:www.epa.gov/so2designations.Shouldyouhaveanyquestions,pleasedonothesitatetocallme,orhaveyourstaffcontactDeborahJordan,Director,AirDivisionat415-947-8715,oriordan.deborah@epa.gov.Sincerely,JaredBlumenfeldcc:FrankRabauliman,Director,CNMIDivisionofEnvironmentalQualityKateB.Fuller,AssistantAttorneyGeneral,CNMIDivisionofEnvironmentalQualityGinaMcCarthy,AssistantAdministratorforAirandRadiationStephenD.Page,Director,OfficeofAirQualityPlanningandStandards