Situation Update

 

• Winds/currents are expected to continue to keep the plume away from the Florida coast for at least the next 72 hours.

 

• According to the NOAA oil plume model, the oil spill is 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, 175 miles from Port St. Joe, and 316 miles from St. Petersburg, and 90 miles from the loop current

 

• To serve the residents of Santa Rosa County, BP opened a claims office in Midway today. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice.

 

o        BP recommends anyone with a claim to call 1-800-440-0858 to help expedite the process. By calling the claims number, adjusters at the claims office will have the information prior to your visit.

 

o        The office is located at: BP Claims Office 5668 Gulf Breeze Pkwy Unit B-9 Gulf Breeze, FL 32563

 

• Governor Crist today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved disaster loan funds for businesses along Florida's Gulf coast that have been impacted by the Deepwater Horizon incident.

 

o        SBA representatives will open a disaster loan office on Tuesday, May 18 at the Navarre Visitor Information Center located at 8543 Navarre Parkway (U.S. Hwy 98) in Navarre. Hours of operations will be 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday- Saturday until further notice.

 

o        Economic Injury Disaster Loans can help eligible small businesses meet the necessary financial obligations they could have met, had the disaster not occurred. Interest rates for businesses and small agricultural cooperatives are as low as four percent, and for non-profit organizations rates are as low as three percent, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition. Loan applications for economic injury can be filed until the close of business on February 14, 2011.

 

o        More information can be found at: www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/SERV_DISASTERASSISTANCEGOV.html

 

• In response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Florida is providing video and audio Public Service Announcements. These items can be used to educate the public on safety, coast watch and beach clean up. They are available for download at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/media.htm.

 

• In order to condense our updates, older information that is still valid including tips, links, training schedules and other information for business and residents, are now available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.

 

• Santa Rosa County and the State of Florida continue to make preparations to safeguard the state's shoreline.

 

• Should any impacts to our coastline occur, these could potentially include tar balls - fragments or lumps of oil weathered into a solid consistency - oil sheen or tar mats -sheets of oil that are thicker than a sheen. Should individuals observe any evidence of oil, they should leave the area and report the incident to 1-866-448-5816.

 

• At this time, there are no indications of any health risks to Floridians due to the Deepwater Horizon incident. The Department of Health and DEP are closely monitoring health and environmental impacts to Florida's beaches and will notice an advisory if conditions become unsafe.

 

• Santa Rosa County beaches are open. Two links to live Web cams are now available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.

 

 

 

 

 

Booming Stats

 

• Approximately 176,900 feet of boom has been placed out of the Pensacola and Panama City staging areas in support of Unified Command.

 

• Florida staging areas have 17,750 feet staged.

 

• Maps of the U.S. Coast Guard's booming strategy, including overall locations and a priority listing, are available online at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.

 

 

 

BP Claims

 

• BP has had 768 claims in Florida and approximately $194,000 of those claims have been paid.

 

o        Wage loss: 261 claims/$40,000

 

o        Loss of income:

 

• Commercial: 102 claims/$26,249.99

 

• Business Interruption: 41 claims/$7,500

 

• Shrimper: 57 claims/$56,250

 

• Fisherman: 92 claims/$30,499.99

 

• Rental Property:125 claims/$2,280

 

• Charters: 78 claims/$31,120.00

 

 

 

Actions Taken By Santa Rosa County

 

• Submitted a 30-day cost projection of county expenses to FDEM.

 

• Funding agreements between the state and Santa Rosa County are being finalized.

 

• A representative from WRS Infrastructure and Environment, Inc., a contractor for FDEM was assigned to Santa Rosa County to evaluate our county's protection efforts and provide Santa Rosa with a written tactical and operational protection plan for our area including booming, skimming and monitoring of the approved booming locations.

 

• Established a process for reviewing protection requests.

 

• Emergency management staff has identified long and short term objectives, to include but not limited to:

 

o        Monitor ongoing protection measures and identify additional measures that may be needed.

 

o        Monitor training courses scheduled.

 

o        Identify debris management plan.

 

o        Continue coordinating training needed for workers and volunteers to participate in clean-up & coordinate training opportunities.

 

o        Update priority list for boom requests to unified command.

 

o        Follow up on air, water and sediment quality baseline tests.

 

o        Monitor water for oil or affected wildlife.

 

o        Document local resources used.

 

o        Research and track financial impacts and tourism

 

o        Prepare contingency plan for response to protect Santa Rosa resources

 

o        Monitor requests made to unified command

 

• Santa Rosa County is working with professional animal service organizations to coordinate response activities for animals affected by any oil on our coast.

 

• A local state of emergency was declared at 3 p.m., Friday, April 30, allowing the county to implement proactive measures as needed. On May 7, the board of county commissioners extended this order through May 14. Further extensions can be declared as needed.

 

• Emergency management officials continue to participate in the unified command and State of Florida Department of Emergency Management conference calls to obtain the latest information to plan our role accordingly.

 

• Pre-qualified debris contractors and environmental engineering consultants have been contacted and are ready to respond as required.

 

• The EOC is activated at a level 2, or partial activation with essential staff, from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. until further notice.

 

 

 

Proposed Booming Strategy

 

• Unified command, DEP and FDEM have approved the placement of a boom at the mouth of the East River. The boom will be placed by crews under the director of unified command.

 

• On May 7, the booming of the bridges strategy proposed by Santa Rosa County was denied. A new protection plan, which much more aggressively approaches the managing of the spill at the Pensacola Pass and the basin immediately adjacent to NAS Pensacola, was proposed by DEP and FDEM in conjunction with Santa Rosa County.

 

• Within 72 hours of expected impact, this plan would place three additional directional booms inland of the pass, but within the NAS basin to capture and direct any oil into that basin. This would be coupled with pre-positioned skimmers that would aggressively collect any oil collected by the booming.

 

• Santa Rosa County officials believe that this aggressive approach at the point of entry would provide much better protection for Gulf Breeze and the entire bay system.

 

• This plan has been approved by unified command.

 

 

 

Vessels of Opportunity (boats) program

 

• BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire through the Vessel of Opportunities Program to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information 907-301-8878.

 

• 203 out of 228 contracts have been activated for the Vessels of Opportunity program in Florida.

 

• Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511

 

 

 

Fishing

 

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has issued an executive order to temporarily suspend a restriction on the use of purse seines for the commercial harvest of baitfish in inshore waters of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The FWC is taking this action to help relieve possible economic hardships on the commercial fishing industry that may occur from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

• Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing.

 

• Details can be found at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/

 

• Fishermen who wish to contact BP about a claim should call 1-800-440-0858.

 

 

 

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Business Survey #2

 

• Local businesses are strongly encouraged to take the Florida State Emergency Response Team's Business Impact survey to help assess the economic effects of the Deepwater Horizon Event to our area and the state. The information provided is critical to decisions that will be made to assist businesses impacted by this event.

 

• The survey can be found at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill or http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/37NF5BL

 

 

 

BP Training

 

• An updated schedule and description of all training is available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.

 

• Please note:

 

o        All oil-contaminated materials will only be handled by trained, paid workers and not by volunteers.

 

o        Only training module 1 would be applicable for volunteers.

 

o        The BP training modules 2, 3 & 4 are of use primarily to individuals interested in employment and not volunteers.

 

o        Volunteers should support the oil cleanup effort through appropriate activities such as Coast Watch (see next page), pre-landfall beach cleanups, fundraising, and meeting other needs of responding organizations.

 

 

 

Coast Watchers/Volunteer Registration

 

The Governor's Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service is encouraging Floridians and visitors to watch for oiled wildlife, vegetation, and beaches by becoming a Coast Watch volunteer.  

 

• Coast Watchers will work within the coastal communities where they live or visit and commit to do the following:

 

o        Report injured or oiled animals to the Wildlife Distress Hotline: 1-866-557-1401.

 

o        Report oiled shoreline to: 1-866-448-5816.

 

o        Report a change in Air Quality to: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/.

 

• For information on scheduled beach cleanups and other volunteer opportunities, visit www.volunteerflorida.org.

 

• To become a part of the Santa Rosa County volunteer database for volunteer opportunities that may arise, contact the Volunteer Reception Center operated through Help Thy Neighbors in coordination with emergency management at (850) 983-5223.

 

 

 

Community Meetings

 

• Future community meetings will be announced as they are scheduled.

 

• Santa Rosa County officials and emergency management staff are available to speak to groups, please contact 983-5360 for more details.

 

 

 

Mobile Area Contingency Plan

 

• To view the Coast Guard Sector Mobile Area Contingency Plan, visit http://ocean.floridamarine.org/ACP/MOBACP/StartHere.html

 

 

 

Florida Oil Spill Information Line

 

• The Florida Emergency Information Line (FEIL) has been closed and the Florida Oil Spill Information Line (FOSIL) opened, which will be available from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. EDT daily at (888) 337-3569. Residents and visitors may also call this line for updates on the state's response activities, information on volunteer opportunities, protective tips for homeowners and business and safety and health tips.

 

 

 

Fraud

 

• To report possible causes of fraud, call the Attorney General's Office fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226.

 

 

 

Alternative Response Technology

 

• To submit alternative response technology, services or products please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (281) 366-5511.

 

 

 

Oiled Wildlife

 

• To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-866-557-1401 and leave a message. Messages will be checked hourly. Individuals are urged not to attempt to help injured or oiled animals, but to report any sightings to the toll free number.

 

 

 

Report Oil Sightings

 

• To report oiled shoreline, please call 1-866-448-5816.

 

 

General Safety Information

 

www.santarosa.fl.gov

Citizens can signup to automatically receive breaking news alerts from Santa Rosa County Emergency Management via e-mail or as a text message on their cell phone at:  www.santarosa.fl.gov/emergency/publicwarning.html.

 

 

Citizen Information Line

 

The Santa Rosa County Citizen Information Line at (850) 983-INFO or 4636 is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.