March 10, 2006

Mr. Bill Wehrum

Environmental Protection Agency

Mail Code: 6102T

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20460

Dear Mr. Wehrum,

On May 19, 2005, the Western States Air Resources (WESTAR) Council transmitted a set of 14 recommendations to Jeff Holmstead, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation that will significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. The undersigned western states air directors and federal land management agency representatives now request your attention to this topic because we believe the merits of proceeding ahead overshadow EPA’s apparent concern about the work effort to accomplish these changes. We believe that EPA’s implementation of these recommendations will address several flaws in the new source review program that were identified in the Office of Management and Budget’s recent assessment of EPA’s Air Quality Grants and Permitting programs, which, in their words “negatively impact the ability of the permitting programs to be effective and efficient”.

The recommendations represent a unanimous agreement between all of the state and federal land management agency participants. Members of the WESTAR Council, including air directors and their representatives from 15 states and 4 federal land management agencies worked together diligently for 18 months to develop consensus recommendations that benefited from the leadership and assistance of Bill Harnett from your OAQPS office. Our goal was to identify workable improvements for the PSD program whereby it could achieve its Clean Air Act objectives more effectively and more efficiently while solving some apparent gaps that have both stymied economic growth and in some cases inadequately protected the air resources. The purpose of this letter is to stress how important PSD reform is to WESTAR Council members and to urge EPA to expeditiously promulgate appropriate rules and guidance to improve the PSD program.

Unlike other regions of the country, many western states are experiencing significant growth – population growth, economic growth, and in many areas, increased air emissions. Much of the emission growth is from minor sources that can completely consume the increment of air pollution allowed under the current PSD rules – a condition that is not often discovered until a major source applies for a permit. The reforms we have recommended would give states the tools they need to track and manage minor source pollution growth, preserve PSD increments and preserve room for new major sources of air pollution. Simply put, better management tools will prevent last minute unanticipated roadblocks that can become the bane for a new development project where market timing conditions can make or break an investment decision.

In our original letter transmitting the recommendations, the WESTAR Council asked EPA to implement all 14 PSD recommendations. We believe that full federal action on these changes is the best course of action. This course will preserve a consistent national PSD program and the inherent “level playing field” character which has tremendous value for the business community and government. Yet, in the absence of a unifying action by EPA, those western states with authority to implement the recommendations consistent with their governing statutes and regulations intend to do so with or without any official EPA endorsement or adoption of the recommendations. WESTAR is a forum for western states founded upon mutual interest while respecting the right of each state to act independently for its own interest. Our states believe it will be far better to implement these changes to the PSD program with a unifying thread of endorsement and guidance that only EPA can provide. Air quality policies are far more robust when states retain common principles and technical procedures. Again, this is not only good for government efficiency but good for business and economic growth.

If EPA’s reluctance to move forward with these changes is largely due to the limitation of staffing resources and competition of those resources for other air quality issues, we would like to discuss this further. We believe there are partnership opportunities that could reduce the burden upon EPA or other methods to streamline the effort through an EPA endorsement or sanctioning of these changes that will support a consistent state by state approach.

In the absence of any unifying action by EPA, many western states will move ahead while others that have statutory restrictions will not. In ten years, a patch work of changes will prevail across the states.

WESTAR petitions you to reply on these PSD changes, to re-affirm your commitment to preserving a level playing field for PSD and new source review and engage with us in further dialogue to explore options that endorse and encourage states to improve their PSD program while retaining national consistency. The west needs these improvements to meet the congressional intent of the PSD provisions of the Clean Air Act.


Very truly yours,


Andrew Ginsburg
Air Quality Division Administrator
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality /
Brian Gustafson
Administrator, Air Quality Program
South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Christine L. Shaver
Chief, Air Resources Division
National Park Service /
Don Vidrine
Air Resources Management Bureau Chief
Montana Department of Environmental Quality

Jennifer L. Carr, P.E.
Chief, Bureau of Air Quality Planning
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection /
Margie M. Perkins
Director, Air Pollution Control Division
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Martin Bauer
Administrator, Air Quality Division
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality /
Mary Uhl
Chief, Air Quality Bureau
New Mexico Environmental Department

Michael Stoll
Acting Administrator, Air Quality Division
State of Wyoming /
Nancy C. Wrona
Director, Air Quality Division
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

Rich Fisher
Technical Air Program Manager
USDA Forest Service /
Richard W. Sprott
Director
Utah Division of Air Quality

Chief, Branch of Air Quality
Department of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service /
Stuart A. Clark
Air Quality Program Manager
Washington Department of Ecology

Scott Archer
Senior Air Resource Specialist
USDI – Bureau of Land Management /
Terry O’Clair
Director
North Dakota Department of Health

Tom Chapple
Air Quality Director
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation /
Wilfred K. Nagamine
Program Manager
Clean Air Branch, Department of Health