POSTPONED – PUBLIC HEARING FOR AIR PERMIT APPLICATIONS

8/3/2020 UPDATE:  Due to concerns of potential impacts from Hurricane Isaias, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has postponed the digital public hearing, originally set for Monday, August 3, for two draft air quality permits for Carolina Sunrock LLC in Caswell County. The rescheduled hearing date and time will be announced at a later date.

Event: Public Hearing for Carolina Sunrock, LLC

WebEx Link: https://bit.ly/2ZjUDjY

Date and Time: August 3, 2020 at 6 p.m.

Event Password: NCDAQ

Attend by phone: +1-415-655-0003 Access Code: 161 301 4755

Public notice information:  https://deq.nc.gov/carolina-sunrock-hearing

Below are some tips to help you prepare for the online public hearing on Monday evening:

1. Register.  To speak at the hearing, you must register by 4:00 p.m. on August 3, 2020.   NOTE:  If you registered to speak at the June 29th hearing that was postponed, you do not need to register again to speak at this hearing.  To register, visit: https://bit.ly/3gal8iB or call Ms. Zaynab Nasif at (919) 618-0968 to be added to the speakers’ list.  They will only call on people to speak if that have registered in advance.  If you do not wish to register to speak, you can still attend the hearing to watch and listen.

2. Prepare your comments.  Write down what you want to say.  Keep it under 350 words (about 3 minutes), but be prepared to reduce it to about 250 words (about 2 minutes).  NC DAQ will allow between 2 to 3 minutes per speaker, but we will not know exactly how much time each speaker has to talk until the hearing.  A recent hearing allowed 2 minutes and another allowed 2-1/2 minutes.  They will cut you off abruptly if you go over their time limit.

3. Learn.  Learn how to connect to Webex.  See https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/Air%20Quality/rules/hearing/instructions-on-ways-to-join-webex.pdf for instructions and watch the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l_W-iiGi_Q.  To give you an idea of how the DAQ digital hearing may go next week, see the recent Webex recording of DAQ’s June 22 hearing on an air permit for a wood pellet company at https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/Air%20Quality/permits/hearings/Public-hearing-for-Active-Energy-Renewable-Power–20200622-2200-1–1-.mp4

4. Test your connection.  DAQ highly recommends testing out your computer’s WebEx capabilities prior to the digital public hearing. Click this link to test an online hearing: https://www.webex.com/test-meeting.html.  Once connected, check out the various settings on the Webex test page.  Ensure your microphone works and you know how to adjust the microphone and speaker volumes.  Most likely, you will be joined by audio only during the hearing, so your web camera will not be needed. You will be able to see the information that DAQ shares on their screen such as the speaker countdown clock and list of speakers.

5. Join the hearing.  On August 3, go to the WebEx Link https://bit.ly/2ZjUDjY and start connecting into the hearing at least 10 minutes early (by 5:50PM).  This will give you time to provide information they require (name, email), download and start the Webex application, and have DAQ allow you into the hearing.  They will begin promptly at 6PM unless there are technical difficulties.  Most likely when you enter the hearing, your audio will be muted by the DAQ host and your camera will not be on.

For phone in callers:  If you do not have internet or have poor internet, you can still join the hearing by calling in from any phone.  To attend by phone, dial 1-415-655-0003 and enter access code 161 301 4755 when prompted.  Note:  Area code 415 is long distance (San Francisco Bay area, CA), so you may have charges if you do not have free long distance on your phone calling plan.  If you want to speak at the hearing, call Ms. Zaynab Nasif at (919) 618-0968 before 4PM on August 3 to be added to the speakers’ list.

6. Prevent interference.  Ensure you do not have multiple microphones or phones on or near each other that will cause electrical interference.  Interference causes reverberations and high pitched squelches.  The DAQ host will mute you and go on to the next speaker if there is unresolved interference.  Also, keep background noises down (turn off radios, TVs, cell phone ringers, conversations).

7. Listen.  Listen to the instructions given by the DAQ hearing official.  Most likely, he will have a countdown clock and a list of speakers showing on the screen.  Once he has given his administrative comments and DAQ has provided their overview of the air permits (about 10-15 minutes), he will begin to take public comments.  He will start in the order that speakers registered.

8. Speak.  When the DAQ host calls your name and unmutes your audio, state your name and begin providing your comments.  If they cannot hear you, check your microphone to ensure it is not muted on your computer or the microphone volume is not turned down too low.  If there is a problem, let them know by sending DAQ a message in the chat box.  When speaking, speak clearly and monitor the countdown clock.  Stop speaking before time runs out.  They are recording the hearing and are probably using software to translate your voice into written comments.

For phone in callers:  If you are calling in and providing your comments by phone, when your name is called, press *3 so the DAQ host can identify and unmute your line.  Once you have made your comment, press *3 to end your comment.

9. Provide written comments.  To ensure there is no question about what you said, send your written comments to DAQ.publiccoments@ncdenr.gov with the subject line “Carolina Sunrock – Prospect Hill” or “Carolina Sunrock – Burlington North”.

10. Questions? If you have a question, send to admin@protectcaswell.org.