UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENC Y WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

The Honorable Mark Williams Com missioner Georgia Department of Natu ral Resources 

# MAR 

# 2 02015

2 Martin Lu ther K in g Jr
. Dr ive, SE, Suite 1252 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Dear Mr. Williams: OFFICE OF AIR AND RADIATION

I am w riting to update you on the status of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's progres s in implementing the primary at io nal Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) fo r sulfur dioxide (S 0 2) se t in 20 10 at 75 parts per billion (ppb) as a 1-hour average. In July 2013 , the E PA identified areas in 16 states as nonattainment and expressed the intent to address des ign ations for th e remainder of the country in separ ate future ac tion s . On March 2, 2015, the U.S
. District Court for the Northern District of Ca li fornia accepted as an enf orcea ble order an agreement between the EPA and Sierra Club and Natural R eso urces Defense Council to resolve litigation concerni ng the deadline for completing the designations. The court's order directs the EPA to complete designations in three add iti o nal rounds: the first round by Jul y 2, 2016 , the second round by Decembe r 31, 20 17 , and the final round by December 31. 2020. T he EPA will co mplete these designati on s by designating areas as e ither nonattainment , unc l ass ifiable / attainmen t, o r unc lassitiable. In the fi rs t round of de s i g nations , the EPA will d es ignate two grou ps of areas: I ) areas that have newly mo nitored violation s of the 20 I0 S02 standard , and 2) areas that contain any sta tionary source t hat according to the EPA 's A ir Markets Database either emi tted more than 16 , 000 t o ns ofS02 in 2012 o r em itt ed more than 2,600 tons of S02 and had an e mi ss ion rate of at leas t 0.45 lbs S02/ mmb tu in 2012 and th at ha s not been announced (as ofMarch 2, 2015) f o r retirement. In the enclosure to this letter, the EPA provides the schedule we intend to follow to meet the Jul y 2, 2016, d eadline. T he EPA has ide n tified th e following area in your state as one that may hav e a newly recorded v io lat ion of th e 20 10 S 0 2 standard based on pre limi nary a ir quality m o ni toring data co ll ected betwee n 20 12 and 2 0 14:

I n ternet Address (URL) • h ttp://www

. epa . gov Recycled/Recyclable • Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer , Process Chlorine Free Recycled PaperState County Air Quality Monitor Locati on 2012 - 2014 Systems Monitor Preliminary S02 I dentificat i on Number Design Value (ppb) GA C hath am 13-051-1002 Pumping Station 78 In tersection of W . Lathrop and August Ave.

Sava nnah , GA 3 1415 The E PA has also identi fted the followi n g electric power plant source in your s tate as meeting the crite r ia established in the court's order: 2012 S02 2012 so2 Sta t e Coun t y Facility Name Em i ssions E m iss ions Rate (tons) ( lb / MMBtu) GA Bartow Robert W Scherer P ower Plant 42,349 0.372 (P lant Scherer) The E P A will use the most recen t available information when making de signat i on and boundary decisions for the ind i cated areas. If you would li ke to submi t updated r ecommendations and supporting information for the EPA to consider fo r the affected areas in your state, we request that you do so by

Septembe r 18 , 20 1 5 . The E PA has updated it s March 24, 2011, designation guidance for the 20 I 0 S02 sta ndard to support analysis of designations and boundaries for th ese n ext rounds of designations. The updated guidance can be found on the EPA ' s website at hllp :l/ epa.gov / airquality / sul(urdioxide / guidance . htmf. The EPA has

a l so provided two technical assistance documents that provide advice on the use of modeling and monitor i ng data w h en determin i ng if an area is meeting or not meeting the 2010 S02 s t andard. Th ese documents can be found on the EPA's website at http :// epa.gov/airquality/sul(urdioxide / implement.html. T h e court's order direct s the E PA to complete th e seco nd round of a r ea desi g n ations by Dec ember 31, 2017. These designation s would address area s where s t ates have not in s t alled and begun op erating a n ew

S02 monitoring netw o rk meet i ng the EPA's specifications referenced in our proposed rule tit led, " Dat a Requirements Rule for the !-hour S02 primary NAAQS". This rule, which was p roposed in the Federal Register on May 1 3 , 2014 , would direct state and tr i bal a i r agencies to provide data to characterize cu r rent air quality in areas with large sou r ces of S0 2 i f such areas do not have sufficient air quality monitoring in p l ace t o identify maximum S02 concentrations. The data collected as a r esu lt of this proposed rule would be used in the designations process. Lastly, th e court ' s order directs the EPA to designate a ll remainin g areas by De ce mb er 3 1 , 2020. The EPA wi ll provide states with additional information o n th e designations process associat e d with these later deadline s at a l a t er date.We look forward to continued dialogue with you and your staff as we work together to implement the 20 I0 S02 standard and achieve its intended public health protection. For additiona l information regarding designations for the 2010 

# so2 standard , please visit our website at 

### www. epa.gov /

so2design ations. S hould you h ave an y questions, please do not hesitate to call me or Scott Mathias of my staff at 919-541-5310 and 

### mathias.scott @ epa.gov. S inc ere ly ,

Janet G. McCabe Acting Assistant Administrator
Enc losure
cc: Heather McTeer EPA Region 4 Admini strator

### ENCLOSURE TIMELINE FOR 2010 PRIMARY S02 NAAQS DESIGNATION PRO CESS FOR AREAS ASSOCIATED WITH JULY 2, 2016, COURT-ORDERED DEADLINE* Milestone Date** 

### Court Order March 2 , 2015 States may submit updated recommendations No later than September 18 , 2015 and supporting information for area designations to the EPA The EPA notifies states concerning any o/a January 22 , 2016 , but absolutely no later intended modifications to their than 120 days prior to final designa ti ons, i.e ., recommendation s (120-day letters) March 2, 20 16 T he EPA publi shes pub li c no tice of state o/a February 3 , 2016 recommendation s and the EPA's intended modifications and initiate s 30-day public comment period End of 30

-day public comment period of 

### a March 4 , 2016 States provide add itional information to o/a April 8 , 2016 demonstrate why an EPA modification is inappropriate The EPA promul gates fina l S02 area No la ter than Ju ly 2, 20 16 designati ons (no later than 16 month s from Court Order)

.. 

### * The court's order directs the EPA to promulgate additional rounds of designations by December 31 , 20 17 , and by December 31 , 2020. 

## * * o/a 

### = on or about