In a letter to retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) identified more than 74 exemption requests over 48 days, all but 10 of which were approved, in response to the Coast Guard and EPA's May 26 directive requiring that BP only apply dispersants to the ocean surface in "rare cases." Rep. Markey referred to the directive as “more of a meaningless paperwork exercise than an attempt to...eliminate surface applications of chemical dispersants.”