Florida Releases July 8, 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Situation Update
On July 8 NOAA places the BP oil plume about 71 miles from Pensacola, 129 miles from Panama City and 311 miles from St. Petersburg.
NOAA trajectory forecasts show portions of the oil plume slowly expanding back to the east through Saturday, but no direct coastal impacts to beaches are forecast.
Southerly swells from Tropical Depression Two will decrease today, but wave heights of 2-4 feet will persist along the Panhandle coast, with offshore wave heights of 6-8 feet possible. Wind speeds will decrease and weather conditions will continue to improve.
On July 7, BP recovered approximately 24,575 barrels of oil: 16,665 barrels of oil were collected, 7,920 barrels of oil were flared and 57.6 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.
A new federal web portal was launched today called RestoreTheGulf.gov which is dedicated to providing the American people with clear and accessible information and resources related to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and recovery
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 8, 2010.
Map of BP Oil Spill as of July 8, 2010. Click on images for larger picture.
This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Wednesday, July 7 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 Wednesday satellite imagery analysis (NOAA/NESDIS) and 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.
SE winds are forecast to continue decreasing in magnitude to 5-10 kts by Thursday, then become weak (<5 kts) and variable over the next few days. Conditions for overflight observations remain poor. Remote sensing imagery and overflights have indicated scattered areas of potential oil remaining in Chandeleur and Mississippi Sound, which will continue to threaten the coastlines of MS and AL west of Mobile Bay. Models continue to indicate winds and currents are moving oil from the source region west around the Delta and then to the north, with potential new shoreline oiling in the area between Barataria Bay and Caillou Bay. Further to the west, no oil has been observed west of Caillou Bay since Monday. However, models indicate that any oil in this region would be subject to rapid westward movement by strong coastal currents which could continue to result in scattered tarball impacts to Texas.
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.
Weather Summary:
The tropical wave in the western Gulf of Mexico formed into Tropical Depression #2 late Wednesday night. There is a chance that T.D. #2 could become Tropical Storm Bonnie just before making landfall near the Texas/Mexico border later today.
Heat index values may reach between 99 and 103 degrees at the coast both Thursday and Friday. Winds will shift to a west and southwest direction today and persist at around 5-10 knots through the weekend. Offshore, no oil has been observed within or moving towards Eddy Franklin and there is no path for oil to enter the Florida Straits.
Current Situation:
Florida beaches are open.
Estimated release rate of oil from Deepwater Horizon at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. Optimization of the dual recovery system (LMRP Cap and Q4000) continues; total oil recovered approximately 24,575 barrels on 7/07/10.
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 47,000 personnel are working the on and offshore response.
- Oil-water mix recovered: nearly 28.65 million gallons
- Response vessels available: more than 6,680
- Response aircraft available: 112
- Dispersant: more than 1.74 million gallons deployed
- There is no planned use of dispersants in Florida waters.
Florida Specific:
Oil Impact Notice have been posted to include: Escambia County, all Gulf side beaches; Walton County, all Gulf beaches, Okaloosa County, Brackin Wayside Park, Henderson Park Beach, and James Lee Park.
Tar balls, tar patties and sheen are reported in Northwest Florida, though fewer impacts have been observed due to westward-moving winds and ocean currents.
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: 723,461 deployed in Florida. (Tier 1 & Tier 2: 438,000 / Tier 3: 285,461)
In accordance with established plans, protective booming, staging, and boom maintenance is being conducted along the coast from Escambia to Franklin.
- 255 vessels are deployed in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.
- 1,471 Qualified Community Responders are actively 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 26,953 with approximately $27,130,311.49 paid.
Florida Information Lines:
The Florida Oil Spill Information Line (FOSIL) is available from 8am-6pm EDT daily.
- English – (888) 337-3569
- Haitian Creole – (877) 955-8707
- Spanish – (877) 955-8773
- TDD – (800) 955-8771
- Voice – (800) 955-8770
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.
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://gulfrecoveryjobs.employflorida.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 processing.
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: 11,827 positions advertised; 35,504 applicants referred.
100 Florida National Guard personnel on duty at various duty posts in the Deepwater Horizon area of operations.
18,569 volunteers have registered to respond to Deepwater Horizon. 21,455 volunteer hours have been worked.
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. Disaster LoanOutreach Centers are open in 8 counties.
Loan Applications:
- Issued: 523 Accepted: 139 Declined: 46 Approved: 24
- Loan amount approved: $2,617,400.00
Local States of Emergency
- Escambia: Expired on 7/07/10
- Santa Rosa: Expires on 7/09/10
- Okaloosa: Concurrent with State
- Walton: Expires on 7/09/10
- Bay: Expires on 7/08/10
- Gulf: Expires on 7/12/10
- Franklin: Expires on 7/12/10
- Wakulla: Expires on 7/12/10
- Jefferson: Expires on 7/08/10
- Dixie: Expires on 7/08/10
- 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)
Topics: 2010, beaches, BP, British Petroleum, business, coastline, Deepwater Horizon, Economy, emergency response, environment, environmental impact, fishing, Florida, Florida seafood products, GOHSEP, Governance, government, Governor Charlie Crist, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil map, July 8, 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, Panhandle, Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Pass, pollution, President Obama, relief wells, tourism, Transocean, U.S., United States, VISIT FLORIDA marketing campaign, White House, www.visitflorida.com
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