Dear friends of Florida waters:\u00a0 I know these updates get longer and longer, but I get a lot of thank-you\u2019s from many of you, so I\u2019m going to keep trying to share the most pertinent information in hopes that it will be helpful to parts of the state that have not been hit by the oil yet, but may get it at some future date.\u00a0 If you are not interested in this information, then please just delete it.\u00a0 Please feel free to share it far and wide if you think it will interest other people that you know.<\/p>\n
The first large waves of oil arrived in Florida yesterday, Wednesday June 23rd.\u00a0 There had been smaller amounts coming ashore here and there, but approximately 9 miles of oil landed on Pensacola Beach in the early hours of yesterday morning.\u00a0 The puddles are about 10 to 12 feet wide and about 2 to 4 inches thick from where I saw them.\u00a0 I have seen nothing on TV or heard anything from friends that would lead me to believe that this is not the case for the whole length of the landing.\u00a0 It is incredibly sickening to see.\u00a0 I sent a message to the Governor\u2019s office last night and asked his aides to congratulate him for finally having proof that our beaches are the best booms that we have in Florida. Yep, they just let that oil roll right in with no attempt to stop it at all.\u00a0 Are you amazed?\u00a0 I am and I see no reason for the state and federal governments to do that, but that\u2019s their strategy . . . To just let it land.\u00a0 I\u2019ll discuss this further in the section below that is labeled LEGAL ACTIONS.<\/p>\n
The Governor was here at Pensacola Beach yesterday and said on television that he was asking for some skimmer boats.\u00a0 There are one or two skimmer boats off the shores of Pensacola Beach right now.\u00a0 I have sent an email to his office trying to find out \u201cwho\u201d the Governor has asked.\u00a0 No response.\u00a0 I do know that at least 13 countries have offered assistance to us and it has been refused.\u00a0 Here is an excerpt from a news report on this matter:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn early May, the State Department emailed reporters identifying the 13 entities that had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance. They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“These offers include experts in various aspects of oil spill impacts, research and technical expertise, booms, chemical oil dispersants, oil pumps, skimmers, and wildlife treatment,” the email from the White House read.<\/p>\n
“While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future.”<\/p>\n
I know I\u2019m repeating myself a little, but how is the state and federal government just sitting back and watching oil pour into our passes and blanket our beaches when it could be prevented?\u00a0 The oil has moved at least two miles past the Pensacola pass.\u00a0 There is essentially no way to stop it once you let it get that far.\u00a0 Yesterday I went to Ft Pickens, which is at the west end of Santa Rosa Island and is the mouth of the Pensacola Pass.\u00a0 There are a few booms here and there (the little sausage booms that I spoke of before) and a few barges, but essentially there is no credible effort underway to stop the oil.\u00a0 The only conclusion I can reach is that the state\u2019s attitude is: \u201cBRING IT!!!!\u00a0 We\u2019re just adding up the damages and we\u2019ll send you a bill later.\u201d\u00a0 If I\u2019m wrong, then I hope someone will offer a more logical explanation.<\/p>\n
BOOMING \u2013 A few days ago I received an email from Thomas J. Campbell, who is the President of Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc. in Boca Raton.\u00a0 He offered a very succinct explanation about the problem of keeping oil out of inlets and passes.\u00a0 His company has been contracted to work with Okaloosa County and the City of Destin on their local response and has experienced some frustration in coordinating the BP response with the local program. I have been hearing about Okaloosa County and Destin\u2019s frustration with DEP and BP for many weeks and they finally decided to stop waiting for help from these entities and have hired their own help.\u00a0 This is wise and once again, I urge other local governments to do the same.\u00a0 If you are waiting for the state to save you, you will be sorely disappointed.<\/p>\n
Mr. Campbell told me that the best scenario is to stop the oil before it gets to the inlet.\u00a0 However, if it gets that far, then the best hope for reducing impacts in the bays is stopping and collecting the oil at the inlets. Unfortunately that is exactly where the expertise is wanting. Boom contractors can\u2019t handle the currents in the inlets and need to be coupled with marine contractors and local experienced captains to pull the booms for installation; that is not happening.\u00a0 If you look at the plans that WRS Compass (the BP-connected consulting firm that DEP has signed a no-bid contract with to help local governments) has developed for local protection plans, they consist largely of a few booms scattered around, INSIDE THE ESTUARIES.<\/p>\n
Mr. Campbell explains that generally\u00a0 the boom plans in the inlets\u00a0 should be but are not designed to work in the high currents. The first line of defense in the inlets should be booms that are constructed within the inlet. These booms need to be\u00a0 constructed at mild angles to the current or oil will move right under the boom when the perpendicular current velocities exceed 0.7 knots. Also booms\u00a0 that go straight across the inlet will structurally fail in high currents.\u00a0 For most inlets that means less than 20 degrees to the current . This requires very long booms and wood piles to anchor them (anchors tend to pull the boom under in high current) to keep their shape and divert the oil to inlet beach shorelines where they can be collected and the sand removed and cleaned.<\/p>\n
The next line of defense should be booms placed as umbrella systems behind the inlets where the currents drop below below 0.7 knots . These will form collection points for drum skimmers. The Umbrella system should be repeated for maximum effectiveness.<\/p>\n
The above information in not known by most governments who are relying on the Area Contingency plans to protect them . They say that they are relying on the experts (BP boom contractors and the Coast Guard) . If you look at these ACP plans they generally are found\u00a0 to lack design and piling in the inlets and often have no umbrella system behind the inlet . The Boom contractors try hard to carry out the plan but often have under powered boats to pull boom which are not capable of operating in the high currents .<\/p>\n
It is hard to correct these problems when oil is coming in the inlet .\u00a0 in many cases it is hard to convince the local EOC\u2019s that the ACP needs design and adjustments and more robust implementation strategies before oil is at the door.\u00a0 If you think your local area is in danger, it will behoove you to warn your local government and try to make advance plans that will provide adequate protection for your coastline.<\/p>\n
SKIMMER BOATS\/SUPER TANKERS \u2013 Everyone agrees that skimmer boats are the most effective way to attack the oil.\u00a0 As mentioned above, right now there is one or two skimmer boats offshore from Pensacola beach.\u00a0 I heard last week from Senator Nelson that there were three working in Florida waters.\u00a0 He said that there are 20 more on the way the northern Europe.\u00a0 I was told today by my local government contact that there are 12 skimmer boats sitting idle in Bayou Chico, which is about 20 miles from here in Pensacola.\u00a0 All but two are under the control of the Unified Command (BP and the Coast Guard).\u00a0 The reason that they are not scattered around, skimming up the oil is apparently a coordination problem.\u00a0 Communication between the Unified Command Center in Mobile and the local governments is extremely poor.\u00a0 He told me that a new coordination plan is in the works and that in the next week or two things should improve.\u00a0 As Senator Nelson said very clearly 10 days ago, \u201cthere is no clear chain of command.\u201d\u00a0 Also the communication between Unified Command and the contractors is very poor.\u00a0 He said they are trying to put the Coast Guard in command to make things better, but that is difficult to do.\u00a0 Why???? Why is that difficult????\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I said, everyone agrees that we should be trying to get every skimmer boat in the world here and any other technology asap.\u00a0 The oil is not diminishing, in fact it increases from time to time, such as yesterday when they stopped using the cap that was taking some small part of the oil to the surface where it is being burned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hope our state and federal governments have not given up on saving the Gulf.\u00a0 If we have any hope of its recovery at some point, then we must do everything in our power to stay on top of the oil and remove as much as possible.\u00a0 Our local governments in the Panhandle are begging for help from the state and they are incredibly frustrated with the little or no help that is forth-coming.\u00a0 The county I live in has 88 miles of shoreline and some of our modest requests from the state have even been denied.\u00a0 We finally got a few more booms approved but are still waiting for money for other protections that we need.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m told that two days ago there were 11 vessels working on a large patch of oil straight out from Navarre Beach.\u00a0 This may be why there is no oil here right now and the beaches to the east and west of us are smothered in oil.\u00a0 THERE SHOULD BE AN ARMY OF BOATS, SKIMMERS, BARGES, ETC. out there capturing the oil.<\/p>\n
Tonight, 24 miles out from the Pensacola pass there is a large patch of oil. They know it\u2019s there and they could have boats and equipment out there trying to prevent it from coming ashore, but it is doubtful that these preventive measures are in place.\u00a0 The plans that were developed by WRS Compass, with the BP money given to the state of Florida, are worthless.\u00a0 They have already been modified several times and the local governments are hiring their own contractors to get real plans and protections in place.\u00a0 Right now, the whole operation is very much a trial and error situation and local governments are sharing ideas, successes and failures and working together to do the best they can.\u00a0 The money for protection has largely been squandered by our state government and local governments are going out on a limb financially to try and protect their communities.\u00a0 I know this sounds harsh, but I have been talking to numerous local government representatives and they are extremely frustrated with the situation.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t ask for this to happen to us.\u00a0 It would be wonderful if our state government was not so politically driven and dysfunctional.<\/p>\n
LEGAL ACTION – As mentioned above, the state\u2019s strategy seems to be to just use our beaches and shores as booms for the incoming oil.\u00a0 This made no sense to me until I got DEP\u2019S response to my 30-day notice letter.\u00a0 In this response letter DEP says, \u201cSince the state and federal response actions will not protect the state from some damage to its natural resources occurring, the Department has been actively preparing its natural resource damage claim that will be pursued against BP . . .\u201d\u00a0 It goes on to say that the DEP is doing extensive sampling along Florida\u2019s coastline to prove damages later.\u00a0 They brag in the letter that \u201cFlorida has conducted more baseline sampling than any of the other Gulf Coast states affected by the oil spill.\u201d\u00a0 They seem very proud of the fact that they are working hard to build a damages case to file in court later, but clearly do not plan any legal action against BP until sometime in the future when they \u201cwill aggressively pursue BP to compensate the state for those damages.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, my guess is that the Governor and Legislature are seeing this whole oil disaster as a wind-fall for our financially strapped state.\u00a0 They are basically just letting the disaster unfold and are already counting the millions of dollars that they will collect down the road.\u00a0 The $75 million that they already got from BP is apparently almost gone or largely not available for local protection efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PLEASE DON\u2019T WAIT for the state to send money or assistance if you live in a coastal county.\u00a0 I am hearing from people further east who say that their neighborhoods are putting plans together with their own money.\u00a0 If this is an option, I would say it is a great idea.\u00a0 Just be sure to get help from an experienced contractor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A short while ago, I went outside to take my dog for a walk and the air is heavy with the odor of oil.\u00a0 This has become a normal condition and I\u2019m sure it is not healthy.\u00a0 The overall situation is not leveling off, rather it seems to be worsening.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that any coastal county along the Gulf coast of Florida is safe from eventual contamination.\u00a0 I also don\u2019t know if it makes sense to hope that our state government will figure out what to do to help us.\u00a0 Therefore, our best hope for coping with this disaster is working together on a local level.\u00a0 Please be in touch with your local government and do what you can to help them.\u00a0 It is important to find the most knowledgeable people in your community who know about your inlets, tides, resources, etc.\u00a0 Also, technical people, engineers, scientists who live in your area can be of great help to your local government.\u00a0 These are just suggestions that you may want to consider.\u00a0 The important thing is to use this time wisely and get prepared before the oil reaches you.<\/p>\n
For all of Florida\u2019s waters,
\nLinda Young
\nDirector<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear friends of Florida waters:\u00a0 I know these updates get longer and longer, but I get a lot of thank-you\u2019s from many of you, so I\u2019m going to keep trying to share the most pertinent information in hopes that it will be helpful to parts of the state that have not been hit by the … Continue reading Update from Linda Young, Clean Water Network of Florida, for June 24, 2010<\/span>