Bay County Deepwater Horizon update

Responders received a rash of reports of oil sheen and mousse off Bay County beaches late Thursday and early Friday morning, Bay County Emergency Services Chief Mark Bowen said. None of the reports, however, was determined to have been oil product, but rather was found to be naturally occuring substances such as seagrass and algae.

Bowen said that while the reports were not oil this time, he encourages people to continue to call in suspected oil product to the Bay County hotline at 248-6030 or the Florida response hotline at (877) 272-8335 or they may call BP's response hotine at (866) 448-5816.

In an effort to assist people in discerning what substances are actually biological in nature, rather than oil product, Franklin County Sea Grant Agent and UF/IFAS Extension Program Director Bill Mahan issued a news release outlining some substances commonly mistaken for oil. The following information may help Bay County residents and visitors determine what might be oil versus a natural substance floating in the water.

Not all sheens on the water, dark spots/blobs on beaches and foamy/frothy material floating around in the water are caused by oil, Mahan says. In fact, Mother Nature produces these oil look-a-likes all the time. This is especially true during this time of the year.

According to Mahan, some of Mother Nature's look-a-like oil spill products include:

Oily Sheen on the Water's Surface:  A silvery or rainbow-colored sheen on the water surface may be related to a petroleum product; however, it may also be related to natural biological sources such as the presence of iron, decomposition of organic matter, or the presence of certain bacteria. Naturally occurring sheens are usually silver or relatively dull in color that breaks up into small patches of sheen when disturbed. Petroleum sheens tend to be shiny, rainbow-colored and if disturbed the oil patches will come back together.

Tar Balls: A general description of a tar ball is weathered oil that has formed a pliable ball, varying in size from a pinhead to about a foot across. Sheen may or may not be present around them. At this time, we have had a number of confirmed tar ball reports in the Florida Panhandle. However, before real tar balls were coming ashore, initial tar ball reports in Destin were identified as skate egg cases. Also pieces of peat and small sea cucumbers have been called in as possible tar balls.

Foam Lines/Mousse:  Oil, or sheenoriented in lines or streaks out on the water can easily be confused with algal/vegetative scum collected in tidal convergence lines. Sometimes called streaks, stringers or fingers, they are commonly found floating in near and offshore Gulf waters. They are often a collection of seagrasses, Sargassum/seaweeds and protein scum/foam moving with the tides and wind.

Dark, Oil-like Patches of Sand on the Beach: Several reports of black oil-like patches on the beach have been reported in the Florida Panhandle. When investigated, the dark patches of sand were found to be caused by 'June Grass' clumps of sea grass or several different types of algae that wash up on our beaches in June and other times of the year. These algae and sea grass, as they are moved back and forth by the wave action in the intertidal zone, break up into small dark pieces and can leave behind an area of dark-colored stained sand.

Other Sightings/Rumors: In early May, in the Destin area, a common rumor making the rounds was that sharp glassy fragments washing up on local beaches were fiberglass remains of the booms used to collect the oil out in the Gulf. When investigated, the fragments were the exoskeletons of an animal called a pterpod. Commonly called sea butterflies, these marine snails shed their exoskeleton when they die. The pointed part of the shell can prick people's feet if they step on them. However, they pose no threat to people.

In other news:

-- BP crews will be stationed along Bay County beaches this holiday weekend and will be ready to respond should anything wash ashore, according to Vani Rao, BP community outreach coordinator for Bay County. She said more than 500 people are currently working on Bay County beaches, working both during the daytime and at night. Rao said BP has recently leased space at the old Miracle Strip Amusement Park site for staging of heavy equipment that might be necessary should a cleanup the caliber of the one at Pensacola Beach be necessary.

-- U.S. Coast Guard Commander Mike Frender asked boaters to be cognizant of the boom in place as they venture out this holiday weekend, particularly during nighttime fireworks shows.

"Any boom near a channel will be lit," he said, "but people should still be mindful of its presence."

-- 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. Residents may also call (866) 448-5816.

-- 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.

-- 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.