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| Oil 146 miles off Panama City
Bay County beaches remained clear Tuesday. Click here to view the state's interactive Web site.
According to the NOAA oil plume model, the oil plume is 61 miles from Pensacola, 146 miles from Panama City. NOAA trajectory forecasts are showing a slow eastward movement of both near shore and offshore oil through Thursday. No direct, significant onshore impacts are forecast through the end of the week.
The estimated release rate of oil from Deepwater Horizon is at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. BP has made progress on its "capping stack" procedure-designed to
capture greater quantities of oil. As a result of that progress, BP will begin a 'Well
Integrity Test' today, July 13. This test, which will last from six to 48 hours or more,
involves closing one or more of the valves on the new cap for a period of time to
allow BP to measure pressures in the well.
Unified Command stood up the Bay County Forward Operating Center at the former Miracle Strip Amusement Park on Tuesday. The center is part of Unified Command's new command structure. Bay County staff will be on site at the center and participate in meetings with state and federal officials in the response effort.
In other news:
-- On Sunday, July 11 members of U.S. President Barack Obama's Oil Spill Commission met in Bay County and toured the Emergency Operations Center as well as the St. Andrew Pass project. The event was also attended by county, municipal, and business representatives. Click here to view a WMBB story about the visit.
-- Residents and visitors who see oiled wildlife should call Oiled Wildlife Hotline number at (866) 557-1401 and allow authorities to rescue the injured animal. Bay County residents may also call 248-6030 to report oiled or injured wildlife.
-- Often reports of oil are found to be naturally occurring substances such as seagrass and algae. Click here to read a press release about discerning oil from naturally occurring substances.
-- Some 1,000 BP contract employees are currently working on Bay County beaches, with approximately 750 on duty during daylight hours and another 250 working at night, according to Vani Rao, community outreach coordinator for BP.
-- 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.
-- 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. |
Boom being placed, boaters should be wary
The second of four sections of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) boom pipe was installed on the eastern, or Shell Island, side of the St. Andrew Pass today, according to Bay County Public Works Director Ken Schnell.
The third piece of boom will be attached tomorrow, Schnell said, and the final piece will be placed Thursday, weather permitting.
Each side of the project will have two boom attachments joined by flange bolts, with a 400-foot gate in the middle, for a total of 2800 feet of boom across the pass.
The boom will narrow the channel through which boats may pass to 400 feet, and boaters are warned to exercise extreme caution. Boaters are also asked to adhere to a 20-meter, or 65-feet, "safety zone" on either side of the boom, as currents there are very strong. On Sunday afternoon, a pair of kayakers who got too close to the structure had to be rescued when they were expelled from their vessels and one was swept under the project.
Neither boater was seriously injured, though they could have been, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Mike Frender said.
"The currents running through that pass are very, very strong," Frender said. "It's a very serious, dangerous situation."
All 54 pilings in the project were completed as of last Friday, and work on driving sheet piling on either side of the project is 50 percent completed, Schnell said. Work continues on the 400-foot gate that will entirely close the pass on incoming tides, should oil be imminent.
So far, Schnell said, the boom is holding up well and performing as expected, despite the strong currents and tidal changes. The project will be substantially completed by the July 16 target date, with the exception of the boom gate.
"At this point, that's just as well," he said. "We've got to put it all up and test it, and when we do, it's going to close the pass. It's going to take some coordination to do that."
Once the system is tested; however, it will likely be staged nearby to reduce congestion in the pass if the oil remains a safe distance away.
The boom system is comprised of 18 42-inch free-standing steel pilings and another eight pile "dolphins" (each consisting of three pilings attached together with a cap on them) were driven in the center of the pass. 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 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.
BP Vice President Bryant Chapman, at a June meeting with officials from several Panhandle counties, committed to funding Bay County's pass project, now estimated to cost about $5.1 million to construct and eventually remove and another $8,300 per day to manage.
The Tier 1, 2 and 3 booming plans will still be exercised.
Workers drive sheet piling on either side of the pass project to prevent pooling water from eroding around the piling.  |
Boom is being manufactured at Port Panama City.  |
The Bay County Commission approved a plan to protect the St. Andrew Pass. Click on the photo to download a .pdf of the plan.  |
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Weather updates
From NOAA: This Afternoon: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 89. West southwest wind around 10 mph.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 79. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly cloudy, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 106. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 79. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
From DEP: A 20-40 percent chance of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible along and inland of the Panhandle beaches today and Wednesday. Outside of thunderstorm activity, humid conditions and warm temperatures will produce heat index values between 100 and 107 degrees both today and tomorrow. West-southwest winds of 5-15 knots are expected through
Wednesday before a possible wind shift from the south on Thursday or Friday.
Offshore, no oil has been observed within or moving towards Eddy Franklin and
there is no clear path for oil to enter the Florida Straits. Also, no significant tropical
activity is expected through the next 48 hours. |
| Fishery closure update, expanded Tuesday
Current revisions to the closure, described below, will be effective on July 13, 2010 at 6 p.m. eastern time (5 p.m. central time). All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area; however, transit through the area is allowed. The new closure measures 84,101 sq mi (217,821 sq km) and covers about 35 percent of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. 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 expanded the fishery closure on Tuesday. Click the image above to learn more.  |
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| 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. |
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Bay County will continue to strive to provide residents and visitors with the most current information.
Sincerely,
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Bay County Public Information Officer Valerie Lovett
Bay County Board of County Commissioners |
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