July 26 Deepwater Horizon incident update

·       Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa's entire coastline is open for swimming and fishing. Two links to live Web cams on Navarre Beach are available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Links for Visitors" tab.

·       There are currently no swimming or fishing restrictions on Navarre Beach or anywhere in Santa Rosa County.

·       Today, July 26, a small amount of tar balls were reported on Navarre Beach from walkover number nine, west to the National Seashore. Clean up crews were notified and responded for clean up.

·       The NOAA oil plume model shows the oil plume 120 miles from Pensacola, and 200 miles from Panama City.

·       Minimal impacts are expected in Northwest Florida over the next 72 hours.

·       No tropical storm activity is expected in the next 48 hours.

·       A clean up team of 50 is scheduled to work on Navarre Beach Park tonight, July 19.

·       In order to expedite responses to oiled wildlife, please contact the oiled wildlife hotline at 1-866-557-1401 if oiled wildlife is spotted. Qualified personnel will respond to the report. Please do not touch or try and clean oiled wildlife.

·       Citizens are asked not to have direct contact with oil and oil contaminated products such as tar balls, tar patties, tar mats, and oil sheen. Only qualified members should handle oil products and oil contaminated materials. To report tar or oil on the beach, call the Florida State Warning Point Line at 1-877-272-8335 or # DEP from a cell phone.

Health

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Health" tab.

·       July 22 sub sand water samples showed no dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons detected above what is normal at Navarre Beach Pier and Santa Rosa Island. Sampling was conducted at the high tide of the beach. Crews dug downward in the sand until the depth was sufficient to allow sampling.

·       July 22 water testing by the University of West Florida showed no dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons detected above what is normal at Navarre Beach Pier and Santa Rosa Island.

·       July 19 water sampling by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection showed no petroleum-related contaminants at the Navarre Beach fishing pier. Two water samples were collected on July 22. Two water samples are planned for Thursday, July 29. Results will be available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/water.htm#counties.

·       Air quality reports for July 22 revealed that air quality was considered good for ozone and fine particulate concentrations in the panhandle. "Good" means the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk.

Santa Rosa County Actions

For more information view the Situation Report and Incident Action Plan at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under "What's Hot" on the "Main" tab.  

·       County staff and reconnaissance teams continue to monitor beach conditions daily generally from day break until 6 p.m., weather permitting.

·       The Division 1 Branch office is operational and located in Pensacola. It serves both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, bringing together federal, state and local agencies to streamline response efforts. Santa Rosa County has had staff representation in the office since its implementation.

Booms

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Local Action Plan" tab.  

·       Oil containment boom (in feet) total: 126,561 deployed in Florida

o        Tier 1 & Tier 2: 0

o        Tier 3: 126,561 (deployed by Florida contractors)

BP Claims

For more information, including how to file a claim, visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the

"Claims" tab.

·         BP claims in Florida total 33,553 with approximately $46,259,148.24 paid.

·         BP claims in Santa Rosa County total 3,930 with approximately $5,966,712 paid.

Small Business Disaster & Bridge Loans

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Business" tab.

Fishing

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Boating, Fishing and Wildlife" tab.

·         All Santa Rosa County waters are currently open to fishing.

Vessels of Opportunity (Boats) Program

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Boating, Fishing and Wildlife" tab.

Volunteer Information

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the "Volunteer" tab.

·         Shoreline Users Resource Force, or SURF will be holding a training course that is required for volunteers at the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station located at the Navarre Beach Park at 8638 Blue Heron Court on Friday, July 30 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

o        SURF volunteers are stationed on Navarre Beach to provide information and answer questions from beach visitors and residents about beach and water safety, coastal habitats, wildlife, clean-up response, beach conditions, seafood safety and the Navarre Beach "Leave No Trace Behind" ordinance. Volunteers will also help with oil reconnaissance by watching and reporting changing beach conditions. Due to the complex nature of oil cleanup, coupled with health and safety concerns, volunteers are not allowed to participate in clean up activities.

o        To register for the training courses, contact Santa Rosa County Help Thy Neighbor Volunteer Center at (850) 983-5223 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  For more information contact Chris Verlinde at (850) 623-3868 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Important Phone Numbers

·       Florida Oil Spill Information Line- is available from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. EDT daily for citizen's               questions- 888- 337-3569

·       Fraud Hotline- 1-866-966-7226

- email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call

·       Report Oiled Wildlife- 1-866-557-1401

·       Report Oiled Shoreline to State Warning Point- 1-877-2-SAVE-FL (1-877-272-8335) or #DEP from a cell phone

·       To Report Oiled Shoreline to BP- 877-389-8932

·       BP Toll-Free Claims line- 1800-440-0858

·       BP's Community Information line- 1-866-448-5816

·       Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner gas price-gauging hotline: 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352)

·       The Florida Poison Control Centers- available for general health information regarding the oil spill and exposure to oil spill products- 1-800-222-1222

·       Florida Gulf Recovery Jobs: 1-877-362-5034 or www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com

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. The Santa Rosa County Citizen Information Line at (850) 983-INFO or 4636 is open 24 hours daily.