Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0061-0629
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2004-12-21T05:00Z

9­
1
9.
Responses
to
Comments
EPA
Region
9
(
Arizona,
California,
Guam,
Hawaii,
and
Nevada)
9­
2
Comment:
1092­
1
Region:
9
State:
AZ
Area:

Comment:
The
commenter
recommends
that
EPA
designate
the
air
quality
management
area
within
the
Gila
River
Indian
Community
(
GRIC)
as
unclassifiable
for
the
PM2.5
NAAQS.
This
area
includes
all
GRIC
lands
within
both
Maricopa
and
Pinal
Counties.

This
recommendation
is
based
on
the
following:

1.
Current
monitoring
data
for
fine
particulate
matter
collected
since
March
2002
indicates
the
GRIC
air
quality
is
well
within
the
required
standard
for
PM2.5.
A
third
year
of
data
is
required
to
make
a
designation,
however,
the
GRIC
does
not
anticipate
elevated
levels
from
sources
on
or
off
the
GRIC.

2.
An
emissions
inventory
of
the
various
pollution
sources
within
the
GRIC
was
performed
in
1997.
Findings
indicated
that
sources
most
likely
to
emit
significant
levels
of
fine
particulates
are
not
present
in
the
GRIC.

EPA
Response:
Thank
you
for
your
letter
of
June
17,
2004
regarding
the
PM
2.5
designation
recommendation
for
the
areas
under
the
Gila
River
Indian
Community's
jurisdiction.
EPA
has
reviewed
your
recommendation
and,
consistent
with
Section
107(
d)(
1)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
we
are
informing
you
that
we
intend
to
designate
the
geographic
area
covered
in
your
recommendation
as
attainment/
unclassifiable,
as
you
recommended.

Comment:
1013a­
6
Region:
9
State:
CA
Area:
Los
Angeles­
South
Coast
Air
Basin,
CA
Comment:
The
Los
Angeles
CMSA
also
includes
Ventura
County,
which
must
be
part
of
the
nonattainment
area.
The
current
PM2.5
three­
year
annual
average
is
14.5
µ
g/
m3,
which
is
very
close
to
the
annual
standard.
The
air
quality
in
this
area
must
be
protected
along
with
the
rest
of
the
Los
Angeles
nonattainment
area.
EPA
has
also
recommended
the
exclusion
of
parts
of
Los
Angeles,
Riverside
and
San
Bernardino
Counties
due
to
low
emissions,
lower
populations
and
physical
separations
from
the
main
portion
of
the
CMSA.
According
to
EPA's
June
29,
2004
letter
to
California,
total
emissions
from
the
excluded
portions
of
these
four
counties
totals
over
65,000
tons
per
year
of
reactive
organic
gas
(
ROG),
98,000
tons
per
year
of
NOx,
over
3,500
tons
per
year
of
SOx
and
over
20,000
tons
per
year
of
PM2.5.
While
these
emissions
do
not
make
up
the
majority
of
emissions
for
the
nonattainment
area,
they
are
nonetheless
significant
enough
to
impact
the
nonattainment
area.
We
emphasize
again
the
importance
of
including
entire
counties
in
this
nonattainment
area.
9­
3
EPA
Response:
EPA
thanks
the
commenter
for
his
comments
regarding
the
designations
for
the
PM2.5
standard.
EPA's
decisions
on
the
State's
recommendations
are
contained
in
the
June
29th
letter
sent
by
EPA
to
California
Governor
Schwarzenegger
which
may
be
found
in
the
docket
for
this
action.

Comment:
1091­
1
Region:
9
State:
CA
Area:
San
Diego,
CA
Comment:
The
commenter,
on
behalf
of
the
Pala
Band
of
Mission
Indian
Reservation,
recommends
that
the
lands
within
the
exterior
boundaries
of
the
reservation
be
classified
and
designated
as
Unclassifiable
for
the
PM10
and
PM2.5
NAAQS.
The
commenter
notes
that
the
reservation
occupies
approximately
12,000
acres;
has
a
population
of
1,200
people;
and
is
situated
in
a
valley
with
livestock
ranches
on
the
western
boundary,
citrus
groves,
gravel
and
sand
pit
operations
on
the
eastern
part
of
the
reservation,
and
a
casino/
hotel
complex
and
a
two
lane
state
highway
crossing
the
reservation.

The
Pala
EPA
is
currently
conducting
PM10
and
PM2.5
monitoring
with
a
co­
located
Anderson
Dichot
Sampler.
Sampling
data
has
been
generated
for
one
and
a
half
years
but
the
required
3
years
worth
of
data
has
not
been
collected.
Current
information
indicates
that
the
reservation
will
meet
the
NAAQS.

EPA
Response:
We
have
reviewed
your
recommendation
regarding
the
PM
2.5
designation
for
your
area,
and
wish
to
inform
you
that,
at
this
time,
EPA
does
not
intend
to
implement
your
recommendation,
and
instead
intends
to
include
the
Pala
Indian
Reservation
in
the
surrounding
"
nonattainment
area"
(
area
not
meeting
the
PM2.5
health
standard).
It
should
be
noted
that
this
decision
is
not
final;
EPA
expects
to
make
final
decisions
on
PM
2.5
designations
in
November.
In
making
this
determination
regarding
air
quality
in
your
area,
we
reviewed
a
number
of
factors,
including
ambient
air
monitoring
data,
modeled
air
pollution
levels,
patterns
of
pollution
transport,
and
meteorology.
Because
PM2.5
is
a
regional
pollutant,
high
levels
can
be
widespread,
and
will
often
affect
areas
far
from
urban
centers
and
pollution
sources.