UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 

REGION 2
 

290 BROADWAY
 

NEW YORK, NY 10007-1866
 

JUN 1 4 2011 

The Honorable Luis Fortuno Burset 

Governor of Puerto Rico 

BMB 110202 

Calle San Gustos 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901-1711 

Dear Governor Fortuno Burset: 

Thank you for your October 14,2009 recommendations on air quality designations for the revised 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead throughout the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This 

letter is to notify you of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) preliminary decision to 

designate the Arecibo area of Puerto Rico as nonattainment and the other areas of Puerto Rico as 

unclassifiable/attainment, and to inform you of our approach for completing the designations for the 

revised lead standards. Reducing levels oflead pollution is an important part of the EPA's commitment 

to a clean, healthy environment. Lead exposure can cause a range of adverse health effects, most notably 

in children. Exposures to low levels of lead early in life have been linked to effects on IQ, learning, 

memory and behavior. 

On October 15,2008, the EPA substantially strengthened the health-based or "primary" National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard by lowering it from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter (~glm3) - a level set 

in 1978 - to a level of 0.15 ~g/m3. This stronger standard provides increased protection against adverse 

health effects associated with exposure to lead in at-risk groups, including children. To provide 

increased protection against lead-related environmental and other welfare effects, the EPA revised the 

secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standard to be identical in all respects to the revised primary 

standard. The EPA also determined that the pre-existing ambient lead monitoring network was 

inadequate for determining whether many areas are meeting the revised lead standards and established 

new criteria for siting ambient lead monitors and new data collection requirements. Monitors meeting 

the new network siting requirements were to begin operation January 1, 2010. 

Within two years of promulgating new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the Clean 

Air Act requires the EPA to complete the initial process of identifying or designating areas that meet or 

do not meet an air quality 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. In light of 

the new monitoring network, the EPA is completing the lead designations in two rounds. In the first 

round, published on November 16, 2010, the EPA designated as "nonattainment" 16 areas as violating 

the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards based on data from the pre-2010 monitoring 

network. For all other areas, the EPA extended the deadline for designations by up to one year so that 

data from the newly deployed monitors can be considered in making appropriate designation decisions. 

States were given an opportunity to update their recommendation letters for those remaining areas for 

our consideration in the second round of designations by December 15, 2010. The EPA intends to 

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complete the second round of lead designations by no later than October 14, 2011. Therefore, this letter 

is the next step in the process for completing lead designations by October 14, 2011. 

Puerto Rico's October 14, 2009 letter reconunended unclassifiable for the Arecibo area, attainment for 

the San Juan metropolitan area and unclassifiable/attainment for the rest of the areas in Puerto Rico. 

Consistent with the Clean Air Act, and after carefully considering Puerto Rico's October 14,2009 letter 

and all the associated technical information for the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 

including the most recent air quality data from 2008-2010, the EPA is proposing to modify your 

recommendation of unclassifiable for the Arecibo area and designate as nonattainment. The attached 

Technical Support Document provides a detailed analysis that supports our preliminary decisions. The 

EPA is also proposing to designate the San Juan metropolitan area as unclassifiable/attairunent. The 

EPA uses this designation for initial designations to identify areas that have data indicating attainment, 

or Where there is no evidence of a violation. Lastly, the EPA is proposing to adopt Puerto Rico's 

reconunended designation for the remainder of the Conunonwealth as unclassifiable/attairunent. 

If Puerto Rico has additional information that the EPA should consider with respect to our proposed 

modification to your designation reconunendation, please submit it to us by August 15, 2011. The 

EPA's preliminary designation decisions and supporting documentation will be made available to the 

general public for review. We will be accepting conunents through August 15,2011. We will review 

any information we receive from the Conunonwealth of Puerto Rico and the general public by this date, 

and we plan to promulgate the second round of final designations by October 14, 2011. 

We look forward to a continued dialogue with you and your staff as we work together to implement the 

2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Should you have any questions, please do not 

hesitate to call me, or have your staff contact Raymond Werner, Chief Air Programs Branch of my staff 

at 212-637-3706. 

Sincerely, 

J

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Judith A. Enck 

Regional Administrator 

Attachment (1) 

cc:	 Mr. Pedro Nieves Miranda, President 

Puerto Rico Envirorunental Quality Board 

Mr. Luis R. Sierra Torres, P.E., Air Quality Area Manager
 

Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board
 

Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation
 

Steven D. Page, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards