Florida Releases August 23, 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Situation Update
On August 23 NOAA forecast oil trajectories do not indicate any recoverable oil to appear across the northern central gulf, but minor tarball impacts are still possible.
Offshore, there is no path for oil to enter the Florida Straits. View the Florida Gator Interactive Oil Spill Map
Approximately 675 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled: 134 miles in Florida, 353 miles in Louisiana, 116 miles in Mississippi and 73 miles in Alabama.
Open water fishing operations from the MC252 BOP will continue today. The fishing operations will aim at removing drill pipe within the MC252 BOP. The DDII is completing preparations for its BOP to be used on the Macondo well.. The DDIII is on standby but maintaining full readiness to proceed when directed.
Beaches in Escambia County, including Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, are open for swimming. Learn more.
There have been minimal reports of oil, usually scattered tar balls, in the past six weeks.
“If you’ve been out here in the last month, the reality is, except for an occasional tar ball, we’ve not seen any oil,” said Bob West, Pensacola Beach Public Safety Supervisor.
Future threats from oil have been greatly reduced due to the capping of the oil well and progress toward a permanent kill, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
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 August 23, 2010.
Map of BP Oil Spill as of August 23, 2010. Click on images for larger picture.
No recoverable oil has been reported by daily overflights since July 30. Daily satellite analyses have indicated a decreasing number of possible oil anomalies since the well has been capped. Recent overflights sent to investigate satellite anomalies have only reported seeing seaweed with an occasional colorless sheen.
We do not expect any recoverable DWH oil to appear in the offshore environment. However, observations will continue into the foreseeable future. If the need arises, surface oil trajectories will be produced again. Periods of onshore winds may result in some scattered tarball impacts for the next few weeks to months.
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.
Weather Summary:
Scattered shower and thunderstorm activity is expected to continue today as a frontal boundary moves towards North Florida. There is a 40-50% chance of frequent on and off passing showers and storms along the eastern Panhandle and Big Bend coast, with a 20-30% chance of storms throughout the western Panhandle. There is 15-25% chance of rain throughout Panhandle tonight. Slightly less activity is expected on Tuesday, but there is still a 30-40% chance of scattered storms along the Panhandle coast. Seas will be less than 2 feet today. Outside of showers, heat indices will reach up to 110 degrees this afternoon and a heat advisory is in effect from 11am to 7pm CDT for all coastal Panhandle counties. In the tropics, Tropical Storm Danielle is expected to strengthen and may become a hurricane by later today. At this time, the storm is expected to curve and is not a threat to the U.S. coastline. A tropical wave near the western coast of Africa has been given a 10% chance of developing by Wednesday morning.
Current Situation:
Florida beaches are open.
Currently Deepwater Horizon is not discharging any oil into the Gulf of Mexico. 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. On August 5, pressure testing was performed which indicated there is an effective cement plug in the casing. BP believes the static kill and cementing procedures have been successful.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that analysis shows Southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the East Coast are unlikely to experience any effects from the remaining oil on the surface of the Gulf.
- This event has been designated a Spill of National Significance.
- More than 29,621 personnel are working the on and offshore response.
- Oil-water mix recovered: over 34.7 million gallons. Dispersant: more than 1.84 million gallons deployed.
- Response vessels available: more than 4,375. Response aircraft available: 72
Florida Specific:
All Tier 1, 2 & 3 boom has been removed and stored in the Northwest Florida counties.
Tar balls continue to be reported in Northwest Florida.
46 vessels are deployed in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.
Federal Fishery closure, west of Cape San Blas to state line. 26,388 sq mi of southeast portion has been reopened. (see NOAA FB10-060) Coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County are now reopened for harvesting of finfish, crabs and shrimp.
In addition to $100,000 for Volunteer Florida to maintain a volunteer registration database, BP has issued over $82 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 County.
BP awarded $3 million to the Florida Department of Children and Families to maintain behavioral health and substance abuse services for individuals affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
BP claims in Florida total 38,979 with approximately $81,899,686.61 paid.
BP has assumed direct financial responsibility for approx $9 million of Boom contracts for Florida counties.
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, response management application: http://FloridaGulfRecoveryJobs.com/
NOAA GeoPlatform: http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/
State Actions:
State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is at a Level 2 (Partial), operating from 0800 to 1700 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.
There are two Florida branch offices in Northwest Florida. These branch offices bring together federal, state and local agencies to streamline response efforts.
Conducting daily conference calls with county and emergency management partners, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and various Unified Commands.
A SERT Toxicological Data Analysis Cell is providing consistent scientific assessments of collected sampling to inform local/state decision making.
24 Florida National Guard personnel on duty at various duty posts in the Deepwater Horizon area of operations.
19,897 volunteers have registered to respond to Deepwater Horizon. 30,691 volunteer hours have been worked.
AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps members are assisting with models for a community-run Citizen Information Station (CIS).
Currently, Florida has 8 task forces capable of both gross and secondary decontamination of vessels, and 1 task force capable of gross decontamination of vessels.
Recovered Oiled Wildlife: On 08/18/10:
See the consolidated wildlife report updated by noon each day: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/55963
Emergency Bridge Loan Program, cumulative totals:
- Applications: 96
- Declined: 13
- Approved: 83
Amount: $2,030,000
The Small Business Administration issued an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration for the State of Florida. Outreach Centers are open in 9 counties.
Total Loan Applications: Issued:
- 808 Accepted
- 286 Declined
- 118 Approved
57 Loan amount approved: $5,646,300.00
Local States of Emergency
Escambia: Expired
Santa Rosa: Expired
Okaloosa: Concurrent with State
Bay: Expires on 8/26/10
Gulf: Expires on 8/24/10
Franklin: Expires on 8/28/10
Wakulla: Expired
Dixie: Expired
Sarasota: Concurrent with State
Jefferson: Expired
County EOC Activations
Escambia, Level 3
Santa Rosa, Level 3
Okaloosa, Level 2 (Partial)
Walton, Level 3
Bay, Level 2 (Partial)
Gulf, Level 2 (Partial)
Franklin, Level 3
Wakulla, Level 3
Jefferson, Level 3
Topics: 2010, August 23, 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, 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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