*** PUBLIC NOTICE *** U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Outer Continental Shelf Air Permit OCS

- EPA

- R4012

for Statoil Gulf Services
, LLC
Public Comment Period: August 9, 2013

– September 9 , 201 3
The United States Envir onmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a draft Clean Air Act (CAA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) air permit for Statoil Gulf Services

, LLC ( Statoil ), 2103 CityWest Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston , Texas 77042. Statoil has applied for an OCS air permit pursuant to section 328 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) from EPA Region 4 . The proposed air permit will regulate emissions from a proposed exploratory drilling operation within the DeSoto Canyon lease area
of the OCS. The proposed project will include mobiliza tion and operation of one of two deep water drilling vessels , the Maersk Developer drill rig or the Transocean Discoverer Americas drill ship

, and
associated crew and support vessels

. Drilling operations may occur for up to 1 8 0 days per year within
Statoil’ s DeSoto Canyon lease blocks for a period of five to ten years

. The proposed project is for exploratory drilling only and does not include the establishment of any permanent production platforms. Statoil proposes to conduct exploratory drilling at multiple sites within its DeSoto Canyon lease blocks designated Lease Sale areas 213 and 222 . These lease blocks (numbers 143, 187, 188, 230, 231, 625, 669, 670, 671, 715, 716, 759, 760, and 804) are located in OCS waters of the Gulf of Mexico east of longitude 87.5 °, approximately 160 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 200 miles southwest of Panama City, Florida

. EPA Region 4 is the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing CAA requirements for OCS sources in the Gulf of Mexico east of longitude 87.5o. Pursuant to section 328 of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. § 7627, and the air quality regulations applicable to OCS sources set forth in Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 55, this project is required to obtain an OCS air quality permit and is subject to Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements th at apply to major sources and
also to title V operating permitting requirements. Statoil must apply best available control techn ology ( BACT ) , among other requirements, for emissions of NO X

. The maximum potential annual emissions in tons per year for each drilling vessel and its support vessels are detailed in the application materials and preliminary determination/statement of basi s. Potential annual emissions are also summarized in the project fact sheet

. Permit Documents: EPA has prepared a draft permit for public comment, as well as a preliminary determination/statement of basis document that explains the permit conditions. The se documents are available on EPA Region 4’s website at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/air/permits/ocspermits/ocspermit s.html

. To request a copy of these documents or to be added to our Statoil permit mailing list, please contact: Ms. Rosa Yarbrough, Permit Support Specialist

, at ( 404 ) 562

- 9643 or yarbrough.rosa@epa.gov

. For questions on the draft permit, please contact: Ms

. Lori Shepherd at ( 404 ) 562

- 8435 or shepherd.lorinda@epa.gov

. EPA’s draft permit and preliminary determination/statement of basis; Statoil’s application and supporting do cumentation /data ; and comments received from the public, other government agencies, and the applicant during the public comment period will become part of the administrative record for the permit. All data submitted by the applicant is available as part of the administrative record. The
administrative record is available at www.regulations.gov (d ock et # EPA

- R04

- OAR

- 2013

- 0577 ), which
can also be accessed through EPA’s website given above , and at the EPA Region 4 office (please call in advance for available viewing times) at : 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303; Phone: (404) 562

- 9643. The web sites can be accessed through free internet services available at local public libraries.
Public Comment s: All comments on the draft permit must be received by email at R4OCS permit s@epa .gov, submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov (docket # EPA

- R04

- OAR

- 2013

- 0577 ), or postmarked by September 9
, 2013

. Comments sent by mail should be addressed to: USEPARegion 4, Air Permits Section APTMD, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 Attn: Rosa

Yarbrough

. An extension of the 30

- day comment period may be granted if the request for an extension adequately demonstrates why additional time is required to prepare comments. Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit during the public

c omment peri od. If you believe that any conditions in the permit are inappropriate, you must raise all reasonably ascertainable issues and submit all reasonably available arguments supporting your position by the end of the comment period. Any documents sup porting your comments must be included in full and may not be incorporated by reference unless they are already part of the record for this permit or consist of state or federal statutes or regulations, EPA documents of general applicability, or other

gene rally available reference materials.
Comments should focus on the draft air quality permit

. If you have general comments regarding
offshore leasing, non

- air quality impacts, drilling safety, discharge, or other similar issues not subject to this public co mment period

, you should submit them during the leasing and approval proceedings of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is the lead agency for offshore drilling

. All comments will be included in the administrative record without change and will b e made available to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you consider Confidential Business I nformation or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through email. If you send email directly to EPA, your email address will be captured automatically and included as part of the public comment. An email

or p ostal address must be provided with your comments if you wish to receive direct notification of EPA’s final decision regarding the permit and response to comments submitted during the public comment period. All timely comments on the draft permit will be c onsider ed in making the final
decision

. EPA will respond to all significant comments on the proposed permit and may summarize and group similar comments in our response . EPA will not respond to individual commenters directly. Public Hearing: Public Hearing requests must be in writing and received by EPA by August
30

, 2013. Requests should be sent by email to R4OCSp ermits @epa .gov or by mail addressed to: USEPA Reg ion 4, Air Permits Section

, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. EPA will ho ld a public hearing if the Agency determine s that there is a significant degree of public interest in the draft permit . Requests for a public hearing must state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. If a public hearing is held, you may submit oral and/ or written comments on the proposed permit at the hearing. You do not need to attend the public hearing to submit written comments. If EPA determines that there is a significant degree of public interest, EPA will hold a public hearing from
5:30 to7:0 0 pm on September 16 , 2013 , at : Bay County Public Library
, Northwest Regional Library System

, 898 W 11th Street
, Panama City, FL 32412

- 0625; (850) 522

- 2119

. If a public hearing is held, the public comment period will automatically be extended to the close of the public hearing. If no timely request for a public hearing is received, or if EPA determines that
there is not a significant degree of public interest

, a hearing will not be held

. S uch an announcement will
be emailed to our OCS public notice list and posted on EPA’s website given above

, or you may call
EPA at the contact number above to determine if the hearing will not be held

. If a public hearing is held, EPA staff will be available prior to the he aring, from 4:00

- 5:30 pm

to answer questions and provide additional information on this proposed action duri ng an informal public information session. You are not required to attend the information session to comment at the public hearing, and you may also obtain additional information about the project at EPA’s website listed
above

. Final Determination: A final decisio n to issue the permit or to deny the application for the permit shall be made after all comments have been considered. Notice of the final decision shall be sent to each person who has submitted written comments or requested notice of the final permit decision, provided EPA ha s adequate contact information.