p.2 Jun 0710 06:25a Colleen McKaughan 520498-1333 

# GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNlTY
Executive 

## Office oftne Governor & 

### iieutel'wnt 

### Govenwr

1ViLTiam 1{, 

### 'Rfiod"es ] oseyli:Ji,fa'tue(
GOVPrIlOl' Lie:lI:l.'nalll**GO"~crn,,,,**

May 27. 2010

Lisa Jackson USEPA Headquarters Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. 

### Mail 

### Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460

RE: Designation Recommendation Process and Consultation for the Gila RiI'er Indian Community under the 1987 24-hour PM IO National Ambient A..ir Qualitv Standard (NAAQS).

Dear 

### Ms. Jackson: The Gila River Indian Community ("GRIC" or the "Community") is submitting this letter as 

### a response to the December 30, 2009 letter from Mr. Jared Blumenield, Regional ll.dministrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

- Region IX. The letter indicates that the l.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) intends to designate portions ofPinal County as a non-attainment 

### area for the PM lO National/\mbient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Any designatio-D made by EPA under the PM 10 NAAQS maypotentially affect the GilaRiver Indian Community's health, economic well-being, tribal sovereignty, in addition to the historical and cultural integrity and governmental operations. The Commlffiity is unable to submit 

### an accurate designation re;;ommendation, 

### as requested in your December 30, 2009 letter, until fonnal consultation, in accordance with Clean Air Act requirements and EPA commitments made pursuant to Executive Order**1~** 175, is conducted. The consultation must include informing Community leadership, Community members and other stakeholders on all aspects of the designation process prior to the Commlmity submitting 

### a designationrecommendation. In addition, any designationreview for 

### GRJC req liresassessment of all the Community's monitoring data includingthe flagged exceptional events. EPA Region IX has conducted consultation with surroundingjurisdictions (e.g., Maricopa County, Pinal County and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality) but has conducted no consultation with the Community. 

### GRlC is one ofthefew tribal governments inthe nation to haverecdved full CleanAir Act authority "Treatment as a State", including authority for Section 107 (d) designation recommendations and should be treated 

### in the same manner as a state for J:urposes of area designations.



### 525 West Gu u Ki

. P.O. Box 97

. Sacaton, 

### Arizona 85147

Telephone: 520-562-9840

. Fax: 520-562-9849

. Email: executivemai.l@gric.nsn.usp.3 Jun 0710 06:25a Colleen McKaughan 520498-1333

The northern third ofthe Community was designated non-attainment for partieulate matters when Maricopa County was designated inthe 1970's. GRlC was Dot consulted and was not provided an opportunity to comment on the bOl.Ul.dary ofthe non-attainment area at that time Establishment of the Maricopa County non-att!lil)1Ilent area for PM

### w , created a crossjurisdictional and legal problem because the County and State had no legal orjurisdictional authority to regulGte activities on the Community, but the Community could not develop a non-attainment area plan for that part ofthe

area that covered Community land because the affected Communityland was 

### in attainment for PM1C • Through the 8-hour ozone designationprocess 

### in 200 1, EPA correctedthis crossjurisdictional!legal problem as itapplied to the ozoneNAAQS whenit designated GRlC attaimnenthmclassifiable under the 8-hour ozone standard and made GRIC a separate "Air Quality Control Region" based on the exterior boundaries ofthe Community. EPA has also informed GRIC ofits inten: to recommend that GRIC be designated attainmenlJ1mclassifiable for the PM2.5 NAAQS andmade a Beparate Air Quality Control Region based onthe exterior boundaries ofthe Reservation. GRIC has :-equested that EPA take this same approach under the PM IO designation process and designate GR[C lands a separate "Air QualityControl Region". The Community is a sovereign government**and~PA** has a trust and legal responsibility to work with GRlC on a government-ta-governmentbasis dU:1ng the designation process and that is the purpose ofthis request. During formal consultation, we will oppose the use ofdatafrom a separate

### juriseiction as a basis for designation. GRIC has a well established monitoringnetwork, an EPA Approved Quality .Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). Moreover, the GRlC network is the only Tribal monitori:lg )rogram to have undergone and passed a full systems audit from EPA, Region IX. The GRlC Alr Program submits all the data collected to the EPA AQS data base after validation. Thus, giverl the robust GRlC ambient air quality data base for PM IO , there is no reason for EPA to rely on data from offCommunity monitors as the basis for determining the designation status for GIUe lands. Also, during consultation, we will notethatEPA Region IXmonitoringpersonne: have been working with ADEQ personnel on the evaluation process for data sets flagged by ADEQ as exceptional events. EPA Region IX has indicated that the ADEQ data sets being**eva~uated** as potential exceptional events will be used as a basis for approving ordisapproving data**fla,~ed** as exceptional events by GRIC. This approach is unacceptable to the Community. The GRIC Air Program has flagged a limited numberofdata sets as exceptional events (high wind episodes'

### Wmilesperhour or greater) overthepastthree

### years. To date, EPA has not responded to the data sutmissions flagged as exceptional events by GRlC. Section l07(d) ofthe Clean Air Act requires that GRIC be treated in 

## the same manner as a state for the purposes ofdesignations. This includes evduating GRIC's air quality monitoring data, including data flagged as exceptional events, separate:y from the State of Arizona and surroundingjurisdictions. In addition, EPA has not fully explained what type ofdata and support information is needed to allow EPA Region lX monitoring staff to validate GRIC exceptional events. Since the designation status ofGRIC lands is completelybased on the outcome ofthe exceptional events validation process, EPA Region IX should provide this information and work with GRIC Air Program personnel to ensure the correct data is provided.



### In conclusion, the Gila River Indian Community cannot submit a designation**f1~C<Jrnmend.ation** for the PM IO Nl\AQS at this time because formal consultation with EPA on the designation process
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### p.4 Jun 0710 06:25a Colleen McKaughan 520 498-1333

must be conducted first. During consultation, GRIC will requestthatEPAre-evaluate its process of using County boundaries as designation boundaries, only rely on monitoring c:ata from the GRlC monitoring network as a basis for final designation ofGRJC lands andevaluate data sets flagged as exceptional events by 

### GRIe separately from data from the State and surroundirrgJiurisdictions

..

The GilaRiverIndian Community is committedto continueto work closelyand constructively "vith**U~V~lUPt:l.l** UC;LVYCCU UIU,-, i:UIU D.l r-\.. VI! CUI '":iUGLUL)' GUl.U VU1\"oJ IrwoUV.LlV.lUu

......u.
.. u..&**.L~.;)L.,",~.** Sincerely,

# d4~-/~ William Rhodes, Governor Gila River Indian Community

cc:Gina McUuthy Jared Blumenfeld Deborah Jordan CoIIeen McKaughan



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