*** PUBLIC NOTICE *** U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Outer Continental Shelf Air Permit OCS

- EPA

- R400 8

for BHP Billiton Petroleum, Inc.

Public Comment Period: April 4

– May 7 , 201 2

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 BHP Billiton Petroleum, Inc. ( BHPB ), 1360 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 150

, Houston, Texas 77056 . The draft permit will regulate air pollutant emissions from on e of two deepwater exploratory drill ing vessels and associated support fleet that BHPB proposes to operate within DeSoto Canyon OCS lease block s 499, 543

- 545, 586

- 592, 631

- 640, 676

- 685, 721

- 729, 768

- 773, and 815

- 817 in the Gulf of Mexico

. The drilling area is located approximately 120 miles southeast of the nearest Louisiana shoreline, 139 miles south southeast of the nearest Mississippi shoreline, and 125 miles south of the nearest

Alabama and Florida shorelines. The project will last for less than two yea rs and does not include the establishment of any permanent production platforms

. EPA Region 4 is the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing CAA requirements for OCS sources in the Gulf of Mexico east of longitude 87.5 o

. Pursuant to section

328 o f 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, an OCS source is required to obtain an air quality permit before beginning construction and an operati ng permit within 12 months of becoming an OCS source

. BHPB has opted to apply for an operating permit concurrently with the preconstruction air quality permit. EPA has completed review of BHPB’s air permit application and supplemental material and is soliciting comments on o ur proposal to

issue Permit No. OCS

- EPA

- R400 8 to BHPB for an exploratory drilling project subject to the terms and conditions described in the permit

. EPA has prepared a draft permit for public comment, as well as a preliminary

dete rmination/statement of basis document that explains the deriva tion of the permit conditions. These documents are available on EPA Region 4’s website at: http://www.epa.gov/regi on4/air/permits/ocspermits/ocspermits.html

. To request a copy of these

documents or to be added to our BHPB permit mailing list, please contact: Ms. Rosa Yarbrough, Permit Support Specialist at 404

- 562

- 9643 or R4OC Spermits@epa.gov

. For questions on the

draft permit, please contact: M r. Andrew Porter at 404

- 562

- 91 84 or porter.andrew@epa.gov

. Send comments on the draft permit and requests for a public hearing to: Andrew

Porter

, EPA Region 4, APTMD

, 61 Forsyth Street, SW

, Atlanta, GA 30303 ; Fax: (404) 562

- 9 066

Email: R4OCSpermits@epa.gov , or submit comments electronically via www.regulations .gov
, which can be accessed through the EPA Region 4 website listed above. Public Comments must be received by email

, submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov

, or postmarked by May 7
, 201 2

. Public Hearing requests must be received by EPA by email or mail by April

20 , 2012

. Project Emissions: The maximum potential ann ual emissions in tons per year for each drillship and support vessel s are summarized in the fo llowing table. The project is a temporary source subject to Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V permitting requirements

. BHPB is required to apply Best Ava ilable Control Technology for emissions of NO X , CO, VOC,

PM/PM 10 /PM 2.5 , and greenhouse gases (GHGs)

.Po llutant C.R. Luigs

Potential to Emit, Tons per

Year DD1

Potential to Emit, Tons per Year Significant Emission

Rate, Tons per year PSD Review

Required?

PM 66.02 59.62 25 Yes

PM 10 41.15 34.94 15 Yes

PM 2.5 40.16 33.96 10 Yes

NO X 1 1699.60 1306.04 40 Yes

SO 2 1 0.91 0.88 40 No

H 2 SO 4 0.03 0.03 7 No

CO 373.69 308.53 100 Yes

VOC 1 81.61 74.36 40 Yes

GHGs (CO 2 e) 101,574.72 97,503.61 75,000 (subject to regulation threshold) Yes

Lead 0.02 0.02 0.60 No

1 NO X and VOC are the measured precurs ors for the criteria pollutant o zone. NO X & SO 2 are precursors for PM 2.5

.

Public Comments: Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit during the public comment period. If you believe any condition of the permit is inappropriate, you must ra ise all reasonably ascertainable issues and submit all reasonably available arguments supporting your position by the end of the comment period. Any documents supporting 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 generally available reference

materials.

Comments should focus on the draft air quality permit, t he permit terms, and the air quality aspects of the project. The objective of the OCS air quality program is to control air pollution from OCS sources to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards and to prevent significant adverse environmental imp act from air pollution by a new or modified OCS source. If you have more general concerns regarding things such as leasing, non

- air quality impacts, drilling safety, discharge, etc., these should be addressed during the leasing and approval proceedings of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is the lead agency for this project.

All comments on the draft permit must be received by email

, submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov , which can be accessed through the EPA Region 4 website listed above, or postmarked by May 7 , 2012 . 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. Comments must be sent or delivered in writing to the address above. All comments will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includ es Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you consider Confidential Business Information or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as

such and should not b e submitted thr ough email. If you send email directly to EPA, your email address will be captured automatically and included as part of the public comment. Please note that an email or postal address must be provided with your comments if you wish to receive

direct notif

ication of EPA’s final decision regarding the permit and responses to comments submitted during the public comment period

. All timely comments will be considered in making the final decision, included in there cord, and responded to by EPA. S imilar comments may be group ed together in our response,

and EPA will not respond to individu al commenters directly. Public Hearing: EPA has discretion to hold a public hearing if we determine there is significant public interest in the draft permit. Requ ests for a public hearing must be received by EPA by email or mail by April 20 , 2012 , and must state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. If a public hearing is held, you may submit oral or written comments on the proposed permit at the hearing. You do not need to attend the public hearing to submit written

comments. If there is significant public interest, a public hearing will be held on May 3 , 2012

, from 3:00 p.m. to 5 :00 p.m., at the following location : Palmetto Branch Library, 923 6th Street West, Palmetto, F lorid a
, 34221, (941) 722

- 3333. If no timely request for a public hearing is received or EPA determines that there is not significant interest, the hearing will be

cancelled. An announcement of cancellation will be posted on EPA’s website at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/air/permits/ocspermits/ocspermits.html or you may call EPA at the contact number above to determine if the public hearing has been cancelled.

Permit Documents: EPA’s draft permit and preliminary determination / statement of

basis ; BHPB ’s application and supporting documentation ; and comments received from the public, other government agencies, and the applicant during the public comment period 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 through EPA’s

website: http://www.epa.gov/region4/air/permits/ocspermits/ocspermits.html

. The administrative

record is also available at the EPA Region 4 office (please call in advance for available viewing times) : 61 Forsyth Street, SW

, Atlanta, GA 30303

, Phone: (404) 562

- 9 6 43

. Final Determination: A final decision to issue a 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 has adequate contact information.