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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