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NOAA: Federal waters may reopen soon
The federal fishing waters off Bay County's shores could reopen to anglers as early as next week, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official.
Peter Hood, a fishery biologist, said NOAA scientists have collected all the necessary samples and are currently awaiting test results.
"The samples have been completed, and we could have the test results at the end of this week," Hood said. "Sometime next week, we'll be able to make a decision."
He said seafood in the closed areas must pass two types of tests before the waters may be reopened: sensory testing and chemical testing.
"With sensory testing, we're looking at how the fish taste and smell," Hood said. "The chemical data is taken from the flesh of the fish, and we're looking for any of about a dozen compounds exceeding certain levels established by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)."
Once the samples are collected, the information is tested at a laboratory in Seattle, he said. The results are returned, and NOAA must then coordinate with several state and federal entities, including the FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Council.
"We're not going to reopen these waters unless we have FDA concurrence," Hood said.
He said the season on red snapper could be reopened if it is determined that the quotas for snapper caught have not been met before the season ended on July 24. A decision on whether to extend the snapper season will be made during the Gulf Council's Aug. 16-20 meeting in Pensacola. Click here to read a press release about the possible reopening of snapper seaon. Federal fishing waters off Bay County have been closed since June 21.
The current July 22 fishery closure remains in place, after NOAA announced a reduction in the area of federal waters previously closed to fishing. All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the remaining closed area; however, transit through the area is allowed. The closed area now measures 57,539 sq mi (149,026 sq km) and covers about 24 percent of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. Click here to learn more.
To sign up for text messages about closures, click here.
NOAA opened a portion of the area previously closed to fishing on Thursday.  |
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Response looking to long term
Bay County Emergency Services Deputy Chief Brad Monroe told members of the Bay County Commission at a board meeting Tuesday that the response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Release is evolving from an emergency response to a "long-term recovery" effort.
He said BP and its contractors are working to ensure that the necessary workers are available to clean up Bay County beaches going forward, but added that the beaches are seeing less and less product washing ashore. On Monday, only one bag of product was recovered on the West End of Panama City Beach, and another 43 bags of trash were collected in the entire county.
BP Community Outreach Director Vani Rao said beach cleanup efforts are being consolidated, with approximately 360 workers continuing to comb the beaches in various shifts, with the ability to "scale up" should the need arise.
"We're making refinements to this effort, but we're not going anywhere," Rao said, assuring commissioners that BP will continue to see that any impacts in Bay County are quickly remedied.
In other news:
-- Bay County Public Information Office updates will be scaled back to an as-needed basis. For more information about the oil spill, please visit www.baycountyfl.gov or call Public Information Officer Valerie Lovett at (850) 248-8170.
-- The NOAA trajectory shows very minimal amounts of oil remaining and predicts minimal impacts to land.
-- Bridge loans for oil-spill affected businesses are now available in Bay County through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in partnership with the Bay County Economic Development Alliance (EDA). Eligibility requirements, documentation, applications and instructions can be found here. For more information, please call the SBDC at (850) 271-1108.
-- Report suspected oil sightings to the local hotline at (850) 248-6030, or call (866) 448-5816. Dial #DEP from a cell phone to report oil.
-- BP's local claims office is located at 7938 Front Beach Road, in the shopping plaza near the Bay Street Deli. BP advises that people filing claims should still call the toll-free number to enter their information into the claims database at (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. |
Weather updates
From NOAA:
This Afternoon: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 112. West southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 79. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 106. North northwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 80. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 78.
From DEP: Winds will be out of a general southwest direction around 5-10 knots through the week before a possible wind shift late in the weekend. Calm seas of 2 feet or less are expected through much of this week as well. A 40-50 percent chance of rain is forecast both on and offshore today through Saturday for all branches, with the highest rain chances south of I-10. Lightning and gusty winds will be the main hazards. Heat indices will continue to reach dangerous levels of 107 to 116 degrees for several hours today and an Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for the western panhandle, with a Heat Advisory is in effect for the remainder of the Panhandle and Florida Big Bend. At 5am EDT, TD #4 in the central Atlantic was designated Tropical Storm Colin with maximum winds near 40mph. Colin is moving rapidly west-northwest near 23mph and the official forecast track takes Colin north of the Leeward Islands, then between the Bahamas and Bermuda this week. The 5 day error cone is more than 300 miles east of Florida. Elsewhere, a tropical wave over the eastern Caribbean Sea is very disorganized with only a 20 percent chance of development over the next 48 hours. |
Pass project boom to remain in place
The rigid boom located in the St. Andrew Bay Pass will remain in place, for now, according to Bay County Emergency Services Chief Mark Bowen. It will be entirely removed following the successful killing of the Deepwater Horizon well and upon the direction of the Bay County Commission.
Bay County received a $3.1 million payment toward the project's construction on July 22. Additional BP funding for the project's eventual removal will be sought.
The pass project is comprised of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) boom pipe attached to steel pilings on either side of the pass and a 400-foot HDPE boom pipe gate in the center of the waterway.
Boaters are warned to exercise extreme caution through the now narrower pass. 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.
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) that 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. 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 has a 48-inch long HDPE fabric weighted skirt hanging below the pipe.
The St. Andrew Pass protection plan is completed.  |
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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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