Fw: notes on September 14th call with EPA and tribes on the proposed Tribal 

New Source Review (NSR) Rule

Laura McKelvey to: Jessica Montanez, Raj Rao 09/17/2009 07:30 AM

Hi guys,

Region IX met with the southern CA tribes here are the notes from the call.

Laura

----- Forwarded by Laura McKelvey/RTP/USEPA/US on 09/17/2009 07:30 AM -----

From: Sara Bartholomew/R9/USEPA/US

To: lhood@lptribe.net, jdome@lptribe.net, loscoyotesepa@yahoo.com, elachappa@lptribe.net, 

dmorton@lptribe.net, ka7_s13@yahoo.com, trisha.frank@cox.net, kadkinsmepa@sbcglobal.net, 

lgover@campo-nsn.gov, dvela@leaningrock.net, manzanita_air_program@yahoo.com, 

hwaquiu@pechanga-nsn.gov, llamb@palatribe.com, rwatkins@palatribe.com, 

lajollagis@yahoo.com, lajollaairms@yahoo.com, jeannejussila@gmail.com, 

dcoombes@cabazonindians-nsn.gov, jmiller@lptribe.net, liz_bogdanski@morongo.org, 

james_payne@morongo.org, jchapman@torresmartinez.org, tepadirect@aol.com, 

ssmallwood@pechanga-nsn.gov

Cc: Maeve Foley/R9/USEPA/US@EPA, Anita Lee/R9/USEPA/US@EPA, Stephanie 

Valentine/R9/USEPA/US@EPA, Laura McKelvey/RTP/USEPA/US@EPA

Date: 09/16/2009 05:32 PM

Subject: notes on September 14th call with EPA and tribes on the proposed Tribal New Source Review 

(NSR) Rule

Hello, 

Here are my notes from the call on Monday. Please let me know if have any questions, and feel free to 

forward to anyone who is interested.

I have cc'd Laura McKelvey at OAQPS so that she can see your questions and concerns. As noted 

below, she welcomes calls from tribes that have questions on the Tribal NSR Rule (her email address and 

phone number is listed below).

Thank you for your participation,

Sara

**************************************

Sara Bartholomew

Grants and Program Integration Office

EPA Region IX

75 Hawthorne Street (AIR-8)

San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

tel: (415) 947-4100 fax: (415) 947-3579

email: bartholomew.sara@epa.gov

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Present on the call:

Sara Bartholomew, EPA Air Division

Maeve Foley, EPA Air Division

Anita Lee, EPA Air Division Permit Office

Elisa Weiss, EPA Air Division intern
Darlene Coombes, Cabazon Band

Lisa Gover and Raymond Leon, Campo Band

Rob Roy and Melody Sees, La Jolla Band

David Thompson, Manzanita Band

James Payne and Jason Mandly, Morongo Band

Lenore Lamb and Rod Watkins, Pala Band

Helen Waquiu, Pechanga Band

Sara welcomed everyone and asked people to introduce themselves. She explained that Laura 

McKelvey at the Office of Air Quality, Planning and Standards (OAQPS), who is working on this rule, 

could not be on the call due to a prior commitment. Laura would be happy to be on a future call, and 

invites any tribe with questions to contact her directly, by email at mckelvey.laura@epa.gov or by phone 

at (919) 541-5497.

Anita Lee of the Permit Office gave a brief overview of the current status of the proposed Tribal NSR Rule. 

She participates in the National Tribal NSR Implementation Group.

- The rule was proposed in August 2006, and addresses preconstruction permits for tribes where there 

has been a regulatory gap.

- EPA requested comments on the proposed rule, and received many, some from tribes (link below).

- Because of the change in Administration and resulting leadership, the process of finalizing the rule has 

been delayed several times. 

- Gina McCarthy (Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation) was briefed on the rule 

August 31st

- Current estimates are that the options selection will be made in the Fall of 2009, and the rule will be 

finalized in late spring, 2010.

- At the request of Syndi Smallwood of Pechanga, Region 9 has produced two fact sheets on the rule. 

The one that shows threshold levels is titled "Clean Air Act Requirements for Air Pollution Sources in 

Indian Country," and can be found on our website at: 

http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/tribal/files/DetailedAirComplianceRequirements.pdf

Tribes then asked questions, which are captured below, with responses where appropriate. Sara 

committed to noting all the questions, forwarding them to Laura McKelvey, and distributing them to those 

on her email list for this call.

Lenore: Will there be another comment period for the rule?

Anita: Only if HQ wants to pursue an option that was not in the original proposal and thus was not already 

subject to a public comment period.

Jason: What about the lower threshold for extreme non-attainment areas, which make it zero, so that any 

new project would have to go through NSR?

Anita: This is a good question, and a concern that Region 9 submitted to headquarters (HQ). We agree 

that a zero threshold is problematic.

Lenore: How do tribes calculate emissions?

Anita: Use the emission factors contained in AP-42 [http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/index.html] to 

calculate the potential to emit (PTE) for many sources(e.g. engines). EPA can help tribes do this.

Darlene: Will the General Permits work the way Stormwater Permits do, where the tribe would need to fill 

out a standard form?

Anita: EPA is using the Stormwater General Permits as a guide, along with general permits for minor 

sources from various other state agencies, but cannot say if they will be exactly the same. Anita also 

requested feedback from Tribes regarding types of facilities or sources that would be useful for EPA to 

develop general permits for. We have been working on minor source general permits for diesel engines, 

oil and gas exploration, and small boilers, and we plan to develop general permits for gas stations. Are 

there any other types of general permits that would be helpful?
Rod: Would the Pala Band's TAS for Title V notification help with the NSR process?

Anita: The National Tribal NSR Workgroup led by Laura McKelvey is developing a delegation package to 

help tribes request delegation of minor source permits, but this is separate from the TAS for Title V 

notification. 

Lenore: How to figure the tribe's attainment status for any pollutant?

Anita: There is a list of designated nonattainment areas in the EPA Greenbook at 

http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/greenbk/

Lenore: The air monitor in Escondido doesn't always reflect the Pala Band's air quality. What if the tribe 

disagrees with EPA's designation for them?

Sara: There is a process for determining designations for more stringent air standards. Lenore is 

welcome to call Laura McKelvey to discuss this issue.

Rob: How should a tribe address potential to emit [assuming actual emissions may be lower than the 

potential to emit]? 

Anita: In the preconstruction permit process the source could take limits on its operation (e.g. hours), 

which would be enforceable conditions in the permit.

Lenore: Will there be training for tribes, when the rule becomes final?

Anita: Yes, there is outreach being planned, and it is a good suggestion to include training on how to 

calculate emissions as part of that outreach effort. EPA recognizes this is important, particularly for tribes 

wishing to take delegation of the minor NSR program.

Melody: How can tribes read comments that have been made on the rule?

Anita: There is a public docket with all the comments. (see link below)

Darlene: How can we see the proposed rule?

Anita: It's on the EPA website, but she will provide a .pdf file with it for the notes on the call.

Lenore: When will more information become available, and how can tribes stay informed?

Anita/Sara/Maeve: Now that the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, Gina 

McCarthy, has been briefed, it will move forward. Region 9 updates tribes on this type of regulatory 

development at all RTOC meetings, and we will continue to send out email updates. Any tribe is also 

welcome to join the National Tribal NSR Workgroup which is led by Laura McKelvey.

Lisa: Is there anything specific in this proposed rule about renewable energy facilities?

Anita: No, nothing specific to that sector. Applicability will be based on the criteria pollutant emissions 

from each facility.

Rob: Is there a process for grandfathering existing sources, and what stage does a source in construction 

become an existing one?

Anita: There are options under consideration for grandfathering existing sources, but nothing is final. 

 # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 

This is the link to the Docket for the "Review of New Sources and Modifications in Indian Country," with 

169 comments: 

http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0076

And here is the proposed rule: [attachment "EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0075-0001[1].pdf" deleted by Laura 
McKelvey/RTP/USEPA/US]