UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION 2

290 BROADWAY

NEWYORK, NY 10007-1866

DEe 02 2015

Mr. Weldin Ortiz Franco

Executive Director

Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board

P.O. Box 11488

Santurce, PR 00910

Dear Mr. Ortiz Franco:

This is in response to the 2015 Five Year Assessment and Annual Monitoring Network Review Plan

dated June 4,2015, for Puerto Rico's ambient air monitoring program which you submitted to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is to inform you that the EPA Region 2

office has reviewed Puerto Rico's Plan for consistency with 40 CFR Part 58.10.

The portion of the Plan involving the National Core multi-pollutant (NCore) monitoring station is

subject to approval by the EPA Administrator. Accordingly, we will forward that portion of Puerto

Rico's Plan to the EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards for review. My staff will be

working closely with our Headquarters counterparts and will keep your staff informed of the review

progress on that portion of the Plan.

In this 2015 Plan, Puerto Rico proposes to make the following changes to its network:

• Establish one new Total Suspended Particulates lead filter monitor at Guayanilla;

• Establish the PM2.5Speciation monitor at the NCore site;

• Establish a PM2.5continuous monitor at Ponce to be used for the Air Quality Index;

• Closure ofthe N02 and PM2.5continuous monitors at Catano (720330008);

• Reduce the sampling frequency of the PMro monitor located at Guaynabo from daily to 1 in 3

days;

• Replace existing PM2.5filter-based Federal Reference Method (FRM) monitors with continuous

Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) monitors at the N02 near-road site required in Core Based

Statistical Areas (CBSA) of 2.5 million or more persons (Metropista);

• Establish a new S02 monitor at Guayanilla in accordance with the regulations for the new I-hour

standard;

• Locate a new CO monitor with the N02 near-road monitor required in CBSAs of 2.5 million or

more persons; and, .

• Establish the new near road N02 sites in Caguas and Ponce.

Internet Address (URL). http://www.epa.gov

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The EPA Region 2 office concurs with the proposed network changes described above as well as the

PREQB's ongoing efforts with the new Caguas N02 near roadway site, with four caveats:

• In the 2014 Annual Network Review Plan, the PREQB proposed relocating the S02 monitor

from Juncos to Guayanilla. The EPA approved the 2014 Plan on October 29,2014. Please

complete this change;

• The EPA suggests relocating an existing CO monitor to one of the new near roadway sites,

preferably the Buchanan Metropista site, instead of locating a new CO monitor with the N02

near-road monitor at Caguas;

• If possible, prior to replacing the existing PM2.5FRM monitors with PM2.5FEM monitors, the

EPA suggests collocating the FEM monitors with the FRM monitors for at least 6 months before

the complete conversion to FEMs; and,

• The EPA is re-evaluating the regulations in regards to N02 near road monitoring sites at CBSAs

having 500,000 or more persons (in this case, Ponce). Accordingly, until the regulations are

revised, please hold off on siting activities for the Ponce N02 near road monitor.

If you have any questions, please have your staff contact Mr. Karl Mangels at 212-637-4078 or Ms.

Mazeeda Khan at 212-637-3715.

Sincerely,

John

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Filippelli, Director

Clean Air and Sustainability Division

cc: L. Femandez-Fontan, PREQB