Deepwater Horizon logo

June 29, 2010
Deepwater Horizon oil release update
 NOAA further closes fishery; oiled bird rescued
 
Join Our Mailing List
 
 Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested in receiving updates
In This Issue
NOAA further closes fishery
BCAC rescues bird
Weather updates
Independence Day events planned
Pass project under way
Vist Bay County Web site
NOAA further closes fishery 
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration further closed federal fishing waters in the Gulf of Mexico, effective 6 p.m. last night. The closure extends from nine miles south of Cape San Blas. This federal closure does not apply to any state waters. Closing fishing in these areas is a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers, according to NOAA. The closed area now represents 80,228 square miles, which is approximately 33.2 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters. Click here for information about how to sign up for text messages concerning NOAA fishery closures and other Deepwater Horizon updates. Click the photo below for more information about the closure.
 
NOAA further closed fishing in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday evening.
NOAA fishery closure
Click the image above for more information.
 
BCAC director rescues oiled bird
 
Bay County Animal Control Director Jim Crosby responded Monday night to a call from a concerned citizen about an oiled bird found at Panama City Beach's West End. Crosby said the seabird, a Northern Gannett, had oil on its feathers and was unable to fly. He caged the bird and turned it over to TriState Bird Rescue, contracted by BP, for rehabilitation. The animal's prospects are positive, Crosby said.
 
"He's a strong bird; I think he's got a pretty good chance at surviving this," Crosby said.
 
He encouraged people who see oiled wildlife on Bay County shores to call the authorities, rather than try to rescue the animal themselves. They may call the oiled wildlife hotline at 866-557-1401. People may also call the Bay County hotline at 248-6030. Click the photo below to view a News Channel 7 story about the rescue.
 
 

BCAC Director Jim Crosby rescued this oiled Northern Gannett off western Panama City Beach on Monday night.

Oiled Northern Gannett
 
In other news: 
 
-- A Panama City Beach business owner reported a "plume" of oil off Panama City Beach on Monday. The substance appeared to have been substantiated by a NOAA satellite image showing a plume approximately 1.5 miles from the St. Andrew Pass; however, no vessels of opportunity nor the Nearshore Skimming Task Force could verify the existence of the matter. Efforts to further investigate the claim were stymied by bad weather, according to Bay County Emergency Services Chief Mark Bowen. Bowen told reporters on Tuesday that had the plume existed, it would have made landfall by now.
 
"We're almost certain it didn't exist. This is just an example of how difficult it is to track these things," Bowen said. "We can't always know when and where something is going to make landfall. We're doing the best we can to keep up with where the threat is. I want to diminish the expectation that we know exactly where all of this stuff is all the time and that we can provide some kind of advanced warning prior to it making landfall. We can't."
 
He said heavy equipment capable of cleaning up a plume that washes ashore is being staged closer to Panama City Beach. In such an event, he said, moving people out of the water and away from the cleanup area would be the first step in the effort to clean up the beach.
 
"This stuff is going to make landfall at some point, and we're not going to know where or when a plume is going to hit. We've just got to be ready to jump on that and get it cleaned up," he said.
 
-- Two decontamination stations inside the bay for recreational vessels are being identified, though they are not built out, according to U.S. Coast Guard Commander Mike Frender. Two decontamination stations are also staged in the gulf, with one located three miles south of the St. Andrews Pass and another seven miles south of the pass. Those stations are for commercial, military, response and recreational vessels that are actively sheening as a result of contact with oil product. Once they are operable, mariners should avoid using the stations inside the bay if possible and should make every attempt to utilize the stations in the Gulf, Frender said. Boaters whose vessels may have been affected by contact with oil may contact the U.S. Coast Guard on their VHF radios at Channel 16 or Channel 71. A new website, created by BP, lists vessel decontamination locations within the U.S. Coast Guard Mobile Sector for oiled boats.
  
-- The public is asked to report suspected oil sightings on Bay County shores or in the Gulf to Bay County's hotline at (850) 248-6030, rather than calling 9-1-1, as the emergency response system is for life-and-death situations, and Unified Command can better respond to beach cleanup requests if the local number is used.
 
-- Click here to visit NOAA trajectories.
 
-- The state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Health continue to conduct water and air quality sampling. To learn more about the sampling and for health advisories concerning the Deepwater Horizon oil release, click here. DEP conducted water and sediment sampling to use as a baseline and is monitoring air quality data. Statewide air quality monitoring is conducted in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more here or here. An online mapping resource that contains up-to-date health advisory information for Florida's beach waters can be viewed here
 
-- To report oil on the beach, a suspicious odor, oiled wildlife or for information about the oil release, please call (850) 248-6030.
 
-- BP's local claims office is located at 7938 Front Beach Road, in the shopping plaza near the Bay Street Deli. Business owners and those who have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil release may use this as a resource for recouping their financial losses. BP advises that people filing claims should still call the toll-free number to enter their information into the claims database. That number is (800) 440-0858. BP also has opened a community support office located at 3101 U.S. 98, across the street from Howell Marine and Tackle Supply. At this office, BP can provide information about the oil release and answer community questions.
 
-- Oil spill employment opportunities in this area are available. Visit the state Web site for Gulf Recovery Jobs information. 
Weather updates 
  
From NOAA: Winds are forecast to continue to have an easterly component (ESE/SE) through Wednesday at speeds of 12-23 knots. This will result in the northern edge of the slick continuing to move northwest threatening the barrier islands of Mississippi/Alabama and the Florida Panhandle west of Freeport, Florida. The Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound and the Mississippi Delta are also threatened by shoreline contacts in this forecast period. An overflight today observed significant amounts of oil south of the Delta extending towards Barataria Bay. Some of this oil may begin moving westward, threatening shorelines as far west as Caillou Bay. 
 
From DEP: Winds will be out of the east-southeast at 10-20 knots with gusts up to 15-25 knots along the northern Gulf Coast today and waves generated by Tropical Storm Alex will continue to be onshore, out of the south. Maximum wave heights are forecast to be 4 to 6 feet near shore and as high as 8 to 10 feet offshore. Weather conditions will be unfavorable for recovery operations today through Thursday. Offshore, no significant amounts of oil are within or moving towards the loop current ring and there is no clear path for oil to enter the Florida Straits within the next 5 days. As of 8 a.m., Tropical Storm Alex is located about 507 miles southwest of the
Deepwater Horizon well site and has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
Independence Day events still a 'go'
  
Fourth of July events planned for this weekend will proceed. Click the links below for more information.
 
-- The city of Lynn Haven will hold its annual Independence Day Parade and fireworks show on Saturday, July 3, along with a host of other events. Click here to view the itinerary.
 
-- The city of Panama City's celebration will be Sunday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. downtown at the Panama City Marina.
 
-- Panama City Beach will host two fireworks displays Sunday, one at Grand Lagoon and another at Pier Park.
 
-- The city of Mexico Beach will host a fireworks show from the City Pier at sunset on Sunday. Click here for more information.
Pass protection project continues
  
A project aimed at protecting the St. Andrew Pass continued Tuesday, though rough waters caused by Hurricane Alex complicated efforts.
 
"We're working today despite the rain," Bay County Public Works Director Ken Schnell said. "We've got three-foot seas in the pass, and that's certainly causing us difficulties, but we're still working."
 
Schnell said the project remains on schedule, but that the weather will determine if crews are able to stay so.
 
"It's all going to depend on what the weather does, what the seas do," Schnell said. "Right now, I'm still holding us to being on schedule."
 
The boom system is comprised of 18 42-inch free-standing steel pilings and eight pile "dolphins" (each consisting of three pilings attached together with a cap on them). The total of 54 pilings vary in length depending on the depth of the water, and extend at least 10 feet above the mean high tide level and about half their entire length is buried below the bay's floor. The boom is made of 30-inch diameter, two-inch thick high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe and will have a 48-inch long HDPE fabric weighted skirt hanging below the pipe.
 
In the middle of the channel, a 400-foot hinged boom gate will allow for opening or closing the pass and diverting the oil products to the sides, where skimming vessels will be used on either side of the project to collect oil.
 
The hinged boom in the center of the pass will allow boat traffic to come and go with the outgoing tide and will be closed to traffic with the incoming tide, if oil is actively being removed from the area. 
 
The more "robust" booming project evolved after it became apparent that more conventional booming plans to the west are ineffective. Bay County engineers worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, AshBritt -- a Florida-based disaster recovery company, and various engineers to develop and gain federal approval of the plan.
 
Boaters are asked to exercise caution when traveling through the pass. The project will take approximately three weeks from now to complete.
 
BP Vice President Bryant Chapman, at a Wednesday meeting with officials from several Panhandle counties, committed to funding Bay County's pass project, estimated to cost about $2.8 million to construct and another $8,300 per day to manage.
 
The Tier 1, 2 and 3 booming plans will still be exercised, Bowen said.
 

Crews continue to drive pilings in a project to protect St. Andrew Bay.

St. Andrew Pass project
 
 
 
 

The Bay County Commission approved a plan to protect the St. Andrew Pass Tuesday. Click on the photo to download a .pdf of the plan.

Pass plan.revised
 
Visit Bay County Web site for additional information 
 
Unified Command produces an incident action plan (IAP) every 48 hours weekdays on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The IAP contains the newest information regarding the release response in red so that it is easily discernable from more dated information. The IAP is the best way for the general public to keep abreast of all the latest news concerning the oil release. These are posted to the county's Web site for public review as soon as they are prepared and provide the most current information about the oil release.
 
To view the latest IAP, click here. You may also call the EOC information hotline at (850) 248-6030 for information.
 
Click here to visit the Bay County Web site.
 
Click here to view archived E-mail updates.
Bay County will continue to strive to provide residents and visitors with the most current information.
 
Sincerely,
 

Bay County Public Information Officer Valerie Lovett
Bay County Board of County Commissioners