UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 

REGION IX
 

75 Hawthorne Street
 

San Francisco, CA 94105·3901
 

OffiCE Of THE 

REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR DEC 0 9 2011 

Governor William Rhodes 

Gila River Indian Community 

P. O. Box 97 

Sacaton, Arizona 85147 

Dear Governor Rhodes: 

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 

preliminary decision to designate Indian country ofthe Gila River Indian Community as 

unclassifiable/attainment for the revised 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 

and to inform you of our approach for completing the designations for the revised ozone 

NAAQS. 

On March 12,2008, the EPA revised the NAAQS for ground-level ozone to provide increased 

protection of public health and the environment. The EPA lowered the primary ozone standard 

from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to 0.075 ppm to protect against health effects associated with 

ozone exposure, including a range of serious respiratory illnesses and increased premature death 

from heart or lung disease. The EPA revised the secondary 8-hour ozone standard, making it 

identical to the primary standard, to protect against welfare effects, including impacts on 

sensitive vegetation and forested ecosystems. 

Within one year of promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, the Clean Air Act requires the 

Governor of each state to submit to the EPA a list of all areas in the state, recommending 

designations with respect to the new or revised standard. Therefore, states were asked to submit 

their designation recommendations, including appropriate area boundaries, to the EPA by March 

12,2009 with respect to the revised ozone standards. Tribes were not required to submit 

recommendations, but were encouraged to participate in the designations process, and submit 

recommendations if they chose to do so. 

In September 2009, the EPA announced it was reconsidering the 2008 ozone standards. The 

Agency later took steps to delay the designation process for the 2008 ozone standards pending 

the outcome of the reconsideration. In September 2011, the Office ofManagement and Budget 

returned to EPA the draft final rule addressing the reconsideration of the 2008 ozone standards. 

On September 22, 2011, the EPA restarted the implementation effort by issuing a letter to clarify 

for state and local agencies the status of the 2008 ozone standards and to outline plans for 

moving forward to implement them. This letter was also provided to the tribes. In addition, 

several national tribal conference calls were held to describe the overall designations process. 

The EPA indicated that it would proceed with initial area designations for the 2008 standards, 

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and planned to use the recommendations states and tribes made in 2009 as updated by the most 

current, certified air quality data from either 2008-20 I 0 or 2009-2011, as appropriate. While the 

EPA did not request that states and tribes submit updated designation recommendations, the 

Agency provided the opportunity for them to do so. 

As required by the Clean Air Act, the EPA will designate an area as nonattainment if it is 

violating the 2008 ozone standards or contributing to a violation of the standards in a nearby 

area. Consistent with designations for previous ozone standards, the EPA intends to designate an 

area as unclassifiable/attainment ifthere are certified, quality-assured air quality monitoring data 

showing the area is meeting the ozone standards or there are no monitoring data for the area, and 

the EPA has not made a determination that the area is contributing to a violation in a nearby area. 

After considering relevant technical information, including the most recent three years of 

certified air quality data, the EPA intends to designate the Gila River Indian Community as 

unclassifiable/attainment along with the surrounding state area. 

The EPA will make its preliminary designation decisions and supporting documentation 

available to the general public for review and comment. We will be announcing a 30-day public 

comment period shortly in the Federal Register. After considering additional information, the 

Agency plans to promulgate final ozone designations in the spring of 20 12. 

EPA is committed to working with the states and tribes to share the responsibility of reducing 

ozone air pollution. Current and upcoming federal standards and safeguards, including pollution 

reduction rules for power plants, vehicles and fuels, will assure steady progress to reduce smogforming pollution and will protect public health in communities across the country. 

We look forward to working with you and your staff to develop area designations under the 2008 

ozone NAAQS in a timely manner. If your Tribe has any questions about the designations 

process, please do not hesitate to contact me or Amy Zimpfer, Associate Director, Air Division, 

of my staff at 415-947-4146 or zimpfer.amy@epa.gov. 

Jared Blumenfeld 

cc: Rudy Mix, Acting Director, DEQ