Florida Opens First Branch Office Dedicated To Oil Spill Response in Pensacola, Combines Federal, State and Local Authorities

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Governor Charlie Crist, continuing his commitment to recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, on July 7 attended the opening of Florida’s first branch office committed to oil spill response. The branch office, located in Pensacola to serve both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, brings together federal, state and local agencies to streamline response efforts.

 

“The Escambia/Santa Rosa branch office is an important component in better responding to the needs of Florida communities following the BP oil spill,” said Governor Crist. “By bringing together all response entities in an impacted area, we will be able to more quickly deploy the necessary resources to cleanup and protect our coasts and communities.”

 

The Escambia/Santa Rosa branch office brings together members of BP, the United States Coast Guard, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida Division of Emergency Management, as well as county representatives to more quickly and efficiently coordinate the deployment of assets such as reconnaissance teams, skimmers, cleanup crews, vessels of opportunity and wildlife response teams. The branch office team will be under the joint tactical direction of Coast Guard Deputy Incident Commander Joseph Boudrow and BP Deputy Incident Commander Mary Shafer Malicki, located in the Tallahassee Emergency Operations Center.

 

“Implementing the branch office model brings a level of command and control that includes representatives of local government,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “Local government best understands the needs of their communities, and we must better integrate them in the response in order to be successful.”

 

The Escambia/Santa Rosa branch office is the first to open and will be followed by three additional branch offices that will serve the Panhandle region. The other three offices will be Okaloosa/Walton, Bay and Gulf/Franklin/Wakulla/Jefferson.

 

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 have been 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: 718,661 deployed in Florida: Tier 1 & Tier 2: 435,600 / Tier 3: 283,061

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

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

1,414 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).

According to the NOAA oil plume model, the oil plume is 64 miles from Pensacola, 136 miles from Panama City and 333 miles from St. Petersburg. NOAA trajectory forecasts keep most of the oil away from the Florida coastline with no direct impacts and the uncertainty line only reaching as far to the east as the Florida/Alabama border through Friday.

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 26,408 with approximately $25,561,278.46 paid.

For more information on Florida’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, visit www.deepwaterhorizonflorida.com, follow www.Twitter.com/FLDEPalert or call the Florida Oil Spill Information Line at 888-337-3569.

 

Source: News Release