gulf oil spill update october 12, 2010 phil wieczynski, division of law enforcement florida...

GULF OIL SPILL UPDATEGULF OIL SPILL UPDATEOctober 12, 2010October 12, 2010

Phil Wieczynski, Division of Law EnforcementPhil Wieczynski, Division of Law EnforcementFlorida Department of Environmental ProtectionFlorida Department of Environmental Protection 1

Beach Cleanup Crews

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On October 11• 640 total beach cleanup workers

• Escambia/Santa Rosa: 552• Okaloosa: 38• Walton: 19• Bay: 22• Gulf: 9

• 15,500 pounds of tar balls manually collected • 4,881 pounds of tar balls mechanically collected

Escambia County Impacts

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Sand Shark Beach Cleaner

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Subsea & Subsurface Oil

• Federal On Scene Coordinator developed a comprehensive sub-sea and sub-surface oil monitoring plan.

• USCG with overall command and control and NOAA as lead operational agency.– EPA, USGS, the Gulf States and other federal agencies will

serve in support roles.

• Five methods used to identify subsurface oil.

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Sampling Locations

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Dispersants• Dispersants were used at the site of the explosion

both at surface and subsurface to break up the remaining surface oil before it could drift onto shore.

• At no time were dispersants used in Florida’s state waters.

• DEP sampled Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties for dispersants and there were none detected.

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Natural ResourceDamage Assessment (NRDA)• The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 was passed in the

wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. • A major goal of OPA is to restore natural resources

that are injured and services that are lost as a result of oil spills.

• The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is a legal process to determine damages to the public’s natural resources and the appropriate methods for restoration.

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Ongoing Response Organization

• Area Command and Gulf Coast Incident Management Team in New Orleans

• Florida Branch Office in Pensacola• Two Division Offices at Pensacola & Panama City• Division Offices include USCG representatives &

include beach cleaning Task Forces called R&R teams for Recon & Recovery

• Report evidence of oil to the State Watch Office at (800) 320-0519.

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WWW.DEEPWATERHORIZONFLORIDA.COM

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