UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON , D
. C
. 20460

The Honorable Eloy Inos Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands Juan A. Sablan Memori al Building Capitol Hill, Caller Box 10007 Saipan, North ern Mariana Is lands 96950 Dear Governor Inos: THE ADM I NISTR A T OR

I am writing to summar i ze the U
. S. Env ironmental Protection Agency's recent action to address fine particle po ll ution i n your s tate. As required by the Clean Air Act, the E PA has determi ned w hi ch areas are mee t ing the nati ona l ambient air qu ality s tandards for fine particle pollution and which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that co n tribute to vio lations of the standard. On December 14, 20 1 2, the EPA s trengthened the annual, health -b ased fi n e particle standard from 15.0 m icrograms per cubic meter (J.lg/m 3) to 12.0 J.lglm3

. Thousands of scientific studies h ave linke d exposure to t he se tiny particles-approximately 1/30th the size of a h uman hair

- with serious human health problems including premature death in peop le wi th heart a nd lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, and increase d hosp i tal admiss ions and doc tor and emergency room vis i ts for re spi ratory an d cardiovascul ar d i sease . I appreciate th e information y ou and your staff have sha red w ith the EPA throughout this process to assess fine p article po ll ution levels in communiti es across your state and the impact of emi ssion sources that co uld be contributing to unhealthy air . After considering your recommendations, reviewing the most recent certi fied fine particle air quality data for your state and evaluating fac tors to assess contribut ion to n earby leve l s of fine particle pollution, I have determined that no area within the Northern Mariana Islands vio l ates the 20 1 2 s tandard or contrib utes to a nearby viol ation of the standard
. As a result, the EPA is designating all of t he North ern Mariana Islands " unclassifiable/attainment." Because air quality monito ring for 2014 is nearly complete , if a state or tribe requests it, the EPA w ill evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine particle mon itoring data for 2012-2014. If you would like the EPA to re-evaluate any areas within your state, please submi t to the EPA, comp l ete, quality-assured and certified air quality data for 20 1 4 by Feb ru ary 27,2015
. The EPA shares responsibility w ith the states and tribes for managin g particl e poll ut ion levels. Ef forts by states and tribes to attain th e 1997 and 2006 fine particle pollution s tandard s are a lready working to reduce unhealthy l evels of fine particl e po llution. In addi t ion, current and upcoming federal s tan dards and safeguards, including pollution reduction ru le s for po w er plants, vehicles and fuels w ill assu re steady reduc ti o n s of fine particle po ll ution and will protect public heal th in communities across th e country.

Internet A ddress (U RL) • http ://www
. epa . gov Recy c led/Recyclable • P r i nted wi th Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 1 00% P os t co n sumer, P rocess Ch l ori n e Free Recyc l e d PaperTogether , we have made conside r able progress to reduce fine part i cle pollut i on. Nationwide, moni t ored l evels of fine particle pollu t ion fell 34 percent since 2000 when we first began nationwide monitori n g for particles of this size. I am confident t his progress will accelerate as t ogether we con t inue t o work towards our shared goa l of clean a i r. For add i t i onal i n formation about these des i gnat i ons, please visit our webs i te at: www.epa . gov / pmdesignations .

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or your staff may contact Mark Rupp, Deputy Associate Adm i nistrato r for I nte r governmental R e l at i o n s, at rupp . mark@epa.gov o r at (202) 564-7178 .