Situation Update
» Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County beaches remain open, including the waters for fishing.
» NOAA projections, additional impacts are expected throughout northwest Florida within the next 72 hours due to onshore winds.
» Relatively weak winds (below 10 knots), low seas (below 3 feet) and low rain chances are expected to continue through the next three days, which will be favorable for surface oil recovery operations. However, winds are expected to continue out of the south-southwest for the next three days, pushing portions of the oil plume towards the western Florida Panhandle. A tropical wave in the central Atlantic has a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.
» Potential impacts to Florida’s shoreline will be highly weathered, in the form of tar balls, oil sheen, tar mats or mousse – a pudding-like oil/water mixture that could be brown, rust or orange in color.
» Citizens are asked not to engage in direct contact with oil and oil contaminated products such as tar balls, tar patties, tar mats, and oil sheen. Only qualified members should handle oil products and oil contaminated materials. To report tar or oil on the beach, call the Florida State Warning Point Line at 1-877-272-8335 or # DEP from a cell phone.
» The State of Florida is taking additional proactive measures to ensure the quick and timely discovery of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Reconnaissance missions are being coordinated daily from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee using air, land, and sea assets from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Civil Air Patrol, and the Florida National Guard.
· These reconnaissance missions that started last week are being conducted from Perdido Key in Escambia County to Cape San Blas in Gulf County. Search areas are divided into approximately five-mile increments, with all terrain vehicles (ATVs) patrolling the coastline looking for any evidence of land-falling oil products. Boats are patrolling the gulf waters in these areas looking for evidence of oil sheen or other oil byproducts, and air assets are evaluating waters out to nine miles from shore daily and further when directed. When evidence of oil is detected, the reconnaissance teams quickly report their findings back to the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. Then teams hired by the responsible party, BP, can be dispatched to the impacted areas through Unified Command in Mobile, Alabama, to perform cleanup, skimming or other mitigation measures in a timely fashion.
» BP will issue an additional $25 million to Florida for the state’s preparedness and response efforts.
» Two plans created by the United States Coast Guard, BP and the impacted states, including Florida, outline the steps for shoreline assessment and cleanup to ensure quick and efficient response to oil on our shores. Those plans include The Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team Plan and the Mobile Sector Near Shore and Shoreline Stage I and II Response Plan.
· The SCAT Plan outlines the role of SCAT teams and provides a process for collecting shoreline oil data used to create cleanup plans. SCAT teams consist of trained representatives from BP, the federal government and the state. The response plan addresses response in three stages: recovering oil in the water, placing boom and other protective measures along the most sensitive areas of Florida’s coastline, and cleaning up any oil that does impact Florida’s shores as quickly as possible, both while the oil discharge continues from Deepwater Horizon and after the leak is stopped.
· The first stage of response involves oil removal from near shore waters using skimming devices, vacuum systems, booming and other appropriate methods. These removal methods are currently being used to prevent oil from reaching Florida’s shoreline. Approximately 261,250 feet of boom has been placed in Florida along the most sensitive areas of the Panhandle, and several counties in the western tip of the Panhandle are moving forward with supplemental booming plans.
· The second stage of the response plan outlines the cleanup methods for a variety of habitats, including beaches, marshes, and man-made structures such as docks and pilings. Boom will likely not prevent tar balls, tar mats and very sticky weathered oil from washing onshore. Therefore, the most feasible cleanup method in this stage is manual removal of oil with hand tools or mechanical equipment used by authorized and trained individuals. The third stage is intended to finalize shoreline cleanup in habitats that may be adversely affected by oil after the leak is stopped.
» According to the state EOC, Perdido Pass and Pensacola Pass will be closed with the tide to prevent oil from entering inland waters. Boom will be deployed across each Pass at flood tide (water coming in) and removed at ebb tide (water going out).
▪ Boaters in areas where skimming is being conducted, or where boom has been set, have been requested to maintain no-wake speeds.
▪ Based on oil activity recently, the United States Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port for Sector Mobile authorized the official closure of Perdido Pass and Pensacola Pass. These waterways will be manned to allow access to necessary vessel traffic. Perdido Pass and Pensacola Pass will be open for vessel traffic during low tide. See NOAA tide predictions.
▪ Boat traffic needing access in or out of boom locations, should call 1-850-736-2261.
▪ A flashing light has been attached to all booms to increase visibility to boaters.
» NOAA has launched a new federal website detailed near-real-time information about the response to the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill. The website incorporates data from the various agencies that are working together to tackle the spill. Originally designed for responders who make operational decisions to the oil spill, the website integrates the latest data on the oil spill’s trajectory, fishery closed areas, wildlife and place-based Gulf Coast resources — such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and daily position of research ships — into one customizable interactive map which is located at http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/
» Skimmers have been deployed in our area and are actively skimming 24-hours a day as weather permits.
» There is no planned use of dispersants in Florida waters.
BP Claims
» BP Claims for Deepwater Horizon can now be submitted at www.bp.com/claims
» BP announced it will be sending a second advance payment during June to individuals and businesses along the Gulf Coast to compensate for the loss of income or net profit due to the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
» BP claims in Florida: 12,633 claims/ approximately $8,489,727.47 paid
Small Business Disaster & Bridge Loans
» On June 7, Governor Charlie Crist activated Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, which will provide emergency, short-term loans to established small businesses in the designated counties.
· Short-term loans of up to $25,000 will be available to owners of small businesses (less than 100 employees) in counties impacted the recent oil spill. The interest-free loans come in terms of 12 month maturities. To be eligible, a business owner must have been operational for one full year prior to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on April 20, 2010, and demonstrate physical damage or economic injury as a result of the oil spill.
· Applications for businesses will be available Monday, June 14, 2010. To receive an application or more information on the program, please contact the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development at (850) 487-2568, or the Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (http://www.ffcfc.com at (850) 681-3601.
» Governor Crist announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved disaster loan funds for businesses along Florida’s Gulf coast that have been impacted by the Deepwater Horizon incident.
· SBA representatives opened a disaster loan office on Tuesday, May 18 at the Navarre Visitor Information Center located at 8543 Navarre Parkway (U.S. Hwy 98) in Navarre. Hours of operations will be 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday- Saturday until further notice.
· More information can be found at: www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance
* Loan Applications
* Issued: 308
* Accepted: 60
* Declined: 14
* Approved: 2
* Loan amount approved: $255,000.00
Boom Placement
» Oil containment boom (in feet) total in Florida: 363, 340
» The Unified Command Operations Group is asking boaters to avoid damaging boom. Boom cut or broken due to boater traffic jeopardizes coastal protection.
» Stolen or misplaced boom should be reported to local authorities.
Vessels of Opportunity (boats) program
» BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire through the Vessel of Opportunities Program to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information 907-301-8878.
» 365 vessels have been deployed in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.
» Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511
Fishing
» All Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County waters are currently open to fishing. Oil has not affected most of Florida waters and there are vast amounts open for fishing and other recreational activities and the FWC encourages everyone to fish where the waters are clear and to enjoy freshly harvested seafood products in these areas. Updated information regarding fishing advisories or harvest closures in Florida due to the BP oil spill will be posted online at http://myfwc.com/OilSpill/index.htm.
Important Phone Numbers
» Florida Oil Spill Information Line- 1-888- 337-3569
» Fraud Hotline – 1-866-966-7226.
» Submit Alternative Response Technology Services & Products- email horizonsupport@oegllc.com or call 1-281-366-5511
» Report Oiled Wildlife- 1-866-557-1401
» Report Oil Sightings- 1-866-448-5816
» BP Toll-Free Claims line- 1800-440-0858
» Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner gas price-gauging hotline: 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).
I will continue to keep you informed as information becomes available.
All the best,
Matt
Political advertisement paid for and approved by Matt Gaetz, Republican, for State Representative District 4. 2010 All Rights Reserved
Representative Matt Gaetz
PO Box 88
Fort Walton Beach FL, 32549