Area Designations for 2008 Lead Standards
Announcements
November 8, 2011 - The EPA completes area designations for the 2008 lead air quality standards.
- List of nonattainment areas (PDF) (1pg, 54k)
- Learn more
June 15, 2010 - The EPA responds to state recommendations on areas meeting and not meeting the 2008 lead standards.
Learn more
This web site provides information about EPA's actions designating areas for the health-based standards established in 2008 for lead pollution.
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to issue designations after the agency sets a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) or revises an existing standard. EPA formally designates areas as “nonattainment” (not meeting the standard), “unclassifiable/attainment” (meeting the standard or expected to be meeting the standard despite a lack of monitoring data), or “unclassifiable” (insufficient data to classify).
Once nonattainment designations take effect, the state and local governments have three years to develop implementation plans outlining how areas will attain and maintain the standards by reducing air pollutant emissions contributing to lead concentrations.
This Web site contains the following information:
State Designations: State area designations for the 2008 lead air quality standards are summarized here.
Tribal Designations: Tribal area designations for the 2008 lead air quality standards are summarized here.
Frequent Questions: Answers to common questions regarding
lead in air and the designations process.
Related Links: Related sites offering further information and assistance.
Glossary: Explanations of the technical terms and acronyms used
throughout the site.
EPA has similar sets of web pages for ozone designations, fine particle (PM2.5) designations, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) designations, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) designations.