UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

REGION 4 

The Honorable Bill Haslam 

Governor, State of Tennessee 

State Capitol, First Floor 

600 Charlotte A venue 

Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0001 

Dear Governor Haslam: 

ATLANTA FEDERAL CENTER 

61 FORSYTH STREET 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-8960 

FEB - 6 2013 

Thank you for your staffs recommendations dated May 26, 2011, with updates on June 3, 2011, January 

23, 2012, and January 28, 2013, on air quality designations for the State of Tennessee for the 2010 

revision to the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for sulfur dioxide (S02). Reducing levels 

ofS02 pollution is an important part ofthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's commitment to a 

clean, healthy environment. Exposure to S~ can cause a range of adverse health effects, including 

narrowing of the airways which can cause difficulty breathing and increased asthma symptoms. This 

letter is to notify you of the EPA's preliminary intentions regarding your recommended designations. 

On June 3, 2010, the EPA strengthened the health-based or ''primary" standard for S02 by establishing a 

standard for 1-hour average S02 concentrations at a level of 7 5 parts per billion. The Clean Air Act 

requires the EPA to complete the initial designations process within two years of promulgating a new or 

revised standard. If the Administrator has insufficient information to make these designations, the EPA 

has the authority to extend the designation process by up to one year. On July 27, 2012, the EPA 

announced that it had insufficient information to complete the designations for the 1-hour so2 standard 

within two years and extended the designations deadline to June 3, 2013. 

At this time, the EPA is proceeding with designating as nonattainment most areas in locations where 

existing monitoring data from 2009-2011 indicate violations ofthe 1-hour S02 standard. The EPA 

intends to address the designations for all other areas in separate future actions. With input from a 

diverse group of stakeholders, the EPA has developed a comprehensive implementation strategy for 

these future actions that focuses resources on identifying and addressing unhealthy levels of S02. The 

strategy is available at: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/implement.html. The EPA will 

continue to work closely with you and our other partners at the state, tribal and local levels to ensure 

health-protective, commonsense implementation of the 1-hour S02 standard. 

Consistent with the Clean Air Act, after carefully considering Tennessee's recommendations and all of 

the associated technical information for the 201 0 S02 standard, including the most recent air quality data 

from 2009-2011, the EPA intends to designate as nonattainment the following areas, including the 

following counties or portions of counties: 

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

Recycled/Recyclable • Printed w"h Vegetable 00 Based Inks on Recycled Paper (Minimum 30% Postconsumer) 
NonattahunentAiea 

Sullivan County, TN 

County 

Sullivan County (p) 

(p) indicates portion of county 

The EPA will continue to work with state officials regarding the appropriate boundaries for the areas in 

Tennessee. If Tennessee has additional information that you would like the EPA to consider, please 

submit it to us by AprilS, 2013. We also will be publishing a notice in the Federal Register announcing 

a 30-day period for the public to provide input on EPA's preliminary designation decisions regarding the 

areas that we would designate as nonattainment based on monitoring data. We intend to promulgate 

these designations for areas with monitored violations of the 2010 S02 standard by June 2013. We are 

not yet prepared to propose designations action or seek public comment on other areas. 

We look forward to a continued dialogue with you and your staff as we work together to implement the 

2010 primary S02 standard. For additional information regarding initial designations on the S02 

standard, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/so2designations. Should you have any questions, 

please do not hesitate to call me at 404-562-8357 or Beverly Banister of my staff at 404-562-9326. 

Sincerely, 

~~J;~i!(f 

Enclosure 

cc: Robert Martineau 

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of 

Environment and Conservation {TDEC) 

Barry R. Stephens, P .E. 

Regional Administrator 

Director, TDEC Division of Air Pollution Control 

Robert H. Colby 

Director, Hamilton-Chattanooga County Air Pollution Control Bureau 

Lynne Liddington 

Director, Knox County Air Quality Management 

Robert Rogers 

Manager, Memphis-Shelby County Health Department 

Pollution Control Section 
John Finke 

Acting Director, Nashville Metropolitan Public Health Department 

Pollution Control Division 

Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation 

Stephen D. Page, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards