URGENT: Oil Spill Information Exchange Meeting

URGENT: Oil Spill Information Exchange Meeting

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The coastal counties of Our Region Tomorrow remain in a state of emergency due to the 3,850 square mile oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Please join us for a special meeting, as we receive the latest updates from Florida’s leading experts and consider options we might take—together as a region—to address response scenarios if winds and currents push the oil on to our fragile coastline.

Confirmed participants include:

• Dr. Felicia Coleman, Oil Spill Academic Task Force; Director, Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory
• State Senator Al Lawson
• State Representative Leonard Bembry
• David Mica, Office of Governor Charlie Crist
• Jerry Smithwick, Florida Chief of Staff for Congressman Allen Boyd
• Adele Griffin, North Florida Regional Director, U.S. Senator George LeMieux
• Ryan Tyson, District Aide, State Senator Charlie Dean
• Cameron Cooper, Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Yvonne Gsteiger and Amber Hughes, Cabinet Aides, CFO Alex Sink
• Scott Nelson, Wakulla County Emergency Management Director
• Dr. David Heil, Division of Aquaculture, Florida Department of Agriculture
• Chairman Howard Kessler, Wakulla County Commission
• Mayor John Marks, City of Tallahassee
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Franklin County
• Wakulla County
• Jefferson County
• Taylor County
• Apalachicola Riverkeepers
• US Coast Guard (pending)

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Who should attend?

The oil spill will be affect all sectors. All concerned citizens and community leaders who want to be educated on the issue and be part of a solution for our region: local governments, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, conservancy non-profits and environmental groups, educators, volunteer organizers… all concerned citizens.

Agenda Highlights

• County emergency response team briefings from the four coastal counties within ORT (Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, Franklin)
• State of Florida EOC briefing
• Briefing from members of the State University System-wide Oil Spill Academic Task Force
• Call to Action: How can the 10-county region prepare and work together in the event this critical disaster directly affects our shoreline?

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On May 3, Board of Governors Chancellor Frank Brogan announced the establishment of the Oil Spill Academic Task Force to provide assistance to local, state, and federal agencies in dealing with the Gulf of Mexico spill and its aftermath. The task force consists of scientists and scholars from the Florida State University working in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Florida, the University of South Florida and other State University System institutions, as well as the University of Miami and other private colleges.

http://oilspill.fsu.edu/
http://flbog.org/documents/67Release_5_3_2010.pdf

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THE SITUATION

On April 20, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating off the coast of Louisiana, led to a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts to seal the leak have been hampered by a number of factors, notably the depth of the well (5,000 feet below sea level). The leak has been estimated at approximately 5,000 barrels—or 210,000 gallons—of crude oil per day.

The dimensions of the oil slick were estimated on May 3 to be approximately the area of Delaware, which is nearly 2,500 square miles.[1] By May 5, the slick was estimated at 3,850 square miles.

By order of Gov. Charlie Crist, the following Florida counties—including all four ORT coastal counties—are under a state of emergency: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota.