Florida Releases June 13, 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Situation Update
Relatively weak winds (below 10 knots), low seas (below 2 feet) and relatively low rain chances are expected to prevail through the next 2 days, which will be favorable for surface oil recovery operations.
Winds are expected to remain out of the south-southwest for the next three days, continuing to push portions of the oil plume towards the western Florida Panhandle.
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 June 13, 2010.
All Florida Beaches Remain OPEN!
This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Saturday, June 12 PM. Currents were obtained from several models (NOAA Gulf of Mexico, West Florida Shelf/USF, NAVO/NRL) and HFR measurements.
The model was initialized from Saturday 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 that bay by local tidal currents.
Winds this weekend are forecast to be variable and less than 10 knots. By Monday night, onshore (predominantly SSE/SE winds) are expected to resume with speeds of 6-10 kts.
Persistent onshore winds have resulted in northward movement of the slick towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands and the Florida Panhandle. Coastal regions in Mississippi Sound west of Freeport may continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout this forecast period.
Persistent southeasterly winds are also resulting in movement of oil towards the Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound, and the Mississippi Delta. These region are also threatened by shoreline contacts within this forecast period.
Current Situation:
Unified Area Command estimates release rate of oil from Deepwater Horizon at 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day. The containment dome is recovering approximately 15,000 barrels of oil and burning off millions of cubic feet of natural gas per day.
- 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 27,000 personnel are working the on and offshore response.
- Oil-water mix recovered: approximately 19.9 million gallons
- Response vessels available: more than 5,500
- Response aircraft available: 97
- Dispersant (in gallons): approximately 1,216,000 deployed
- There is no planned use of dispersants in Florida waters.
Florida Specific:
- A large plume of weathered oil has been detected nine miles south of Pensacola Pass. The plume is two miles wide and goes south for 40 miles.
- An additional plume of non-weathered oil was verified through state reconnaissance data. The plume is located three miles south of Pensacola Pass.
- Response assets, including skimming vessels, have been dispatched to the Pensacola Pass area.
- On June 12, dime to five inch-sized tar balls and tar patties were found in areas from the Alabama/Florida state line east to Walton County. Tar ball and tar patty findings are more concentrated in the western-most Florida counties. Clean up teams continue to be on scene.
- Perdido Pass and Pensacola Pass are being closed with the tide to prevent oil from entering inland waters. Boom will be deployed across each Pass at flood tide (incoming) and removed at ebb tide (outgoing). Florida is working on an alternative booming plan for Pensacola Pass.
- Oil Containment Boom (in feet) total: 339,640 deployed in Florida. (Tier 1: 168,000 / Tier 2: 123,500 / Tier 3: 48,140)
In accordance with established plans, protective booming, staging, and boom maintenance is being conducted along the coast from Escambia to Franklin.
- 375 vessels are registered in Florida for the Vessels of Opportunity program.
- 341 Qualified Community Responders are actively working the cleanup efforts in the Florida Panhandle.
- 3 staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines in Florida.
- According to the NOAA oil plume model, the oil plume remains 79 miles from Mexico Beach and 258 miles from St. Petersburg, with non contiguous sheens and scattered tarballs closer. Coastal regions near and west of Pensacola Bay may continue to experience shoreline impacts through Tuesday, though the NOAA uncertainty line extends east to the western edge of Okaloosa County.
- There is a large amount of uncertainty with the attachment of the Loop Current Ring to the Loop Current. Models suggest the Ring has detached, however, analysis shows the southeastern edge of the Loop Current Ring is still connected to the Loop Current. Trajectories indicate that observed tarball fields will likely remain in the Loop Current Ring and will not move towards the Florida Straits in the next 3-4 days.
- BP is providing a $100,000 grant through a Memorandum of Understanding with Volunteer Florida to maintain a database for the registration of volunteers: go to www.VolunteerFlorida.org and click “Register to Help.”
- BP issued a $25 million block grant to Florida; first priority is booming. BP issued a second $25 million grant to Florida for a national tourism advertising campaign. BP issued another $25 million to Florida for the state’s preparedness and response efforts.
- BP claims in Florida total 12,269 with approximately $8,366,436.33 paid.
- The fishery failure declaration for the Gulf of Mexico includes Florida, providing impacted and eligible commercial fisheries the opportunity for federal support; it does not close fisheries.
Florida Information Lines:
- The Florida Oil Spill Information Line (FOSIL) is available from 8am-6pm EDT daily for citizens’ questions at (888) 337-3569.
- For general health/exposures information questions related to the oil spill, contact the Florida Poison Control Center at 1-888-337-3569.
Two public hotline numbers for oil spill investigation and cleanup:
- Impacted Wildlife: (866) 557-1401
- Oiled Shoreline: 1 (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.
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, and 10-106 declared a state of emergency for:
- Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, & Gulf (10-99)
- Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota (10-100)
- Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach (10-106)
Governor’s Executive Order 10-115 authorizes the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to designate Free Saltwater Fishing Days to encourage noncommercial fishing in Florida.
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 from the loss of commerce and revenues due to the oil spill.
Governor Charlie Crist activated Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to provide emergency, short-term loans to established small businesses in 26 designated counties.
Conducting daily conference calls with county and emergency management partners, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and various Unified Commands.
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, and 10-106 declared a state of emergency for:
- Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, & Gulf (10-99)
- Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota (10-100)
- Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach (10-106)
Governor’s Executive Order 10-115 authorizes the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to designate Free Saltwater Fishing Days to encourage noncommercial fishing in Florida.
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 from the loss of commerce and revenues due to the oil spill.
Governor Charlie Crist activated Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to provide emergency, short-term loans to established small businesses in 26 designated counties.
Conducting daily conference calls with county and emergency management partners, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and various Unified Commands.
Local States of Emergency
- Bay: Expires on 6/17/10
- Dixie: Expires on 6/17/10
- Escambia: Expires on 6/18/10
- Franklin: Expires on 6/15/10
- Gulf: Expires on 6/15/10
- Okaloosa: Concurrent with State
- Santa Rosa: Expires on 6/18/10
- Sarasota: Expires on 6/15/10
- Wakulla: Expires on 6/15/10
- Walton: Expires on 6/18/10
County EOC Activations
- Bay, Level 2 (Partial)
- Escambia, Level 2 (Partial)
- Gulf, Level 2 (Partial)
- Okaloosa, Level 2 (Partial)
- Santa Rosa, Level 2 (Partial)
- Wakulla, Level 2 (Partial)
- Franklin, Level 2 (Partial)
Topics: 2010, animals, beaches, BP, British Petroleum, business, coastline, Deepwater Horizon, Economy, emergency response, environment, environmental impact, fisherman, Fishery Failure Determination, fishing, Florida, Florida seafood products, GOHSEP, Governance, government, Governor Charlie Crist, Gulf of Mexico, Halliburton, June 13, loans, moniter, monitor, news, Obama Administration, Oil Rig, oil spill, Panhandle, pollution, President Obama, tourism, Transocean, U.S., UCG, United States, VISIT FLORIDA marketing campaign, White House, www.visitflorida.com
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