The Board also discussed the county’s recent initiative to install signage on local beaches to inform the public with procedural information if they spot any tar balls or other evidence of oil. The county has ordered approximately 500 signs and they will be distributed to local coastal municipalities for installation at their discretion.
The county does not plan to install any signage at county owned and/or operated beaches unless it is determined that oil balls/mats have entered the loop current.
Up-to-Date Information from the Deepwater Horizon Task Force
· 8 tar balls have been found along our shoreline to date and none originated from the oil spill.
· Weather forecasts show that winds and currents are preventing eastward movement of the oil plume along the northwest Florida coastline. No significant amounts of oil are within or moving towards the loop current and there is no indication that we would experience any influx of tar balls/mats in the next week.
· Florida straits are being monitored for tar balls/mats entering the eastern coastal loop current. If there is any indication of any weathered oil, the county predicts it would take 2 weeks to reach our shoreline.
· Palm Beach County is the first east coast county to submit a comprehensive plan to Federal On-Scene Commander.
· Over 400 local municipal and county employees have received training to date and are available to assist with beach cleanup efforts.
· Over 15,000 volunteers have registered statewide to respond to the crisis with over 250 individuals and 16 volunteer organizations (with existing bases of thousands of volunteers) in Palm Beach County alone.
· A list of commercial vendors trained to clean beaches has been compiled.
· A shoreline protection plan is in place for environmentally sensitive areas using silk curtains and booms which could be implemented quickly and efficiently if there is any indication of tar balls/mats in the loop current.
· Approximately 67% of the Gulf federal waters are available for fishing. Closed fishing in the remaining areas is a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers. This federal closure does not apply to state waters.
· As of 6/25/10, more than 38,000 personnel are working on the onshore and offshore response efforts.
· Over 8,000 jobs related to the spill have been advertised and per BP over 4,000 individuals have been trained and are available.
For more information specific to Palm Beach County’s Oil Spill Planning Taskforce go to:
http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/deepwaterhorizon/
Reminder – Please do not handle any tar found on the beach or along our waterways. Report all tar balls and other evidence of oil on our coastline to: Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center: 561-712-6400 or State Warning Point: 1-877-272-8335 (DEP)
