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June 27, 2013 3: 00 p .m. PROCEEDINGS MS. CAROL KEMKER: Good afternoon . Welcome. My name is Carol Kemker. I am the acting director of the Air, Pesticides & Toxics Management Division of the U . S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 EPA, in Atlanta. I am the presiding officer for today' s public hearing . I would like to begin by thanking the West Florida Public Library by opening their beautiful LEED-certified facility for our hearing today. A special thanks to Mike Lane for helping us to make the arrangements . It makes a real difference to have such a great facility and great help in arranging these proceedings .

It is currently 3: 01 on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing is now in session . You will have the opportunity to make comments soon once I explain the hearing procedures and we provide a brief overview of the proposed permit action . We realize that air quality permitting is a complex issue, so informational materials are available on the table in the back of the room.

I would like to introduce a few of the staff from EPA Region 4 who are here today.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:04PM 03:04PM 03:04PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:05PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM 03:06PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **2** Ms . Kelly Fortin is an environmental engineer and coordinator of our Outer Continental Shelf Air Permits team. Ms . Eva Land is an environmental engineer from our Air Permits Section and on our Outer Continental Shelf team. We also have Rosa Yarbrough . She is an EPA contractor assisting us with logistics and registration . Ms . Yarbrough is sitting at the table in the back of the room, the registration table.

The purpose of today' s hearing is for the EPA to receive your comments regarding the EPA' s proposed revision to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton exploratory drilling project in the central Gulf of Mexico. You can find details about the proposed permit and the project at the back of the table and also on EPA' s Web site, and we will provide a brief overview of the proposed action in a few minutes .

Your comments today will go into the official record . The EPA will consider all comments related to the proposed action received on or before today when making its final decision on this permit revision . Since the purpose of this hearing is for the EPA to listen to your comments , the EPA will not be providing responses during the hearing , nor making a determination today on the proposed permit revision . Rather, the EPA will prepare a written summary of the

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comments it receives and the EPA' s responses . All comments received and the response to comments will be available as part of the administrative record at the time the EPA issues the final determination on the proposed revision .

Public notice of this action was given June 24, 2013, by publication in local newspapers in the Gulf region , by posting on EPA' s Web site, and by mail or e-mail to individuals on the EPA' s mailing list . A public hearing was requested by citizens in the Pensacola area. As the presiding officer for today' s public hearing , I will make sure that all members of the public here today have an equal opportunity to submit oral and written comments on this issue as part of the official administrative record . A certified court reporter will be transcribing a verbatim record during the hearing . If you present oral comments at today' s hearing , please speak clearly and slowly so that the court reporter can understand you and record your comments accurately. So that all those who wish to comment have the opportunity to do so and to assist the court reporter in recording your comments accurately, please note that shouting , noise making , or any disruptive conduct which prevents speakers or hearing officials

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from being heard or any other disruptions of this hearing are not permitted . Banners and posters will be allowed to be placed in the rear of the room.

A registration table is located in the back of the room. You do not need to register to attend the hearing . However, if you would like to receive notice of the availability of the EPA' s final determination and written response to the comments , please write your name and e-mail or postal address on the registration form. If you wish to provide oral comments at today' s hearing , I ask that you fill out a speaker card located at the registration table. Please write your name on the card legibly, and preferably in large enough print so I don ' t have to pull out a magnifying glass , since the court reporter will be relying on your card for the correct spelling and I will be relying on the card to call you up to speak. You may decide to speak and fill out a speaker card at any time prior to 7: 00 p.m. tonight . Before stating your comment I will ask you to state your name for the record . If you are representing an organization you may provide that information as well . Please note that the fact that you gave a comment today as well as your name will appear as part of the

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:10PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:11PM 03:12PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **5**

the official hearing transcript . A copy of that transcript from today' s hearing will be available for inspection at the EPA Region 4 offices located in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as on the EPA' s Web site and through www. regulations .gov. Contact information for this action , including addresses , phone numbers , and Web site is on the public notice and the fact sheet we have provided .

If you do not wish to speak today you can also submit written comments for the official record . Written comments and oral comments pertaining to the proposed revision will receive equal consideration by the EPA in making the final permit determination . If you would like to submit written comments while you are here today, please provide your written comments to the registrar, Rosa Yarbrough , at the registration table. If you have submitted written comments , it is not necessary for you to give oral comments as well .

If submitted by U . S. Mail , written comments must be postmarked on or before today, June 27, 2013. Comments submitted by e-mail must be also submitted by the end of today. The EPA' s notice of final determination on this permit revision and response to comments will be sent to each person who has submitted written comments or who has signed up at the

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registration table to receive comments and provided a valid e-mail or postal address . This information will also be available on EPA' s Web site and through www. regulation .gov.

It is important for you to know that we are here only to take comments on EPA' s proposed revisions to the permit previously issued for BHP Billiton ' s project . I ask that you refrain from making comments that are not related to this proposed action . We have provided microphones for your convenience, and in an attempt to ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak this evening , I 'd ask speakers to please keep your oral comments to the allotted three minutes , as this hearing session is scheduled to last until 7: 00 p.m. and it is our desire to hear from everyone who wishes to comment on this action .

I will limit speakers ' comments to three minutes . We have a speaker timer on the table - - you want to hold it up, Kelly? A green light will be lit when you have one minute remaining , the yellow light will be lit when you have 30 seconds remaining , and the red light will be lit when there is no more time remaining and a fairly noisy ringing sound will occur. I will then ask you to end your oral comments and invite you to submit a written comment if you wish to

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submit additional statements .

If we have additional time after everyone has had an opportunity to comment , I will invite anyone who wishes to make additional comments and has registered to speak to do so. We will also limit the second around of comments to three minutes per speaker. The second round of comments will not extend past 7: 00 p.m. If new commenters register during the second round , the new commenters will be given priority to speak. I will be calling speakers in the order in which they sign up to speak. Elected officials , however, who have identified themselves as such may speak first . If you are not in the room when I announce your turn to speak, I will recall you after all speakers have made their oral comments .

Now for a few logistical notes . The restrooms can be located by going out the door by the registration desk, down the hall , and take the first left and the restrooms are on the left . Also, please note there is a step up to the podium, both here and here, and please use caution while approaching and leaving the podium to avoid a trip or fall . Take your time, we' ll be here. Last but not least , please silence your cell phones as to not interrupt the proceedings .

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:15PM 03:15PM 03:15PM 03:15PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:16PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **8** Before we begin taking public comments , Kelly Fortin of my staff will provide a brief overview of EPA' s proposed permitting action . This brief presentation will then be followed by comments from any elected officials present today and then from persons on our registrar' s list .

MS. KELLY FORTIN : Good afternoon . My name is Kelly Fortin . I 'm an environmental engineer in our Air Permits Section and coordinator of our Outer Continental Shelf permitting team at EPA Region 4 in Atlanta, Georgia. Throughout my overview I will be referring to the Outer Continental Shelf as the OCS, and BHP Billiton , the applicant , as BHPB. Art Hofmeister, whose name you may recognize as the contact person for hearing requests and comments , is one of the project engineers on our OCS team responsible for working on this permit action . He is in Alabama today on another, unrelated project . Art is one member of the team that worked on this air quality permit along with myself and several others . Even though Art is not here today, I want you to know that we approached these permits as a team, and your comments on the proposed action will be considered .

Eva Land , who is also here today, is one of our OCS project engineers . We also have other

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:17PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **9**

scientists , compliance experts , source testing and monitoring experts , air quality modelers , legal counsel all were involved in writing the air quality permit for this and other OCS facilities .

I am now going to provide a brief overview of the proposed air quality permitting action that we are taking comments on today. A large amount of information and data is considered when we issue or revise an OCS air quality permit and the regulations are fairly complex, so I will do my best to try to distill this down to the relevant facts in the short amount of time. Additional materials regarding this action are available in the back of the room as well as on our Web site and in the administrative record for this action .

To start with , we have a fact sheet that describes the action as well as copies of the actual air quality permit and our preliminary determination described in the action . The preliminary determination is a rather quick read and is short . However, the air quality permit is 47 pages and I 'm not sure that I have enough copies for everyone. So hopefully, in the interest of saving trees , you can share with a neighbor or pull it up on your tablet . The Web address is on the fact sheet . I also brought

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:18PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **10**

two copies of our full analysis from the permit that we issued last year. They' re in the white binders , and you can look at them during the hearing or during the breaks . We are not taking comments on the original permit issued last year, but I brought it so you could see the extent of our analysis and in case you want additional information .

BHPB plans to use one of the two deepwater exploratory drilling vessels , the DD1 or the C.R. Luigs, including supply boats , to conduct exploratory drilling for up to two years in the DeSoto Canyon OCS lease blocks of the central Gulf of Mexico, approximately 120 miles southeast of the nearest Louisiana shore, 130 miles southeast of the nearest Mississippi shoreline, and more than 125 miles south of the nearest Alabama and Florida shorelines . This is beyond the area restricted by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act Moratoria that is in effect until 2022 . Air pollutant emissions generated from the Sake Project , as it is known , include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter which includes what we call PM10 that has a diameter equal to or greater than 10 microns , and PM2 .5 which has - - excuse me - - equal to or less than 10 microns , and PM2 .5

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:19PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:20PM 03:21PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **11**

which has a diameter of equal to or less than 2 .5 microns , and sulfur dioxide. These are also known as criteria pollutants . As well , they will limit other regulated air pollutants , including oxides of nitrogen , volatile organic compounds , and greenhouse gas emissions . These emissions are primarily released from the combustion of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel in the drilling vessel ' s main diesel engines that are used for electric power generation for the dynamic positioning thrusters that hold the rig in place. Diesel engines are also used to run cranes , a black start compressor, cementing operations , wireline units , and support vessel s that will be operating within 25 miles of the vessel .

This project is considered a temporary source under the applicable Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations and is also subject to our title V operating permit program. This permit does not allow for the construction of any platforms or permanent structures .

BHP' s drilling plan has been approved by the Department of the Interior' s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or the BOEM . The BOEM is the lead agency responsible for leasing and drilling approvals . It is not part of EPA' s authority to grant or deny such

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approval . The EPA Region 4 is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Clean Air Act requirements for OCS sources in the Gulf of Mexico east of 87.5 degrees longitude. West of this longitude, the BOEM has authority not only for leasing the drilling and plan approvals , but also for the implementation of the Clean Air Act .

Pursuant to Section 328 of the Clean Air Act and the applicable Air Quality Regulations , an OCS source is required to obtain an Air Quality Permit before operating east of 87.5 degrees longitude. In other words , we regulate - - we, EPA, regulate the emissions from the drilling rig that has authority from BOEM to drill on our side of the Gulf and to make sure that they comply with the Clean Air Act , including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards .

In May of 2012 , after an opportunity for notice and comment , we issued an air quality permit to BHPB. The 47-page permit includes , among other requirements , conditions requiring Best Available Control Technology, or BACT, the use of ultra low sulfur fuel s , source testing , monitoring , and recordkeeping . To obtain this permit , BHPB was required to identify every emissions unit on the drilling rig right down to painting and emergency

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standby generators , and to estimate the emissions of regulated air pollutants from its equipment using specific methodologies . They also have to perform other analyses to ensure that they will not cause air quality or visibility degradation to sensitive areas such as the Breton Wildlife area.

It typically takes months for the applicant to prepare such an application . My group then spends months reviewing these documents to ensure that every applicable Clean Air Act requirement has been identified , such as the Federal New Source Performance Standards for diesel engines , fuel tanks , applicable air toxics facilities such as RICE MACT, permitting requirements such as those under our Prevention of Significant Deterioration or title V operating permit program. For those pollutants the project emits in significant amounts , such as nitrogen dioxide or particulate matter, and these are identified on the fact sheet that you have, every unit or activity that emits these pollutants must use Best Available Control Technology. After identifying all the applicable requirements and control technology requirements , we convert those requirements into individual permit limits and permit requirements complete with

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compliance measures , recordkeeping , monitoring and reporting . Needless to say, it takes weeks and sometimes months for us to prepare such a document .

On May 3, 2013, BHPB submitted to EPA an application to update their emission estimates for their operation and to revise the Best Available Control Technology emission limits for the eight main engines on the DD1 for three of the subject air pollutants ; particulate matter, VOC, and greenhouse gases . BHPB requested these revisions because the original permit limits for these pollutants were established using estimated emission factors from other engines , not on their facility. Source testing is now available from the actual engines on the DD1 which more accurately reflect the emissions from these engines on the drilling rig operated under the terms and conditions that we set out in the permit including the use of the control technology. Included in our application to revise the BACT emission limits for the specified engines , BHPB performed a revised BACT analysis , a revised air quality analysis , and updated its emission estimate for the regulated air pollutants .

A company and EPA may rely upon estimated emission factors when they are preparing an

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application . This is allowed because it ' s still to come under our permit , they may not have the required control technology yet installed , and in the case of drilling rigs , they might think we' re not required to perform source tests when they were operating in other parts of the world or in other parts of the Gulf outside EPA' s jurisdiction . The permit revision does not constitute a modification of the facility nor change in the proposed drilling operation nor change in the applicable requirements . What this is , is a revision to the permit to base some of the emission estimates and limits on better data than we had when the permit was written last year. It does not waive any air quality requirements or standards . Quite the opposite. All standards must still be met .

When a company needs to revise their estimated emissions , we essentially have to go back through the applicable requirements and make sure no new ones are triggered , that the control technology is still appropriate and the standards are still being met . In general , the emissions limits for PM , VOC, and greenhouse gases are higher than those in the original permit , but primarily for low load operations , But they are still below applicable standards . The EPA has established new high and low

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load emission rates to ensure that when the engines are operating at high loads , they will continue to be required to be maintained and employ the best combustion practices to achieve the lowest emission rates . For the PM limits we actually changed the emission limits to something higher than what the company proposed , not because their emissions would be higher, but because we wanted them to report their testing data in a different way, including what is known as the condensable fraction of the emissions . We believe that with this revised methodology we can better ensure that we are able to determine compliance and to accurately account for all emissions . Because the revised limits are higher than those originally proposed for the project , the applicant sent in a revised modeling analysis which included analysis of impact to the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the St . Marks National Wildlife Refuge, the Bradwell Bay Wilderness Area. These Class I areas are areas considered to have sensitive ecosystems . Based on EPA' s review of this modeling and input received from the Federal Land Manager that is responsible for the air quality in this area, and nearest estimate of the Air Quality Related Values and visibility impact , we

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believe that the project applicants have continued to demonstrate that the proposed project does not impact any Class I area. This analysis is available in the administrative record .

While these revisions are relatively minor in the scope of the permit , certain changes to permit such as those effective emission limits which EPA has determined on a case-by-case basis require public notice when modified , so we commenced a 30-day public notice process on May 24 of this year. We noticed the hearing on May 24 in several papers around the Gulf as well as on our Web site, and provided e-mail notification to those that signed up on our mailing list . We are holding this public hearing here because your community requested a hearing , not because we believe that there will be any air quality impact from these revisions at this location .

We are now seeking public comment on the revisions incorporated into the revised OCS permit for BHPB. If you believe that the revisions to the permit are inappropriate, you must raise all reasonably available issues , arguments , or data supporting your position by the end of the public commentary. Comments should focus on the revisions to the air quality permit . If you have general comments

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:28PM 03:28PM 03:28PM 03:28PM 03:28PM 03:28PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM 03:29PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **18**

regarding non-air quality impacts , leasing , drilling , safety, discharge, or other similar issues not subject to this public comment period , you should consider addressing them during the leasing and permitting procedure of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management , which is the lead agency for offshore drilling plans in the Gulf. What we are considering today is whether we set these new emission limits appropriately, whether we considered the appropriate data, and whether you have any additional data or information that would lead you to believe that the limits we set are not appropriate.

As Carol indicated , this a formal public hearing rather than a public meeting . Hence, we will not be taking questions during the hearing or engaging in any substantive discussion about the permit during the breaks . We understand , however, that air quality permitting can be complex, and it is important for the public to understand this process . You can find additional information regarding the OCS permitting process on our Web site, and I am happy to answer general questions regarding EPA' s role in the OCS permitting during the break. You can also call my office at any time for additional information about this process . Thank you for your attendance and

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:29PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:30PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **19**

participation .

MS. KEMKER: Thank you , Kelly. Now we will listen to comments concerning the proposed revisions to the permit . I will read the commenters ' names , call you up one at a time, then you ' ll be using the light here on this table. And I will apologize up front if I mispronounce your name. I will do the best that I can , but please restate your name once you come to the podium.

Our first speaker will be Lynn Laird , who is Chair of the Board for the Escambia Soil & Water Conservation .

MR. LYNN LAIRD: That ' s me. I 'm also a very liberal Democrat and I want you to know that . Wow, I ' m so excited that we had the dissertation on my Ph . D. in environmental oil drilling , etc. Unfortunately, it was in psychology. I also feel very comfortable that the organization Ocean Management , who granted BP all their licenses to drill , they' re involved in saying this is okay. And we all know what happened to Ocean Management in regards to BP.

Now, going forward here, I am trying to figure out PM , PM10, etc. The bottom line it looks like is that we' re going to be able to allow them to have 50 percent over what was originally stated , and

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:31PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:32PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **20**

maybe 50 percent less , but we' re going to give them 50 percent more. Yes , I am Chairman of the Board of Escambia County Soil & Water Conservation District . I ' m an elected supervisor, and we get reports all the time from independent people concerning the air quality in Escambia County. Right now we' re the eleventh dirtiest air quality in the United States , and now we' re finding out that the Atlanta EPA wants to be able to allow a little more diesel engines to pollute 125 miles away from here with the prevailing wind that when you ' re out on the beach you ' ll be able to enjoy the smell .

I think this is wrong . I am trying to figure out who approved it , when it was approved , and I will be quite honest with you folks , I know you ' re hired help, you ' re doing what you ' re supposed to do, but my next step this afternoon or tomorrow, as we all know, Senator Nelson , a good Democrat , is opposed to any drilling in the Gulf, and I 'm going to be calling him and saying do you understand this lecture I got on PM and PM10 and PM2 .5, etc. , and it says that the local EPA, Art whatever his name is , thinks that they can go 55 percent over the original limit . I 'm going to be interested to see what Senator Nelson has to say about that . Now, of course, we all know what Congressman

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:33PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:34PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **21**

Miller and Rubio are going to say. They' re drill , baby, drill . I thought when my president got into office that he got rid of those type of people in the EPA. I know it ' s not true in Florida, but at least at the federal level . So, yes , I 'm very concerned that the air quality of this area is not going to get any better, it ' s going get worse, and they've got these funny, little rules , but I feel it ' s wrong . They did a very good job of white-washing all that statistical stuff, and yet we have an environmental engineer here. Well , I could play the same game if I wanted to lecture you on psychology. Thank you very much .

MS. KEMKER: Thank you . Our next speaker will be Carol Tebay.

MS. CAROL TEBAY: I 'm Carol Tebay, and thank you for giving us the chance to speak. I have little knowledge of all the particulate matter, organic compounds and greenhouse gases for which BHPB has requested to make higher emissions into our environment . I do know that the risk of asthma attacks , lung and heart disease remain critical . Last year, Inspector General Arthur Elkins , Jr. , the EPA' s internal watchdog , said , "Limited data and unreliable estimates on air pollution from oil and natural gas production is hinderi ng the EPA' s efforts to police

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:35PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:36PM 03:37PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **22**

drilling . The EPA has failed to directly measure emissions from some pieces of equipment and processes , and some estimates it does have are of questionable quality. With limited data, human health risks are uncertain . " This is all what he had to say. "With budget cuts , I doubt the EPA has been able to remedy this situation . I ask that until the EPA is able to directly measure emissions instead of letting oil and gas producers police themselves , that requests to increase polluting emissions be denied . " Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: I would ask that to keep the proceedings moving that you refrain from applause. I will now call Dr. Gloria Horning .

DR. GLORIA HORNING: Do I need to repeat my name? MS. KEMKER: Please.

DR. HORNING: Dr. Gloria Horning , Ph . D. , Environmental Communication and Science. Our community here for the last three years has been bombarded with pollutants all the way up from Cantonment all the way down to here through the other industries . President Obama just said yesterday, just yesterday, he is committed to cutting carbon pollution in America, he wants to lead the international effort on combating global climate change, and yet today

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:37PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **23**

we' re looking at more CO2 in our area. I don ' t know how we do this . There' s one thing that the rich can ' t run away from, and that ' s air.

But this is what I want answered in the reply: How are they inspected? Are they inspected any more than BP was inspected? Who is doing the inspection? Who is monitoring the compliance? Because we know with BP that didn ' t happen . Let ' s talk about those muds that they' re using . We can ' t go back wards as President Obama is trying to move us forward and we' re trying to live in this environment and we keep poking holes in mother nature expecting us to live through it . I 'm also saddened that this meeting , at 7: 00 tonight no other public input , it ' s closed . Boy, they timed that pretty quickly and nicely, didn ' t they, for all of us to know. So hurry up, by 7: 00 tonight that ' s the end . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Thank you for your comments . We will have the - - Kelly, would you like to comment on just a correction for the record for the public comment period?

MS. FORTIN : Sure. The public comment period closes at 11 :59 tonight . The flier that you-all saw was created by a citizen , and it ' s through today, the end of today.

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:38PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:39PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **24** MS. KEMKER: And it ' s been open since May - - MS. FORTIN : May 24. MS. KEMKER: So our next speaker will be Pattie Krakowski .

MS. PATTIE KRAKOWSKI : I agree with all of the comments that I have heard so far and I 'm sure I will agree with most of the comments being made by the people here who are. We've lived here during Deepwater. We know that we live in one of the most polluted areas in the country, that oncologists from other parts of the United States moved to Pensacola and Escambia County because of the high cancer rate that we have here, and I am against any further drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. And it sounds good on paper, but as we learned with BP, when push comes to shove what was supposed to happen didn ' t . The effects of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will be with us long after any person working for the EPA and doing their study will be around . That ' s all I have to say.

MS. KEMKER: Thank you . Kim Schulz . MS. KIM SCHULZ: Hi , I 'm Kim Schulz . When I was a freshman in school , we had to take a civics class as part of that curriculum, and I read in that class so much about the U . S. Constitution , how it was explained to us about checks and balances , and today

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:40PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM 03:41PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **25**

that ' s exactly what we' re asking you to do, to balance the playing field . You have the power to say no to this oil company and to set an example that we will not sacrifice any more of our precious resources to greed . That includes my air. This past fall , my step-children and a grandchild came down to visit . My other half, their mother, took them to the beach , and when they returned they all had sore throats . When I go to the beach , if the wind is blowing from the south to the southwest , I get a nagging cough and I come home with a sore throat just as well , which is where the wind was blowing the day the wife took the kids to the beach .

We haven ' t even begun to recover from the damage Deepwater Horizon has caused to our environment , and yet there' s another oil company requesting that we risk our health and possibly our livelihood for the sole purpose of oil . We' re not done. We know there are alternative energy sources . And we know from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that deregulation is not being answered for sure. When I sit here and talk to you , I see intelligent human beings . Yet we, the people, have to form citizen coalitions to get corrected another topic, oil disbursements , removed from the EPA approved list of

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:41PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:42PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **26**

disbursements because the EPA has no procedure in place to do so. Do you realized how incredible stupid that sounds to the average citizen? You ' re supposed to be working for us , not against us .

We used to be able to pull air quality tables from a regional Internet site, but that data was removed shortly after the Deepwater Horizon blew and it ' s still unavailable today. We know we have poor air quality here. We knew that before the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Clean Air Act was put in place for a reason . Every American in the United States is aware of climate crisis and how it ' s affecting us all . From a legal standpoint , I insist that you uphold the Clean Air Act and deny BHP the permit to air quality standards or requirements . Even though you say it ' s not waiving them, you ' re waiving them. But from one human being to the next , I ask you not to allow BHP or any other oil company that builds offshore platforms to steal our breath away from us , because we don ' t have no more to give. Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Jo Billups . MS. JO BILLUPS: Good afternoon . My name is Jo Billups . I teach environmental education and I have for about the last 20 years . I want to say that since the Deepwater Horizon spill we are overloaded

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:43PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:44PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **27**

with VOCs here and hydrocarbons . Our children have been exposed to things that there aren ' t even markers for because we' re not supposed to be exposed to them. So for you to be able to make a correct assessment about how much should be released in the air you would have to know what we've already been exposed to and what ' s already in the air. Our health is compromised , our children ' s health has been compromised . We don ' t want this to be a petroleum-compromised zone. Every ecosystem out there has been compromised and some of them have not come back and won ' t come back. It ' s very difficult , and , in fact , impossible at this point for us to be in partnership with an oil company or to welcome another oil company. It ' s not going to happen . We' re a walking climate change. We are ground zero for climate change for so many reasons . We can ' t handle this anymore. We' re overwhelmed . The rare cancers that we' re seeing from Louisiana all the way across the coast of Florida, it ' s unbelievable. So we are just not in a position to have this , not now and not ever. Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Elaine Sargent . MS. ELAINE SARGENT: Well , I came here today and heard your statement about that you ' re not waiving the Clean Air Act , and frankly, my argument was based

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:45PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM 03:46PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **28**

on that because I knew that was how we would win in the case. It seems like it ' s already decided that the permit is issued because you 've already looked at the data. And we' re not scientists . I 'm with a group called 350 Pensacola, and I am very concerned about carbon being emitted into the atmosphere. So I will oppose all offshore drilling . I don ' t know that my statement is going to make a big difference today since the Clean Air Act , as you say, is not being waived and that is the power that is in your hands . So to say that you can ' t waive this important law because it impacts our health may be moot at this point . But with our climate changing and our environment constantly being impacted by carbon going into our atmosphere by our fossil fuel use, we don ' t think it ' s the right time to pursue oil and gas . We would like to see our Environmental Protection Agency stand up for us and protect all of us as it is meant to do, instead of being an agency that permits the oil companies to continue to bombard us with this carbon going into our atmosphere.

I would like to read this one paragraph that I think kind of sums it up . It ' s a conclusion in a paper if you want a copy of this : "The environmental impacts of offshore oil exploration and production are

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:46PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:47PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **29**

complex and far-reaching . Petroleum-produced water and the chemicals used to extract petroleum from under the ocean have mechanical , toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic impacts on marine life and the humans who eat its marvelous bounty. But most profoundly, the compression of petroleum is a major contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which in turn drives global warming and ocean acidification . " We don ' t need that . Therefore - -

MS. KEMKER: If you ' ll wrap up soon . UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I 'm sorry, that was two minutes and 25 seconds .

MS. SARGENT: So I 'm here today to say I oppose the permit , and we will be finding other ways to oppose permits down the road if you issue this permit . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Ms . Sargent , do you have anything further since we made an error in your timing? MS. SARGENT: Like I said , I 'm here with 350 Pensacola, and our group and the environmental activists in this community will stand up against the offshore drilling . And we may not be able to affect this particular permit , but we' re here to voice our opinions and make our voices heard by everyone in the

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:48PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:49PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **30**

world if it takes that , because we can ' t take it anymore what ' s impacting our health .

MS. KEMKER: And if you would like to submit the paper to Rosa for the record . Do we have further commenters registered?

MS. PAMELA COREY: (Inaudible) my card , but I wrote something on it .

MS. KEMKER: So you can either read it or I can read it for you . Either one is fine.

MS. COREY: I can read it . My name is Pamela Corey. MS. KEMKER: Pamela Corey.

MS. COREY: Like many of us here, I 'm a very many-generation Floridian , memories of the beach my entire life, yet my grandchildren aren ' t getting because their mothers are afraid to take them to the beach . We know there' s still current (inaudible) and oil out there. And so we have a whole generation coming up not having the same thing we had when we were kids . The entire Gulf of Mexico is actually a fragile and sensitive ecosystem, not just parts of it but all of it . And BP proved that big oil could not be trusted to clean up, to drill . They can ' t be trusted . They were inept at cleanup, choosing to use dispersants rather than skimmers . And since this time

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:50PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:51PM 03:52PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **31**

we have had multi ple health impacts here, as the people before me said , cancer, asthma, rashes , migraines , ear infections , everything , our children have, our grandchildren have. I don ' t know how many people have died of cancer and have cancer. I don ' t even keep track of it anymore because so many people are becoming ill .

And if we allowed this ocean that we are entrusted to protect to be further raped by the oil companies with their deep-water drills , we are sacrificing an integral part of this planet to big oil greed . And we don ' t get the money from it . We' re not like Norway. Norway, they use their oil money, the government does , for people to have pensions and health care and things like this , and they' re still planning for the future with developing other clean energy. We' re not doing that . This is Florida, we should have solar. We should be totally solar by now, like Germany, and developing that . We don ' t need to let this ocean be exploited by big corporations any longer. That ' s all I have to say.

MS. KEMKER: Do we have others registered to speak? We will take a brief recess until we have additional registered - - oh , we have one more. Do we have a speaker card? We have Tim Reeves .

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:52PM 03:52PM 03:52PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:53PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:54PM 03:55PM 03:55PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **32** MR. TIM REEVES: I 'm Tim Reeves . I 've lived within 20 miles of the Gulf of Mexico for well over 40 years , and I 'm shocked at how we've allowed the environment that ' s associated with the Gulf to be just manipulated by corporations and big business . But it ' s not just our environment ; it ' s our government too. We have lobbyists that basically tell you what to do instead of you operating , you know, unfettered . I ' m sick of having the lobbyists from the energy industries . They've just in 2012, they donated or they spent $14 million on lobby elements , and compared to regular citizens , we can ' t compete. We can ' t get a voice in our government . And , you know, I ' ll go down the list : Coke Industries , Exxon Mobil , Chesapeake Energy, Chevron , Halliburton . You know, the list goes on and on . They' re all - - they' re buying our legislators . Our legislators are telling EPA what to do. It ' s just wrong . You need to work unfettered , okay? You-all are scientists . You know what ' s right . You need to do what ' s right .

The president has issued a statement saying that he' s against H . R. 2231 , and it had everything to do with our environment . And at least our president , he' s not always doing the right things , but on this he' s speaking up to protect us with environmental

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:55PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:56PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **33**

regulations . I see the BSEE is having a meeting today and it ' s in Washington , D.C. , and it would have been nice to have representation from the BSEE here, okay? But they have a meeting , and it takes away James Watson , who, you know, is in charge, and he needs to hear what our concerns are. Anyway, also the Florida EPA director is not here because she' s in the same meeting in Washington .

Personally, I don ' t see all the data that I need to have to understand this whole permit . I need to see if they've met all the bonding requirements . And I 've read through , you know, the different stuff that you have from the BOEM and also the BSEE. And I know that they have to meet financial obligations and I don ' t see any record of that in the information that you offered , but I would like to know if they put up the proper bond and are they prepared to deal with if they abandoned the rig . I 've heard or I read that the estimated cost to remove the rig is $2 million .

MS. KEMKER: Sir, I ask that you conclude your comments soon .

MR. REEVES: Okay. Anyway, I 'm against permitting any of the new oil exploration . And the BP mess still lingers . They just found a tarmac that was huge. After removing the sediment and everything else

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:57PM 03:58PM 03:58PM 03:58PM 03:58PM 04:17PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 04:17PM 04:17PM 04:17PM 04:17PM 04:17PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **34**

it still is a 6000-pound piece of oil junk and that ' s just not a good thing for anybody. Anyway, there' s more that I 'd like to say. I ' ll be back in the next round if I can . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Do we have any other registered commenter? We' ll take a brief recess until 4: 15 and then we' ll reopen for additional comments . Upon resuming : 4: 15 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: Good afternoon . I am Carol Kemker. I am the acting director of the Air, Pesticides & Toxics Management Division of the U . S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 EPA, in Atlanta, Georgia, and the public hearing officer for today' s hearing . It is currently 4: 15 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on EPA' s proposed revisions for the air quality permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now call any additional speakers that have signed up to provide comments . Our first speaker after the recess will be Theresa Graff.

MS. THERESA GRAFF: I came here today and I really didn ' t know whether I would have anything to say or not . Everything that I 've got to say is directed directly toward the EPA and its officers . I ' m a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast . I 've seen

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:18PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:19PM 04:20PM 04:20PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **35**

more devastation and destruction in our area in the last three years , I 've seen more dead dolphins , more dead sea turtles , more dead fish , and more dead birds than I ever cared to see or thought I would see in my life. I cannot believe that you would actually consider, in a place that has the seventh lowest air quality in the nation , to be so bold as to introduce measures that would actually allow people to come in here and pollute it further by an additional 100 percent . It ' s not 50 . When you take that number and double it , it ' s 100 . The audacity of the EPA to say that they represent the people and they' re willing to overlook these things , I can only assume that the motivation is greed .

I would ask, since he' s not here, for your representative to take a good , hard look at why he' s doing what he' s doing . What is his standard for the area that you live in? We have one chance. We have one shot to keep this from happening , because once it happens here, it ' s going to happen all up and down your coast . It ' s going to happen in Alabama. And once that happens , our Gulf is not our Gulf anymore. It belongs to the corporations . I would ask you to reconsider this whole package you 've got going . Represent the people that you say you represent .

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:20PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:21PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **36**

This is not a protection agency anymore. It ' s been sold to the highest bidder and I would ask you to reconsider. Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Our next commenter will be Mary Gutierrez .

MS. MARY GUTIERREZ: I 'd like to thank you for giving us an opportunity to speak to you today. As an environmental scientist , and I 've been here for at least 30 years , here referring to Northwest Florida, I started my career as an analytical chemist testing some of these parameters that are actually on this list . I changed over and worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Air Resource Management Program. And I bring that up just to let you know that I am not - - these parameters of pollutants are not foreign to me. I am quite well aware of the environmental public health impact associated with them, and I know this forum is particularly for the increase of some of these parameters .

I would like to strongly urge you to deny this request to increase these parameters as listed here because of the environmental impacts and the public health implications . And as stated the first time before by some of the other speakers , this area

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 04:21PM 04:21PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:22PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:23PM 04:24PM 04:24PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **37**

has a long history of health issues , environmental issues , and we certainly do not need an increase in any of these things . You guys are all probably familiar with atmospheric deposition , coastal breezes , all that ' s going to end up in the land . It ' s not only an aquatic issue, it ' s a terrestrial issue as well . So we need to just keep everything in perspective and focus . And so again I say, do not allow an increase in any of the open parameters . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Is that all the speakers we have today, for right now?

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Are you guys staying here until 7: 00 regardless so the people getting off at 5: 00 have a chance?

MS. KEMKER: Absolutely. The question for the record is , will the hearing remain open until 7: 00, and that is correct . The hearing will remain open until 7: 00 and everyone who registers to speak prior to 7: 00 p.m. will have an opportunity to speak. We can take people who would like to speak again now until we - - and we' ll follow the parameters that I set forth at the beginning . It will be an additional three minutes , and we can have a set period of time for that until we have an additional new speaker register. So if you are interested in speaking

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 04:24PM 04:24PM 04:25PM 04:25PM 04:25PM 04:25PM 04:48PM 04:48PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 04:49PM 04:49PM 04:49PM 04:49PM 04:49PM 04:51PM 04:51PM 04:51PM 04:51PM 04:51PM 05:03PM 05:03PM 05:04PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **38**

a second time, please register with Ms . Yarbrough .

I will now close the public record for another brief break and we will reconvene and reopen the record for any additional speakers at 4:45 .

(Recess 4: 25 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 4: 45 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: Welcome and good afternoon . I am Carol Kemker, the acting director of the Air, Pesticides & Toxics Management Division of the U . S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 EPA, in Atlanta, Georgia, and the presiding officer for today' s public hearing . It is currently 4:46 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on the EPA' s proposed revision to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now check to see if there are any additional speakers that have signed up to provide comments .

Given that we have no additional speakers registered to speak at this time, I am now closing the public record for another brief break and we will reconvene and open the record for any additional speakers at 5: 00 p .m. Thank you .

(Recess 4: 51 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 5: 02 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: Welcome and good afternoon .

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:04PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 03:03PM 05:04PM 04:49PM 04:49PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:05PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **39**

I am Carol Kemker, the acting director of the Air, Pesticides & Toxics Management Division of the U . S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 EPA, in Atlanta, Georgia, and the presiding officer for today' s public hearing . It is currently 5 : 02 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on the EPA' s proposed revision to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now call on any additional speakers that have signed up to provide comments . Our first speaker will be Paul Doom.

MR. PAUL DOOM : Yes , I was wondering , the proposal that - - how much emissions are they saying they' re going to be above? Have they said how much they' re going to sit there and emit from their engines? MS. KEMKER: Well , I ' ll provide some clarification . This is an opportunity for you to provide us comments . It ' s a public hearing to hear comments on the proposed permit action . Unlike a public meeting where it ' s more of a question-andanswer session , this is a public hearing proceeding for you to give us your comments on the action .

MR. DOOM : Okay. Would a construction company that was working here be able to do the same thing?

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:06PM 05:07PM 05:07PM 05:07PM 05:07PM 05:07PM 05:07PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM 05:08PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **40** MS. FORTIN : He can ask his questions and we can respond in the record .

MS. KEMKER: That is true. We can respond in the record if you have questions , but we won ' t be responding here today. These are for us to receive questions and comments so that we can take them back and consider them as we view our actions .

MR. DOOM : Okay. The first question was , how much more are they going to emit , are they asking to raise? And would the contractor in town be able to do the same thing as they are doing out there, emit more? And who is going to be overseeing this monitoring? Will it be daily or weekly or monthly? Will they have, I guess , a gauge on there where it gives the air quality, and will it be available to the public? And this was 135 miles out , I think that ' s it , and the line was 125 miles for the line where it changes from state to, I guess , federal . And I guess that ' s all the questions that I can think of right now. MS. KEMKER: Thank you for your comments . I ' ll now call Karen Elizabeth Johnson .

MS. KAREN ELIZABETH JOHNSON : I too would like answers to all those questions as well . Also, when would there be a public meeting where we can ask

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:09PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM 05:10PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **41**

questions and get answers immediately? The problem that I have - - one of the problems that I have is I do not trust them to monitor it themselves and not go higher. And also, I don ' t think the emissions should go higher for them in any circumstances either, because they' re going lie about it . I mean , they will push it to the limit and then some, and if nobody is watching over them 24-7, they' re going to do what they' re going to do. And I don ' t know if you get in the Gulf or not , or if you 've been wheezy, or if you have all of a sudden any kind of chemical sensitivity to the ocean , to the sand , to the air, but I do, and I did not before the oil spill . And now I won ' t put my foot in the water because nobody is doing testing . I ' m on St . Joe Beach . They do border testing for bacteria, but they' re not testing for oil (inaudible) . But you can see them, but they don ' t pick them up. So why should they be allowed to do anything more than they already do, is my statement . And , um, I 'm sure there' s a lot more. Thank you .

MS. FORTIN : You can provide written comments as well . MS. JOHNSON : And questions?

MS. KEMKER: For the record , we will be open to receive both oral and written comments until the

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:10PM 05:11PM 05:11PM 05:11PM 05:11PM 05:11PM 05:11PM 05:12PM 05:12PM 05:12PM 05:12PM 05:33PM 05:33PM 05:33PM 05:33PM 05:33PM 05:33PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM 05:34PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **42**

end of today. Do we have any further registered - -

MS. JOHNSON : Can I ask one more question on the record? As far as anything for air quality for any city in the United States , where do you find it?

MS. KEMKER: So the question we will put in the record . No further speaker? I am now closing the public record for a brief break and we will reconvene and reopen the record for additional speakers at 5: 30 p .m. (Recess 5: 12 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 5: 31 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: Welcome and good afternoon . We are reopening the public hearing . It is currently 5: 31 on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on EPA' s proposed revisions for the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . We will now call additional speakers that have signed up to provide comment . Kathryn Doom.

MS. KATHRYN DOOM : Thank you . My name is Kathryn Doom. I came to this meeting thinking it was a question-and-answer session , so I 've sort of thrown together some comments quickly for our family and our neighbors . I spoke earlier this month with Mr. Hofmeister' s support staff on the telephone and they told me that they could not comment on a safety

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plan regarding the special drilling safety hazards because this is for oversight of the drilling equipment emissions only. And I guess I can ' t ask questions . But actually I believe there' s a direct correlation from the emissions of the drilling equipment to the drilling safety hazard , because the equipment is drilling . This equipment can ' t just be out on the platform doing nothing . It is drilling for - - I assume it ' s drilling for a well or it ' s drilling for oil or whatever they' re drilling for. I assume it ' s oil . I believe this is very dangerous to the atmosphere, to the air and our water.

As far as I know, there was no air quality being checked as of July ' 10, because I spoke to an EPA employee on the beach . He gave me a card and I have at home. I didn ' t think about bringing it today. All I remember is it was Charlie, he was a supervisor. You know, we noticed a funny smell to the air and I knocked on the window of his truck. He was sitting in an air-conditioned truck overseeing workers . I asked him, I said , is the air being monitored , what is the smell? I don ' t know if it was chemicals . I do know now it was VOCs , volatile organic compounds , because my family all have lethal levels of VOCs , and we've been tested twice. Three years later, we all have

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lethal levels of VOCs in our bloodstream. I have two children that are critically ill that were totally healthy. My whole family was healthy. We moved to Florida to have an enjoyable retirement , and now - - I mean , we especial ly moved to Florida. We didn ' t realize all these wells were in the Gulf, but we were so happy when we learned that Florida didn ' t have wells . Well , now somebody has built a drilling site or well platform ten miles outside of the water line for Florida. And from what I understood from my conversation with him, that it would be BOEM and Congress that decides who can drill or not . You all are just overseeing the emissions .

But like I said , so he said he would check on it - - I 'm going back to the gentleman in the truck - - he would check on it and I could call him at any time. In the meantime, my family, from 2010 until the present and ongoing , were constantly in search of medical care. But suddenly it ' s ironic that we start seeing EPA buses going up and down Highway 98 in a beach community that was seven feet from the water in Florida. And we' re actually 180 miles by coordinates from the Deepwater Horizon rig , and that ' s where we got our exposure from. Of course, the jet stream, people don ' t realize this - - I mean , I know you-all

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:37PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **45**

do, but most people that live around me do not realize, because we've researched it intensely and are involved with scientists , researchers , chemists and so on , the jet stream, people in Florida are more adversely affected from that one alone because of the jet stream and how our levels have actually been the highest in the Gulf.

Like I said - - kind of slow down here a little bit . So basically we can ' t be outside for any length of time or even go into the water. And I know, I could just basically comment , but I do have a - - I ' ll close with one question . If this is going to be land and water level monitoring or just out on the platform or is it going to be on the land too for the residents? And the bad issue about all this is , the worst issue, and I was in health care for 22 years , is that we have lethal health conditions and no one will address them. We cannot get any help. I take my children all over the country. I 've taken them to Los Angeles . We've been advised to go to foreign countries , but because of the state the world is in I did not take them to other countries because I had more fear of going out of the country. It probably would have been a smarter thing to do based on health .

My children , I have a 15-year-old and a

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:38PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:39PM 05:40PM 05:40PM 05:40PM 05:40PM 05:40PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **46**

25-year-old , they' re critically ill . It ' s real sad , because we - - like I said , we came down here to retire, to be happy, to enjoy the beach life. You know, we came to use the white sands . We have now become bonded and have a camaraderie with people up and down the coast . We' re not trouble makers , we just want things to be safe. We want everyone to be able to breathe the air, drink the water, go in the water. We can ' t go in the water. We can ' t be outside for ten minutes without - - I mean , you know, without having trouble breathing , among other things . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Thank you for your comments . Do we have any other registered speakers at this time? We will take another brief break until 10 to 6 : 00 and we will reconvene and see if we have additional registered speakers . We will close the record at this time. (Recess 5: 40 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 5: 53 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: Welcome and good afternoon . We are reopening the public record . It is currently 5: 53 p .m. on June 27, 2013 . Now the public hearing on the EPA' s proposed revisions for the air quality permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now call any registered speakers up to provide comments .

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:55PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 05:56PM 06:19PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM 06:20PM TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **47**

Scott Miller.

MR. SCOTT MILLER: Thank you . I am Scott Miller, in-house counsel representing BHP Billiton Petroleum, Inc . , the permittee for this matter. We support EPA' s draft permit revision and request that it be issued as proposed . Thank you .

MS. KEMKER: Are there any additional speakers registered at this time? Seeing none, we will recess until 6: 15 . I am now closing the public record for a brief break and reopening the record for additional speakers at 6: 15 p.m.

(Recess 6: 00 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 6: 17 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: It is currently 6 : 17 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on EPA' s proposed revisions to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now call any additional speakers that have signed up to provide comments . Are there any additional speakers?

I am now closing the public record for a brief break seeing that there are no additional speakers . We will reconvene and open the record for any additional speakers at 6: 30 p.m.

(Recess 6: 20 p .m. )

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Upon resuming : 6: 37 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: It is currently 6 : 37 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on EPA' s proposed revisions to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now call any additional speakers that have signed up to provide comments . Are there any additional speakers who have registered? Seeing that there are no additional speakers that have registered to provide comments , I will close the public hearing - - I mean I am now closing the public record for a break until such time as we have additional speakers register to speak, and then I will reopen the record for any additional speakers .

(Recess 6: 40 p .m. ) Upon resuming : 6: 59 p .m.

MS. KEMKER: It is currently 6:59 p.m. on June 27, 2013, and the public hearing on EPA' s proposed revisions to the Air Quality Permit for BHP Billiton is resumed . I will now check to see if any additional speakers have registered or signed up to provide comments . Are there any additional speakers?

MS. ROSA YARBROUGH : We have none. MS. KEMKER: Before we conclude this public hearing , is there anyone else who has registered , has not commented , and would like to comment? As there

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TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **49**

are no further comments , I will conclude this public hearing at 7: 00 p.m. Thank you all for coming and providing input to our permitting process .

(WHEREUPON , the public hearing was concluded at 7: 00 p.m. )

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 TERRY HOFFMAN - COURT REPORTER **50** CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF ESCAMBIA I , TERRY RUSHING HOFFMAN , Court Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of Florida, do hereby certify: That I was authorized to and did stenographically report the foregoing proceedings , and that the transcript is a true and complete record of my stenographic notes . I further certify that I am neither counsel for nor related to any party to said action , nor am I financially interested in this proceeding . DATED this 9th day of July, 2013.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TERRY RUSHING HOFFMAN