THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

The Honorable William Harris Chief of Catawba Indian Nation 996 Avenue of the Nat ions Rock Hill , South Caro lin a 29730 Dear Chief Harri s: WA SHINGTON , D . C . 20460 

## lDEC 1 8 2014

I would like to summarize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent action to address fineparticle po ll ution on your reservatio n. As required by the Clean Air Act, the EPA has determined which areas are meeting the national ambient-air-quality standards for [me-particle pollut ion and which areas must take steps to reduce emissions that contribute to vio l ations ofthe standard. The EPA on December 14 ,20 12, strengthened the annual, health-based fine-particle standard from 1 5.0 micrograms per cubic m e ter (!J.g/m 3) to 12.0 !J.g/m3

. Tho usands of scientific s tudies have linked exposure to these tiny particles - approximately 1/3 0th the s i ze of a human hair - w ith serious health problem s including premature death in people with heart and lung disease, nonfatal he art attacks and increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency-room vis its for respiratory and cardio vascular disease. I appreciate the inf o rmation you and your staff h ave s hared with the EPA throughout this process to assess fin e-p article-p o llution levels in communities across your reservation and the impact of emission sources that could be contr ibuting to unhealthy air. After considering your recommendations, reviewing the most recent certified fine-particle air-quality data for your reservation and evaluating factors to assess contribution to nearby levels of fine-particle pollution, I have determined that no area within the Ca tawba Indian Nation reservation v iolate s the 20 12 standar d or contribute s to a nearby violation of the s tandard. As a result , th e EPA is designating all of the Catawba Indian Nation reservation "unc lassifiable / attainmen t. " Because air-quality monitoring for 2014 is nearly complete, the E PA, at a tribe ' s request, will evaluate the status of an area based on its annual fine-particle-monitoring data for 2012-14. If you would lik e the EPA to re-evaluate any a reas within your reservation , please submit complete, quality-assured and certified air-quality data for 20 14 to the EPA by February 27,2015. I recognize that the EPA s hares responsibility with the states and tribes for managing particle-pollution levels. Efforts by states and tribes to attain the 19 97 and 2006 fine-part icle -p o llution standards are already working to reduce unhealthy levels of fine-partic le pollution . In addition, current and upc oming federal standards and safeguard s, including po ll ution-reduction rules for power plants, vehicle s and fue ls will ensure steady reductions of fine-particle pollution and will protect public health in communities across the nation.

This paper i s pr i nted with vegetable-oil-based inks a nd is 100·percent pos tconsume r recycled material . chlorine-free-processed and recyclable .Together we have made considerab l e progress in reduc in g fine-particle pollution. Nationwide monitored levels of fine -particl e pollution have fallen 34 percent since 2000 when we first began such monitoring for particles of this size. I am confident this progre ss will continue as we work toward our shared goal of clean air.

For additiona l information about the se designations, please visi t www.epa.gov/pmdesignations.