Florida Releases July 24, 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Situation Update
On July 24 NOAA places the oil plume 90 miles from Pensacola and 160 miles from Panama City.
Bonnie is hanging on with 30 mph winds however tropical storm warnings have been discontinued.
As of 10 am EDT Bonnie’s location is about 165 miles (265 kilometers) East Southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 155 miles (250 kilometers) South of Apalachicola.
Maximum sustained winds are at 30 mph (45 km/hr) and movement is West Northwest over the Gulf of Mexico at 17 mph (28 km/hr).
The relief well activities at the MC252 well site are temporarily suspended because of Tropical Storm Bonnie. The well remains shut in at this time and active monitoring continues as long as weather permits. Pressure continues to slowly increase and is approximately 6890 psi. Yesterday it was 6876 psi.
Currently Deepwater Horizon is not discharging any oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Progress on the two relief wells has also been suspended until the storm passes.
Florida is not expected to receive direct oil impacts through at least Monday, scattered tarball fields already nearshore may continue to be carried onshore along the panhandle coast.
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.
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 24, 2010.
Map of BP Oil Spill as of July 24, 2010. Click on images for larger picture.
This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Friday, July 23 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 Friday satellite imagery analysis (NOAA/NESDIS) and overflight observations. 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 those bays by local tidal currents.
Winds and seas will be increasing Friday night as Tropical Storm Bonnie moves into the region. Maximum winds by late Saturday are forecast to be 30-40 kts (from the NE then SW). Winds on Sunday-Monday are forecast to be SE from 10-20 kts. Today’s overflights and aerial imagery indicate the surface oil is continuing to break up into numerous patches. Trajectories indicate the leading edge to the north will continue to move northwestward into Breton Sound and towards the Chandeleur Islands. Oil moving westward around the Mississippi Delta is collecting in the convergence line associated with the fresh water outflow – this oil will continue moving westward threatening the Delta and shorelines west to Caillou Bay.
View the Florida Gator Interactive Oil Spill Map here.
Weather Summary:
Tropical Depression Bonnie will move across the northern-central gulf today and produce 25kt southeasterly winds across western panhandle waters in addition to a 50-70% chance of rain and 5-7ft seas, hampering recovery operations today.
Winds, seas, and rain chances will begin to lessen from the east to the west after midnight tonight and throughout the day tomorrow. Heat indices will remain in the 100-105 range today.
Strong southeasterly winds and currents will continue to push the main portion of the oil plume towards the northwest.
Tropical Depression Bonnie is expected to remain below tropical storm strength through landfall across Louisiana tonight and the National Hurricane Center has discontinued all tropical storm warnings across the northern-central gulf.
Elsewhere, a tropical wave over the central Caribbean has a very low (1%) chance of development within the next 48 hours.
Current Situation:
Florida beaches are open.
Currently Deepwater Horizon is not discharging any oil into the Gulf of Mexico. BP well integrity testing is on hold due to Tropical Storm Bonnie.
Progress on the two relief wells has been suspended due to Tropical Storm Bonnie.
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 40,800 personnel are working the on and offshore response.
- Oil-water mix recovered: nearly 34.7 million gallons.
- Response vessels available: more than 4,300
- Response aircraft available: 114
- Dispersant: more than 1.84 million gallons deployed.
- There is no planned use of dispersants in Florida waters.
Florida Specific:
The removal of tier 1 and 2 boom has been halted. Supplemental Tier 3 boom removal will continue as weather permits. The removed boom and equipment will be temporarily stored to prevent damage and will be redeployed as conditions permit.
Tar balls, tar mats and light sheen continue to be reported in Northwest Florida.
Isolated impacts will be possible in Northwest Florida over the next 72 hours.
Five state-leased skimmers remain on standby in Northwest Florida to protect sensitive inland water bodies. These skimmers are operating out of Escambia, Okaloosa, Bay, Gulf and Franklin Counties.
Oil Containment Boom (in feet) total: 609,761 deployed in Florida. Tier 1 & Tier 2: 445,000 / Tier 3: 164,761 In accordance with established plans, protective booming, staging, and boom maintenance is being conducted along the coast from Escambia to Franklin.
26 vessels are deployed in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.
910 Qualified Community Responders are working in the Florida Panhandle.
Federal Fishery closure, west of Cape San Blas to state line. 26,388sq mi of southeast portion has been reopened. (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, tourism advertising, and state preparedness and response efforts. An additional $500,000 has been issued by BP to fund innovative technology solutions for Okaloosa Cty.
BP claims in Florida total 33,305 with approximately $ 45,320,963.67 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 Florida coastal counties.
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.
Governor’s Executive Order 10-169, authorizing property appraisers to provide interim assessments of properties affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
Conducting daily conference calls with county and emergency management partners, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and various Unified Commands.
A portion of coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County is closed to the harvest of saltwater fish, crabs and shrimp.
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: 15,400 positions advertised; 44,290 applicants referred.
128 Florida National Guard personnel on duty at various duty posts in the Deepwater Horizon area of operations.
19,690 volunteers have registered to respond to Deepwater Horizon. 24,383 volunteer hours have been worked.
AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps members are assisting with models for a community-run Citizen Information Station (CIS).
Conducting daily reconnaissance flights and shoreline patrol from Escambia to Franklin Counties for impact. Real time reconnaissance reports are being entered into SERT 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 13 additional recreational vessel sites are in negotiations with BP.
Recovered Oiled Wild Life: 07/18/10
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 totals- Applications: 52; Declined: 5; Approved: 47; Amount: $1,155,000.00
The Small Business Administration issued an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration for the State of Florida. Outreach Centers are open in 8 counties.
Total Loan Applications:
- Issued: 628 Accepted: 194 Declined: 61 Approved: 34
- Loan amount approved: $3,590,900.00
Local States of Emergency
- Escambia: Expires on 7/30/10
- Santa Rosa: Expires on 7/30/10
- Okaloosa: Concurrent with State
- Walton: Expired
- Bay: Expires on 7/29/10
- Gulf: Expires on 7/27/10
- Franklin: Expires on 7/26/10
- Wakulla: Expires on 7/26/10
- Jefferson: Expires on 7/29/10
- Dixie: Expired
- Sarasota: Expires on 7/27/10
County EOC Activations
- Escambia, Level 3
- Santa Rosa, Level 2 (Partial)
- Okaloosa, Level 2 (Partial)
- Walton, Level 3
- Bay, Level 2 (Partial)
- Gulf, Level 2 (Partial)
- Franklin, Level 3
- Wakulla, Level 2 (Partial)
- Jefferson, Level 3
Topics: 2010, beaches, BP, British Petroleum, business, coastline, Deepwater Horizon, Economy, emergency response, environment, environmental impact, Fishery Failure Determination, fishing, Florida, Florida seafood products, GOHSEP, Governance, government, Governor Charlie Crist, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil map, July 24, landfall predictions, loans, Mexico Beach, moniter, monitor, news, noaa oil spill, Obama Administration, oil loop current, Oil Rig, oil spill, oil spill forecast, oil spill map, Panama City Beach, Panhandle, Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Pass, pollution, President Obama, tourism, Transocean, U.S., United States, VISIT FLORIDA marketing campaign, White House, www.visitflorida.com
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