State officials worked through the night and this morning to assist local emergency management and law enforcement with health and medical resources, incident management, search and rescue and environmental quality monitoring, which are ongoing.

“We are blessed in Texas to have the best emergency response teams in the nation, and they were certainly at their best last night, quickly and efficiently taking control of the situation, tending to the wounded and helping keep a bad situation from getting worse,” Gov. Perry said. “Anyone who grew up in a small town understands that this tragedy will touch every family in West and the surrounding communities in some way. I urge all Texans and Americans to join me in keeping the people of West and our first responders in your prayers as this situation continues to unfold.”

“Once again, our state’s first responders have run toward disaster, putting their lives on the line for those they protect and serve,” Lt. Governor David Dewhurst said. “We will continue to pray for them and the countless Texans whose lives have been forever changed by this tragedy.”

Activated state resources include:

• Texas Department of Public Safety: Helping secure the area for law enforcement personnel to conduct business and maintain public safety.

• Texas Task Force 1 & 2 (TTF1 and TTF2): TTF1 urban search and rescue team, including damage assessment personnel for collapse structure assessment, and a search and rescue K-9 Team. TTF2 search and rescue task force has also been deployed.

• Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS): Ambulance buses, two medical incident support team members and mental health and other resources have been deployed. The DSHS State Medical Operations Center has also been activated.

• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): Providing air monitoring and technical assistance.

• Texas Military Forces (TXMF): The 6th Civil Support Team, with approximately 21 personnel, has been deployed to support of first responders. Additional resources and personnel from the Texas National

• Guard Homeland Response Force (HRF) remain on alert and ready to assist if needed.

• Communications Coordination Group (CCG): Activated to provide additional emergency communication resources and/or support as needed.

• Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT): Two 300-gallon fuel trailers from the TxDOT Bryan District have been sent to West, along with four personnel and four trucks to assist with mobile fueling; 18 personnel and nine trucks are closing city streets to block off the affected area. Other available sites for refueling are the TxDOT Waco District Office and TxDOT Hill County Area Office in Hillsboro.

• Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC): Providing support personnel.

• Texas Railroad Commission: Monitoring pipelines in the affected area.

• Texas Education Agency: Working with the local school district to coordinate any immediate needs. Schools in West are closed for the remainder of the week.

• Texas Forest Service: Incident Management Team assisting the Texas Division of Emergency Management with planning and logistics.

• Texas Department of Insurance: State Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting on-site. Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is also actively assisting individuals affected by this tragedy. Two members of TDI’s Consumer Protection Division will be on site to assist individuals as soon as it is safe to do so.

Individuals looking for information or assistance may dial the Texas Information Referral Network at 2-1-1.

To donate to the Texas Disaster Relief Fund, please visit http://www.texasdisasterrelieffund.org or call 1-866-463-7982.

The State Operations Center has been activated to support emergency response operations, and will continue to monitor the situation.

For information about how you can help, medical and shelter information and helpful numbers please visit the Disaster Center.

The project will alleviate capacity and environmental concerns with the city’s current plant.

“Communities need safe, well-maintained, quality infrastructure in order to grow and thrive,” said Gov. Beshear. “This water infrastructure project in Eminence will not only help the area reach required water safety standards, but will also support potential residential and economic growth in Henry County.”

The Eminence Wastewater Treatment Plant serves the city of Pleasureville in addition to the city of Eminence. The two municipal collection systems are currently inundating the plant, causing the environmental and health hazard of raw sewage bypassing into surface waters of the nearby Fox Run Creek. In addition, monthly records show the plant is operating at 94 percent capacity and during wet weather, it may treat nearly three times its rated capacity.

The grant goes toward the design and expansion of the plant, increasing its capacity of processing 500,000 gallons per day to processing 750,000 gallons per day. The project changes the plant’s traditional aerated lagoons system to a new LemTech process that is estimated to cost 48 percent less than expanding the plant using standard methods. Other improvements include adding two larger water pumps and a new magnetic flow meter.

In addition to the $647,000 CDBG, the city of Eminence is contributing $503,000 in combined cash and replacement reserve funds and the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority is contributing $350,000.

“I’d like to thank the Governor and the Administration for overseeing these grants that will provide much-needed upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant in Eminence,” said Sen. Ernie Harris. “This grant will allow for the installation of new technology, and I am looking forward to seeing the developments enhance our community.”

“I would like to thank Governor Beshear for approving this grant for the city of Eminence,” said Rep. Rick Rand. “These funds will go a long way in helping the city of Eminence improve their sewer service and help keep rates low for the citizens of Eminence.”

“This wastewater treatment plant project has been almost ten years in the making,” said Henry County Judge Executive John Logan Brent. “We are very grateful to Governor Beshear, his staff and everyone who helped bring this important, long-awaited project to fruition.”

“This new wastewater treatment project lowers potential environmental risks and alleviates citizens’ concerns in Eminence and Pleasureville,” said Department for Local Government (DLG) Commissioner Tony Wilder. “Furthermore, the plant’s expanded capacity will support growth in the communities and continue to offer citizens reliable, easy access to clean and safe water.”

The state’s CDBG program is administered by DLG and funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Kentucky’s congressional leaders’ continued support of the CDBG program ensures the availability of continued funding in Kentucky and nationally.

The project will design and demonstrate dry storage cask technology for high burn-up spent nuclear fuels that have been removed from commercial nuclear power plants.

“The Energy Department is committed to advancing clean, reliable and safe nuclear power – which provides the largest source of low-carbon electricity in the United States,” said Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Pete Lyons. “At the same time, the Department is working to address the challenges of the back end of the fuel cycle, including advancing secure and reliable extended storage and dry cask technologies.”

In the nuclear energy industry, burn-up relates to the power extracted from reactor fuels. Over the last few years, many improvements have been made in fuel technologies which have allowed plant operators to achieve higher burn-up levels, almost doubling the amount of energy captured.

The Energy Department has studied the current long-term dry cask systems used to store spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors, and has identified areas for continued research and data collection related to the storage of high burn-up spent fuel. The research project led by EPRI will focus on studying these issues.

The Department will invest $15.8 million over five years, with private industry contributing at least 20 percent of the total project cost.

This work builds on the steps the Department is taking in FY 2013, and has proposed for FY 2014, to support a new strategy for the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In the Energy Department’s budget request presented last week, the Department requested $60 million for nuclear waste research and development that aligns with the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and supports to the Administration’s Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste. The request includes funds to lay the groundwork for the design of an integrated waste management system as well as related research and development on storage, transportation and materials issues.

Find the Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste and additional information on the Office of Nuclear Energy’s efforts to develop used nuclear fuel management strategies and technologies at www.energy.gov/ne.

“This council will play a critical role as USDA continues to lead the way in forest conservation efforts,” said Vilsack. “We base our forest conservation policies and decisions on the best available science, and this group will bring the expertise and experience to help us continue that practice.”

The council’s many responsibilities include providing advice to Secretary Vilsack on national and regional research planning projects and on coordination of forestry research within federal and state agencies, forestry schools and forest industries.

In addition, the council will provide advice to the U.S. Forest Service’s Research and Development program—the world’s largest forestry-research organization.

The Forestry Research Advisory Council has 10 current and upcoming vacancies. Nominations are sought to immediately fill six vacancies on the council and additional vacancies that will occur when current appointments expire in December 2013.

Vacancies are open in the following categories:

Forestry schools
State and Federal agencies
Forest industries
Voluntary organizations

Nominations must be received by April 29, 2013. The announcement appeared in the Federal Register and is available here, along with the required nomination form and more background information.

In a letter to Congressional leadership, the governors declared federal fisheries management “irretrievably  ” and seek passage of legislation that would reverse a situation that is negatively impacting the coastal economies and citizens of the Gulf Coast.

“After three decades under ineffective federal management, our citizens are left with a 9-day season for this iconic fish, and that is just an unacceptable outcome. Our own Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has worked constructively with user groups like the Coastal Conservation Association and shown how proper management can foster our wildlife resources to be vibrant economic engines for Louisiana,” Governor Jindal said. “We should not have to settle for over-arching, sub-par management of these resources by the federal government. The Gulf states have all proven they can do a far better job not only creating healthy fisheries, but providing greater access to them for our citizens. We are calling on Congress to give us the opportunity to do so.”

Governor Scott said, “As one of the top fishing destinations in the world, no one understands Florida fisheries better than state and local communities. The current unilateral, regulatory framework administered by the federal government for Red Snapper lacks flexibility and has undermined the expertise of our state fishery officials and local fishing communities. State officials, working in partnership with local communities are far better suited for protecting Red Snapper, while providing local economies with reasonable standards that allow families to pursue jobs in Florida’s bountiful waters.”

Governor Perry said, “Texas has proven the ability to manage and improve the health of fisheries in the Western Gulf, including red snapper. Establishing state-based management provides a pragmatic approach to regional management of this important resource.”

The letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership, signed by the governors states, “With a stock that is recovering steadily, our recreational anglers are being allowed to fish less and less, and there is no hint of willingness from NOAA Fisheries to deviate from this present, unsatisfactory course. As governors of Gulf states, we believe this confusing management is just the latest evidence of a federal management system that is irretrievably broken. We seek to establish a better fishery management approach for Gulf red snapper.”

Such an approach could be modeled after the highly successful Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act on the East Coast, and would establish a coordinated Gulf states partnership for red snapper management.  The governors’ letter points out that, “State-based fishery management has proven to be far more effective, and has engineered some of the greatest marine conservation victories in the country, including red drum, speckled trout, snook and striped bass. It is in the national interest to implement procedures and measures to provide for effective inter-jurisdictional Gulf coastal state conservation and management of this species.”

Full Letter Below

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, Leader McConnell, and Leader Pelosi:

The Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery has a historic and significant economic benefit to the Gulf states and the nation.  However, federal management conflicts impacting both the commercial and recreational sectors have created a situation that is negatively impacting the coastal economies and citizens of our states.

In 2013, NOAA Fisheries has declared that recreational anglers in Texas will have a 12-day snapper season in federal waters, nine days in Louisiana, 28 days in Mississippi and Alabama, and 21 days in Florida. With a stock that is recovering steadily, our recreational anglers are being allowed to fish less and less, and there is no hint of willingness from NOAA Fisheries to deviate from this present, unsatisfactory course. As governors of Gulf states, we believe this confusing management is just the latest evidence of a federal management system that is irretrievably broken.

We seek to establish a better fishery management approach for Gulf red snapper based on effective interstate management measures coordinated by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC). Modeled after the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act, we believe a coordinated Gulf states partnership for red snapper management would be more capable of delivering a robust fishery that is more accessible for the citizens of our states. State-based fishery management has proven to be far more effective, and has engineered some of the greatest marine conservation victories in the country, including red drum, speckled trout, snook and striped bass. It is in the national interest to implement procedures and measures to provide for effective inter-jurisdictional Gulf coastal state conservation and management of this species.

After more than three decades under federal management, the red snapper fishery remains mired in confusion and turmoil. We are determined to find a constructive path to resolve this unsatisfactory situation, and seek your support of legislation to allow the states to take greater responsibilities in the management of fishery resources.

Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson joined officials from Tennessee and Nissan on a tour of the Smyrna paint plant, which opened in January and is expected to cut energy use by almost a third compared to its predecessor.

“Partners in the Better Plants Challenge are leading by example, showing firsthand how energy efficiency improvements save money by saving energy,” said Assistant Secretary Danielson. “The investments made through the Better Plants Challenge are helping cut energy waste while saving businesses millions in energy costs, creating American jobs, and helping to increase the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector.”

Each year, the U.S. spends about $200 billion just to power commercial buildings – and another $200 billion to power industrial facilities. Together, commercial and industrial buildings account for roughly half of the nation’s energy use and more than 40 percent of our carbon emissions. The Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge serves as the industrial component of President Obama’s broader Better Buildings Challenge which was launched in December 2011 to help America’s commercial and industrial buildings become at least 20 percent more efficient over the next decade.

“Nissan is committed to increasing energy efficiency as we reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing high quality vehicles sold in North America,” said Susan Brennan, Nissan’s vice president of manufacturing in Smyrna. “These efforts align with our global commitment to zero emission vehicle leadership and corporate social responsibility to employees, stakeholders and our customers.”

As a partner in the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge, Nissan North America has committed to reducing energy use in its three U.S. plants 25 percent by 2020, affecting 12 million square feet of plant space. According to Nissan’s projections, the new 250,000 square- foot footprint Smyrna paint plant is capable of reducing energy use and carbon emissions by 30 percent.

The Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge helps more than 11 industrial building owners cut energy waste and save money on their utility bills through a range of energy efficiency measures, such as whole facility energy system improvements, compressed air updates, submetering initiatives and energy efficient facility construction. Participating organizations receive technical assistance from the Department and share best practices on industrial energy efficiency with other Challenge partners.

For more information please visit the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge website.

Following years of study, public debate and testimony, the governor’s legislation to spur oil production and attract new investment passed the Alaska Legislature Sunday.

“Alaska’s below-ground resources are world class,” Governor Parnell said. “Above-ground, we have now set the stage for a future of growth and opportunity for Alaskans. We are signaling to the world that Alaska is back, ready to compete, and ready to supply more energy once again.”

Senate Bill 21 eliminates the complicated “progressivity” feature of the current tax system and replaces it with a simple 35 percent base rate and a per barrel tax credit tied directly to the production of oil.

By ensuring Alaska’s treasury is not exposed to the risk of paying $1 billion and more in tax credits when oil prices are low, and keeping the state competitively positioned when prices are high, Senate Bill 21 is fairer to Alaskans regardless of the price of oil.

The legislation restructures the tax credit system so the state is not on the hook for billions of dollars in tax credits not specifically tied to production. This legislation replaces those credits with tax incentives that are applied based on actual oil production.

“I applaud legislators for fostering an open, respectful, and honest dialogue with Alaskans,” Governor Parnell said. “They have passed legislation that meets our four guiding principles: this legislation is fair to Alaskans, it encourages new production, it is simple and restores balance to the system, and the tax structure is competitive and durable. Alaska’s oil comeback starts now.”

A total of 279 community gardens took part in the biennial competition, organised by the National Parks Board (NParks) to recognise and reward excellence in gardening efforts by community groups in public and private housing estates, educational institutions and organisations.

NParks received 193 entries in 2008.

Since the awards were started in 2005, the total number of entries has been increasing for every year it was held. Organised for the fourth year, the awards also saw an increase in participation in each category.

There are in total 124 entries from public housing estates (80 in 2008); 23 from private housing estates (17 in 2008); 83 from educational institutes (47 in 2008); 49 from organisations (31 in 2008).

New entrants to this year’s competition include organisations from the private sector like manufacturing companies and hotels. This year’s awards are also popular in the educational institution category where there is more than 75% increase in participation compared to that in 2008. Participation from more pre-schools and childcare centres added to the increase.

Like in 2008, community gardens are ranked into bands – Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze – so that participants are aware of their standing and are better able to make improvements to their gardens.

In addition, eight Special Awards – four “Best Community Garden” and four “Best New Community Garden” are awarded in honour of the exemplary achievements by community gardening groups in the public and private housing estates, education institutions and organisations. Please refer to Annex A for the results of these Special Awards.

Entries were assessed according to the quality of the garden and level of community participation. Equal weightage is given to both.

The judging panel led by Chief Judge, Mr Tan Jiew Hoe, who is also President of the Singapore Gardening Society, consisted of representatives from government agencies, professional bodies and interest groups.

The awards will be presented to the 279 gardening groups during the Singapore Garden Festival 2010 at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre in July:

16 July 2010, 7.30pm

• ‘Best Community Garden’ and ‘Best New Community Garden’ Special Awards

• Platinum and Gold awards

15 July 2010, 4.30pm

• Silver and Bronze awards for ‘Community Gardens’ category

• Certificates of Appreciation

Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development, will be the Guest-of-Honour at the CIB Awards 2010 presentation ceremony on 16 July 2010.

NOAA trajectory forecasts are not showing any significant eastward movement of the near shore oil through Tuesday, with only the uncertainty line reaching Santa Rosa County and no direct onshore impacts.

Moderate west-southwesterly winds of 10-15 knots and seas of 1-3 feet will persist through Monday. Offshore rain chances are expected to be near 30% Sunday through Tuesday with a 50-60% chance inland.

Most of the rain activity is expected to occur inland during the day and offshore at night. With humid conditions and daytime high temperatures in the mid 90s, heat index values are expected to reach up to 105 degrees today and tomorrow along the Panhandle beaches.

Offshore, no oil has been observed within or moving towards Eddy Franklin and there is no clear path for oil to enter the Florida Straits. Also, no significant tropical activity is expected through the next 48 hours.

On July 10, BP recovered approximately 15,200 barrels of oil: 7,096 barrels of oil were collected, 8100 barrels of oil were flared and 35.2 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.

All Florida Beaches remain OPEN! Learn more.

Governor Charlie Crist, the State Emergency Response Team and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are actively coordinating and responding to the Deepwater Horizon incident.

The following is a summary of state and BP response actions as of July 11, 2010.

Map of BP Oil Spill as of July 11, 2010. Click on images for larger picture.

This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Saturday, July 10 PM. Currents were obtained from several models (NOAA Gulf of Mexico, West Florida Shelf/USF, TGLO/TAMU, NAVO/NRL) and HFR measurements. The model was initialized from Saturday satellite imagery analysis (NOAA/NESDIS) and Saturday overflights. The leading edge may contain tarballs that are not readily observable from the imagery (hence not included in the model initialization). Oil near bay inlets could be brought into that bay by local tidal currents.

Winds are expected to be mostly southwesterly to westerly at 10 kts or less throughout this forecast period. Remote sensing imagery and overflights have indicated scattered areas of potential oil remaining in northern Chandeleur and Mississippi Sound, which will continue to threaten the coastlines of MS and AL. For the Alabama-Florida Panhandle coast, models show eastward coastal currents occurring over the next few days, leading to an eastward extension of forecast uncertainty bounds into Florida. To the west, models indicate that patches of oil observed off Marsh Island, Caillou Bay, and Terrebonne Bay will begin to move eastward, with scattered shoreline impacts between Atchafalaya Bay and Southwest Pass. Further west, a patch of floating oil observed between Galveston and Sabine Pass is projected to move eastward, threatening the shoreline around the Texas-Louisiana border.

View the Florida Gator Interactive Oil Spill Map here.

Visit geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/ to see the latest information about the oil spill’s trajectory, the position of NOAA’s research ships, spilled oil’s coastal location and the areas closed to shipping.

Current Situation:

Florida beaches are open.

Estimated release rate of oil from Deepwater Horizon at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. On July 10, BP began replacing the existing lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment system with a new “capping stack” procedure, designed to capture greater quantities of oil. BP also is in the process of connecting a third vessel, the Helix Producer, which will increase collection capacity to an estimated 53,000 barrels per day by bringing up additional oil up through the kill line. On July 10, total oil recovered was approximately 15,200 barrels.

This event has been designated a Spill of National Significance.

Unified Area Command continues with a comprehensive oil well intervention and spill response planning following the April 22 sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 130 miles southeast of New Orleans.

• More than 46,000 personnel are working the on and offshore response.

• Oil-water mix recovered: nearly 30.25 million gallons

• Response vessels available: more than 6,400

• Response aircraft available: 123

• Dispersant: more than 1.77 million gallons deployed.

• There is no planned use of dispersants in Florida waters.

Florida Specific:

Oil Impact Notices are posted for all Escambia County and Walton County Gulf beaches, as well as Okaloosa County, at Brackin Wayside Park, Henderson Park Beach, and James Lee Park.

Tar balls, tar patties and sheen continue to be reported in Northwest Florida.

Pensacola Pass as well as Perdido Pass will continue to be closed with the tide to reduce the amount of oil from entering inland waters. These waterways are manned to allow access to necessary vessel traffic during low tide.

Oil Containment Boom (in feet) total: 769,661 deployed in Florida. (Tier 1 & Tier 2: 454,200 / Tier 3: 315,461)

In accordance with established plans, protective booming, staging, and boom maintenance is being conducted along the coast from Escambia to Franklin.

414 vessels are deployed in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.

1,350 Qualified Community Responders are working in the Florida Panhandle.

Federal Fishery closure, west of Cape San Blas to state line. (see NOAA FB10-060).

In addition to $100,000 for Volunteer Florida to maintain a volunteer registration database, BP has issued over $75 million in grants to Florida for booming, a national tourism advertising campaign, and the state’s preparedness and response efforts. An additional $500,000 has been issued by BP to fund two innovative technology solutions for Okaloosa County.

BP claims in Florida total 28,214 with approximately $29,111,864.48 paid.

Florida Information Lines:

The Florida Oil Spill Information Line (FOSIL) is available from 8am-6pm EDT daily.

• English – (888) 337-3569 / TDD – (800) 955-8771 / Voice – (800) 955-8770 /

• Spanish – (877) 955-8773 / Haitian Creole – (877) 955-8707

For general health/exposures information questions related to the oil spill, contact the Florida Poison Control Center at (800) 222-1222.

Two public hotline numbers for oil spill investigation and cleanup:

• Impacted Wildlife: (866) 557-1401

• Oiled Shoreline: (877) 2-SAVE-FL or #DEP for cellular devices

The Florida Department of State has established a hotline for archeological, historical preservation, and tribal lands that may be impacted by the Deepwater Horizon incident: (850) 245-6530.

To confirm legitimate charities and determine if an organization is registered with the state, call Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) (800) 435-7352 or www.800helpfla.com.

Information Websites:

Volunteer registration: www.VolunteerFlorida.org and click “Register to Help”

Health advisories: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/health.htm

State sampling data: www.nrdata.org

GATOR web mapping application: http://map.floridadisaster.org/gator/

Recovery related jobs: http://FloridaGulfRecoveryJobs.com/

NOAA GeoPlatform, response management application: http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/

State Actions:

State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is at a Level 1 (Full), operating from 0700 to 1800 EDT, with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) as the lead agency.

Governor’s Executive Orders 10-99, 10-100, 10-106 and 10-132 declared a state of emergency for identified counties along the Florida coast.

Governor’s Executive Order 10-101 established the Gulf Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force, which will facilitate efforts by Florida businesses and industries to recover the loss of commerce and revenues due to the oil spill.

Conducting daily conference calls with county and emergency management partners, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and various Unified Commands.

FEMA is assisting SERT with streamlining financial reimbursement.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) executive order (EO 10-29) temporarily closes a portion of coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County to the harvest of saltwater fish, crabs and shrimp. Recreational catch and release is allowed.

A SERT Toxicological Data Analysis Cell is providing consistent scientific assessments of collected sampling to inform local/state decision making.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation and Regional Workforce Boards are identifying and filling jobs related to the oil spill: 12,483 positions advertised; 36,943 applicants referred.

102 Florida National Guard personnel on duty at various duty posts in the Deepwater Horizon area of operations.

19,498 volunteers have registered to respond to Deepwater Horizon. 22,003 volunteer hours have been worked. A 12 member AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team deployed to Escambia County to stand up beach information stations.

Conducting daily reconnaissance flights and shoreline patrol from Escambia to Franklin Counties for impact. Real time reconnaissance reports are being entered into GATOR.

Currently, Florida’s coast has 9 decontamination sites for response vessels and 8 that are being operated for commercial vessels. A site for recreational vessel decontamination has also been established and additional recreational vessel sites are in negotiations with BP.

Recovered Oiled Birds:

See the consolidated wildlife report updated by noon each day: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/55963

The Boom Coordination Cell continues to coordinate additional boom requests. The Innovative Technology Cell continues to assess alternative clean-up technologies suggested by the public and stakeholders.

Emergency Bridge Loan Program, cumulative, week ending July 2, 2010. Applications: 32; Declined: 4; Approved: 28; Amount: $700,000.00

The Small Business Administration has issued an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration for the State of Florida. Outreach Centers are open in 8 counties.

Loan Applications: As reported on 07/09/10:

• Issued: 528 Accepted: 144 Declined: 47 Approved: 25

• Loan amount approved: $2,660,700.00

Local States of Emergency

• Escambia: Expires on 7/16/10

• Santa Rosa: Expires on 7/16/10

• Okaloosa: Concurrent with State

• Walton: Expires on 7/16/10

• Bay: Expires on 7/15/10

• Gulf: Expires on 7/12/10

• Franklin: Expires on 7/12/10

• Wakulla: Expires on 7/12/10

• Jefferson: Expires on 7/15/10

• Dixie: Expires on 7/15/10

• Sarasota: Expires on 7/12/10

County EOC Activations

• Escambia, Level 2 (Partial)

• Santa Rosa, Level 2 (Partial)

• Okaloosa, Level 2 (Partial)

• Walton, Level 2 (Partial)

• Bay, Level 2 (Partial)

• Gulf, Level 2 (Partial)

• Franklin, Level 2 (Partial)

• Wakulla, Level 2 (Partial)

Continued impacts are likely in Northwest Florida over the next 72 hours. View the Florida Gator Interactive Oil Spill Map.

BP reports installing the sealing cap is proceeding as planned: all 6 bolts were removed over night from the flange; using the Discoverer Inspiration, the flange overshot tool removed the flange and is now lifting it back to surface; ROVs are removing 4 pipe sleeves from around the flex joint flange.

All gulf beaches in Escambia County remain under an Oil Impact Notice that will stay in effect until beaches are no longer impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The notice is not in effect for inland beaches along Pensacola and Escambia bays or for bayous.

As of 10:00 a.m., July 11, 2010, there are three Oil Impact Notices reported due to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, affecting 15 beaches:

Escambia: County Park East, County Park West, Johnson Beach, Pensacola (Casino) Beach and Perdido Key State Park.

Okaloosa: Brackin Wayside, Henderson State Park Beach, and James Lee Park Beach.

Walton: Blue Montain Beach Access, County Park, Dune Allen Beach Access, Eastern Lake Beach Access, Grayton Beach Access, Holly Street Beach Access and Inlet Beach Access (TDC Beach Access).

On July 10, BP recovered a total of approximately 15,200 barrels: 7,096 barrels of oil were collected, 8,100 barrels of oil were flared and 35.2 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.

Total oil recovered from both the LMRP Cap and Q4000 systems since they were implemented is 749,100 barrels. An additional 22,000 barrels were collected from the RIT tool earlier in May bringing the total recovered to 771,100 barrels.

Approximately 551 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled: 92 miles in Florida, 297 miles in Louisiana, 97 miles in Mississippi, and 65 miles in Alabama.

About 1.76 million gallons of total dispersant have been applied: 1.07 million on the surface and 692,000 subsea. More than 29.1 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.

Under the leadership of Governor Charlie Crist, the State Emergency Response Team and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are actively coordinating and responding to the Deepwater Horizon incident.

The following is a summary of state and BP response actions to date, as well as tips for residents and visitors to take precautions both pre and post-landfall.

Map of BP Oil Spill as of July 11, 2010. Click on images for larger picture.

This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Saturday, July 10 PM. Currents were obtained from several models (NOAA Gulf of Mexico, West Florida Shelf/USF, TGLO/TAMU, NAVO/NRL) and HFR measurements. The model was initialized from Saturday satellite imagery analysis (NOAA/NESDIS) and Saturday overflights. The leading edge may contain tarballs that are not readily observable from the imagery (hence not included in the model initialization). Oil near bay inlets could be brought into that bay by local tidal currents.

Winds are expected to be mostly southwesterly to westerly at 10 kts or less throughout this forecast period. Remote sensing imagery and overflights have indicated scattered areas of potential oil remaining in northern Chandeleur and Mississippi Sound, which will continue to threaten the coastlines of MS and AL. For the Alabama-Florida Panhandle coast, models show eastward coastal currents occurring over the next few days, leading to an eastward extension of forecast uncertainty bounds into Florida. To the west, models indicate that patches of oil observed off Marsh Island, Caillou Bay, and Terrebonne Bay will begin to move eastward, with scattered shoreline impacts between Atchafalaya Bay and Southwest Pass. Further west, a patch of floating oil observed between Galveston and Sabine Pass is projected to move eastward, threatening the shoreline around the Texas-Louisiana border.

Landfall Reports and Predictions:

Nearly 90 percent of Florida’s more than 1,260 miles of coastline remains unimpacted.

If oil is sighted on Florida’s coastline report it to the State Warning Point at 1-877-2-SAVE-FL (1-877-272-8335) or by dialing #DEP from most cell phones.

Pensacola Pass as well as Perdido Pass will continue to be closed with the tide to reduce the amount of oil entering inland waters. These waterways are manned to allow access to necessary vessel traffic and are open for vessel traffic during low tide. See NOAA tide predictions.

Observations by NOAA continue to indicate no significant amounts of oil moving toward the Loop Current. The Loop Current Ring, a circular current which was formerly part of the Loop Current provides no clear path for oil to enter the Florida Straits.

There have been no reports of Deepwater Horizon oil spill-related products reaching the shore beyond the Northwest Florida region. There is no indication that the rest of the state will have impacts from weathered oil products within the next 72 hours.

No significant tropical activity is expected in the next 48 hours.

On Site Actions:

Current projections estimate Deepwater Horizon’s discharge at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. Learn more.

On July 10, BP began replacing the existing lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment system with a new “capping stack” procedure—designed to capture greater quantities of oil. BP also is in the process of connecting a third vessel, the Helix Producer, which will increase collection capacity to an estimated 53,000 barrels per day by bringing up additional oil up through the kill line.

BP continues efforts to drill two relief wells.

State Actions:

The State Emergency Operations Center is activated at Level 1.

Five state-leased skimmers continue to operate in Northwest Florida to protect sensitive inland water bodies. These skimmers are operating at the passes in Escambia, Okaloosa, Bay, Gulf and Franklin Counties.

Two Florida branch offices committed to oil spill response are open in Northwest Florida. The Pensacola branch office, which serves both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, and the Destin branch office, which serves both Okaloosa and Walton counties, bring together federal, state and local agencies to streamline response efforts. Learn more.

DEP continues to conduct water sampling monitoring to establish baseline conditions throughout the state. Learn more about sampling and results at www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/water.htm.
DEP’s Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas is conducting water sampling under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. Learn more.

Real-time sampling data from statewide air quality monitoring can be viewed at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/air.htm.

Air quality reports for July 10 revealed that air quality was considered moderate for ozone and fine particulate concentrations in Northwest Florida. “Moderate” means air quality is acceptable for most people.

Boom Placement:

Approximately 454,200 feet of hard boom and 8,260 feet of sorbent boom have been placed in Northwest Florida along the most sensitive areas. Additionally, counties in the region are moving forward with supplemental booming plans. As of July 10, 316,261 feet of supplemental boom has been deployed or staged by Florida contractors.

Health Effects:

Oil Impact Notices are posted for all Escambia County and Walton County Gulf beaches, as well as designated beaches in Okaloosa County. Signs may remain in place until local authorities determine that beaches are no longer impacted by the oil spill. Learn more.

If residents or visitors see tar or oiled debris on the beach, DO NOT PICK IT UP. For most people, an occasional brief contact with a small amount of oil will not cause any harm, however it is not recommended. Learn more.

The July 4 Gulf of Mexico federal fisheries closure remains in effect. The closure measures 81,181 square miles. This federal closure does not apply to any state

Fisheries & Seafood:

The July 4 Gulf of Mexico federal fisheries closure remains in effect. The closure measures 81,181 square miles. This federal closure does not apply to any state waters and still leaves approximately 66 percent of Gulf federal waters available for fishing. Learn more.

A portion of coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County is closed to the harvest of saltwater fish, crabs and shrimp. Learn more.

To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-866-557-1401. For the safety of the public as well as the safety of animals, rescues should only be conducted by trained responders. Learn more.

Visit http://bpdecon.com for a list of vessel decontamination locations for oiled boats within the U.S. Coast Guard Mobile Sector.

Tips for Homeowners:

While the state appreciates the concern expressed by Floridians and the ingenuity of those seeking alternative measures to help protect the state’s shoreline, the following tips are offered to ensure that these measures are helpful and not harmful to Florida’s coasts, wildlife and water resources: Tips for homeowners.

Tips for Businesses and Consumers:

The Attorney General’s fraud hotline is open to receive any reports of fraud or price gouging. The hotline is 1-866-966-7226.

The Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner gas price-gouging hotline is also operational. The toll-free hotline number is 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).

Coastal businesses should make loss of earnings claims for damages incurred as a result of the oil spill. Learn more at http://www.myfloridacfo.com/ or by calling 1-850-413-3089 or toll-free at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236).

To discuss spill related damage with BP representatives, please call the BP Claims Reporting Line at 1-800-440-0858.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Individuals interested in volunteering can register at www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org.

Volunteers will not be in direct contact with oil or oil-contaminated materials.

The Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service – Volunteer Florida is encouraging Floridians and visitors to stay current on the latest information on scheduled beach cleanups and other local volunteer opportunities.

Learn More About Florida’s Response:

Visit www.deepwaterhorizonflorida.com to learn more about Florida’s response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, sign up for daily updates, view tips for businesses and consumers, and much more.

For a list of Unified Command, BP and Florida phone numbers, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm#numbers.

The Oil Spill Information Line is available at 1-888-337-3569 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week. Additional phone numbers have also been established for persons with disabilities: (800) 955-8771 (TDD) or (800) 955-8770 (voice).