·       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, 260 miles from St. Petersburg, and 20 miles from the Loop Current.·       BP announced today grants to each of the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to help their Governors promote tourism around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico over the coming months.  BP is providing $25 million to Florida and $15 million each to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.·       Deepwater Horizon public information updates, emergency management situation reports and incident action plans will be released on Mondays and Thursdays only, unless impact is imminent or other issues arise that need immediate attention. The EOC will continue at a level 2 or partial activation. ·       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.·       The public is reminded that ALL suspected sightings of oil substances from the spill should be reported directly to the oil sighting hotline at 1-866-448-5816.  Do not pick the substance up. When reporting to the hotline, please be ready to provided detailed sighting information, including a description and an address or prominent landmarks.

·       Spill responders are asking for the public’s help in monitoring boom along the Gulf Coast. Boaters are requested to report sightings of broken, disconnected, or adrift boom; and encouraged to keep their distance from boom especially at night and in conditions of restricted visibility.  Report damaged, vandalized, adrift, or stolen boom to 1-866-448-5816.

 

·       Santa Rosa County and the State of Florida continue to make preparations to safeguard the state’s shoreline.·       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. ·       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.·       All of Santa Rosa County’s coastline is open, including Navarre Beach.  Two links to live Web cams on Navarre Beach are available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill. BP Claims·       To serve the residents of Santa Rosa County, BP opened a claims office in Midway on Friday, May 14. The office is located at 5668 Gulf Breeze Parkway Unit B-9 in Gulf Breeze. Hours of operation will be 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·       BP claims in Florida: 1,229 / approximately $340,279 paido        Wage Loss: 508 claims/ $94,700o        Loss of Income:§         Commercial: 148 claims/ $28,749§         Business Interruption: 52 claims/ $12,500§         Shrimper: 63 claims/ $98,750§         Fisherman: 133 claims/ $47,999§         Rental Property: 162 claims/ $2,280§         Charters: 107 claims/ $53,620.00§         Maintenance Co: 2 claims/ $1,680 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Business Survey #3·       Florida emergency management and economic development staff are continuing to gather information from businesses impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Survey #3, in now available until May 22.  The surveys continue to provide crucial information that will help shape Florida's response to this event.  The survey is updated periodically, so please check back, as your specific situation and information may change.·       The survey can be found at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill or  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y5WGZR7.  Small Business Disaster Loans Available·       Governor Crist announced Friday 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        More information can be found at: www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/SERV_DISASTERASSISTANCEGOV.html 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 tourismo        Prepare contingency plan for response to protect Santa Rosa resourceso        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, and remains in effect allowing the county to implement proactive measures as needed.  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.  Booming Stats·       Approximately 200,700 feet of boom has been placed out of the Pensacola and Panama City staging areas in support of Unified Command.·       Florida staging areas have 60,000 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.  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.·       To view the Coast Guard Sector Mobile Area Contingency Plan, visit http://ocean.floridamarine.org/ACP/MOBACP/StartHere.html 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.·       128 out of 416 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·       NOAA Fisheries Service, in cooperation with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, will provide the FWC with additional funding to increase its monitoring efforts to give fisheries managers the information they need to possibly adjust or extend fishing seasons, such as the recreational Gulf red snapper season, if that is warranted.·       The recreational red snapper season in the Gulf will remain closed until June 1. For more information on red snapper management rules and research efforts, go to MyFWC.com/Rules; click on “Fishing – Saltwater.”·       The FWC reminds Floridians and visitors that the state’s recreational and commercial fisheries have not been impacted by the oil spill and remain open for public enjoyment and commerce. Florida saltwater fishing regulations remain in effect as usual and are available online at MyFWC.com/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. BP Training ·       An updated schedule and description of all current training opportunities is available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.  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. ·       Please note that all oil-contaminated materials will only be handled by trained, paid workers and not by volunteers.  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 call (850) 983-5360 for more details.  Important Phone Numbers·       Florida Oil Spill Information Line- 1-888- 337-3569 ·       Fraud Hotline- 1-866-966-7226.·       Submit Alternative Response Technology Services & Products- email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 1-281-366-5511·       Report Oiled Wildlife- 1-866-557-1401 ·       Report Oil Sightings- 1-866-448-5816. General Safety Information

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 Citizen Information Line

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