UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 2 290 BROADWAY NEWYORK, NY 10007-1866



## JUN 1 4 2011 Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor ofthe State ofNew York State Capitol Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:
Thank you for your October 15, 2009 recommendations on air quality designations for the revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead throughoutNew York State. This letter is to notify you ofthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) preliminary decision to designate all ofNew York as unclassifiable/attainment, and to inform you ofourapproach for completingthe designations for the revised lead standards. Reducing levels ofleadpollution is an importantpart ofthe EPA's commitmentto a clean, healthy environment. Lead exposure cancause a range ofadverse health effects, most notably in children. Exposures to low levels oflead 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**(~g/m3)** - a level set in 1978

- to a level of0.15**~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 ofpromulgating new or revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to complete the initial process ofidentifying or designating areas that meet or do notmeet an air quality standard. Ifthe 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 newmonitoring 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-20lO 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 ofdesignations by December 15,2010. The EPA intends to complete the second round oflead 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.

InlemelAddress (URL). http://www.epa.gov Req-cle<l/Req-clable • Printed with Vegetable 011 Based Inks on Recycled Pap,", (Minimum SO'l. PostconBumer content)New York's October 15, 2009 letter recommended attainment for the metropolitan areas ofNew York City, Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown and Rochester, and unclassifiable/attainment for the rest of the State. Consistent with the CleanAir Act, and after carefully considering New York's October 15, 2009 letter and all the associated technical information for the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards, including the mostrecent air quality data from 2008-2010, the EPA is proposing to designate the metropolitan areas ofNew York City, Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown and Rochester as unclassifiable/attainment. The EPA uses this designation for initial designations to identify areasthat have data indicating attainment, orwhere there is no evidence ofa violation. EPA is also proposingto adopt the State'srecommended designation for the remainder ofthe State as unclassifiable/attainment.

Ifyour state has additional information thatthe EPA should**~onsider** with respectto ourproposed modification to yourdesignation recommendation, please submititto us by August 15, 2011. The EPA'spreliminary designation decisions and supporting documentation will be made available to the general public for review. We will be accepting comments through August 15,2011. We will review any information we receive from the State ofNew York and the general public by this date, and we plan to promulgate the second round offinal designations by October 14,2011.

We look forward to a continued dialogue with you and your staffas we work togetherto implementthe 2008 Lead National AmbientAir Quality Standards. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me, orhave your staffcontactRaymond Wernerofmy staffat 212-637-3706.

Sincerely,

Judith A. Enck Regional Administrator
Enclosure
Cc: Joe Martens, Commissioner New Yark State DepartmentofEnvironmental Conservation

1. Jared Snyder, Assistant Commissioner New York State DepartmentofEnvironmental Conservation
David Shaw, AirDirector New York State DepartmentofEnvironmental Conservation
GinaMcCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation StevenD. Page, Director, Office ofAir Quality Planning and Standards