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

The Honorabl e Jack Dalrymple Governor ofNorth Dakota 600 East Boulevard Ave nue Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-0100 Dear Governor Dalrymple: 

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THE ADMINISTRATOR

I am writing to summari ze the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ' s recent action to address fine particle pollution in your state. As required by the Clean Air Act , the EPA has determined which areas are meeting the national ambient air quality standard s for fme particle pollution and which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that contribute to violations of the standard. On December 14,2012, the EPA st rengthened the annual, health-based fine particle standard from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (J..lg/m3) to 12.0 J..lg/m 3

. Thousands of scientific studie s have linked exposure to these tiny particles--approximately 1130th the size of a human hair-with serious human health problems including premature death in people with heart and lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, and increased ho spita l admission s and doctor and emergency room visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease. I appreciate the information you and your staff have shared with the EPA throughout this proce ss to assess fine particle pollution levels in communities across your sta te and the impact of emission sources that could be contributing to unhealthy air. After considering your recommendations , reviewing the most recent certified fine particle air quality data for your state and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby levels of fine particl e pollution , I have determined that no area within North Dakota violates the 20 12 standard or contributes to a nearby violation of the standard. As a result , the EPA is designating all ofNorth Dakota "unclassifiable /attainment. " Because air quality monitoring for 2014 is nearly complete, if a state or trib e requests it, the EPA will evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine particle monitoring data for 2012-20 14
. If you would like the EPA to re-evaluate any areas within your state, please submit to the EPA, complete, quality-assured and certified air quali ty data for 2014 by Febru ary 27 ,20 15. The EPA shares responsibility with the states and tribes for managing particle pollution levels. Efforts by states and tribes to attain the 1997 and 2006 fine particle pollution standards are already working to reduce unhea lthy levels of fine particle pollution
. In ad dition , current and upcoming federal standard s and safeguards , including pollution reduction rules fo r power plants, vehicles and fuels will assure stea dy reductions of fine particle pollution and will protect public health in communitie s across the country.

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. epa.gov Recyc l e d/Recyc l a ble • Prinled w i th Vegelable Oil Based Inks on 100% Poslconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled PaperTogether, we have made considerab l e progress to reduce fine particle pollution. Nationwide, monitored l evels of fine particle pollution fe ll 3 4 percent since 2000 when we first began nationwide monitoring for particles of t his size . I am confident this progress will accelerate as together we continue to work towards our shared goal of clean air. F or additional information about these designations , please visi t our webs i te at: www.epa.go v/ pmdesignations .

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or your staff may contact Mark Rupp, Deputy Associa te Adm i nistrator for Intergo vernmen t al Relations, at rupp . mark @ epa.gov or at (202) 564-7178. Si ncerely ,