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05 May 2010
Posted in
General
Background
On Tuesday, April 20, an offshore oil-drilling platform, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana. The rig, owned by Transocean Ltd, was under contract to British Petroleum (BP).
Submerged at the bottom of the Gulf, the rig continues to discharge up to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day. BP, the United States Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service are the lead response agencies on the oil spill.
Volunteer Involvement
Preventative beach cleanup can harm nesting shorebirds. Preventative Beach Cleanups have already been initiated in some parts of Florida, and with World Oceans Day approaching, many regularly scheduled cleanups may need to gear up to cope with the potential challenges of incoming crude oil. Care should be taken to protect both humans and wildlife from toxic oil. Steps to prevent harming nesting shorebirds and disturbing other spawning and nesting creatures unnecessarily can be planned in advance. (Many shorebirds nest April-August, and Snook spawn May-October).
Volunteers are encouraged to get involved through an agency such as one of those listed below in order to achieve the best result of your efforts on behalf of the environment. One well-intentioned volunteer agency recently suggested moving beach litter above the high water line to make cleaning up oil that may come ashore easier, but this is contra-indicated and if a 'wrack line' of natural debris is moved, it should be timed to occur only just before oil reaches the shoreline. See FWC Best Practices
Natural beach debris should be left on the beach in areas of active nesting as long as possible but removed immediately prior to beaches becoming oiled. Once oil is present, volunteers SHOULD NOT attempt to clean impacted beaches or to rescue oiled wildlife on their own. If you smell oil, go inside. The EPA Hotline number to report an oil smell is 1 800 424 8802. Remember, Oil is Toxic.
Several agencies offering information and opportunities to volunteer in the oil spill management are:
Volunteer Florida Because oil is a hazardous material, volunteer opportunities are
limited for unaffiliated, untrained volunteers. This website has the
most up-to-date information for people looking to volunteer their time
and talents.
Mote Marine Laboratory
"If the spill
reaches estuaries — fertile growth and breeding grounds for many
species — it could affect entire year classes of fish, crustaceans and
other organisms. Floating oil would also be very difficult to clean up
from seagrass beds, salt marshes and fringe mangroves. We know from our
past research of a spill in Tampa Bay that the effects of the oil
linger for long periods of time. Marine mammals, sea
turtles, sea birds and fishes may be sickened or killed by ingesting
oil or eating contaminated prey. Depending upon the extent and severity
of the oil spill, marine animal rehabilitation facilities in Florida
may be called upon by the U.S. and state governments to respond to and
treat oiled wildlife. Mote's has many well trained volunteers for animal care and we welcome your support and involvement." Kumar Mahadevan
National Audubon Society
Audubon is asking the news media and volunteer agencies to spread the word that we need to wait for formal direction from agencies coordinating the incident response. Audubon is encouraging willing volunteers to add their name to our volunteer registry so they can connect folks with appropriate activities when they are made available. If oil continues to drift toward us and along the peninsula, it could harm birds, seagrass beds, coastal marshes, and eventually the mangrove islands off the Florida Keys.
Unified Command for West Central Florida "We
are standing up a unified command, consisting of the U.S. Coast Guard,
Florida Department of Environmental Protections and BP, to facilitate
planning and identify resource requirements to ensure a robust
multi-agency response," said Capt. Tim Close, Commander, U.S. Coast
Guard Sector St. Petersburg. "We are planning for the worst case, but
hopeful any impact will be substantially less than that, if at all,"
said Close.
Tampa Bay Watch Tampa
Bay Watch currently manages the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve Oil Boom
Program with Hillsborough County. We have trained volunteers over the
last 10 years in environmental and health impacts of oil, safety
precautions and boom deployment in the event of an oil spill. We
currently maintain 6,000+ feet of boom in four trailers at Cockroach
Bay that will be deployed if needed to protect the Aquatic Preserve.
This will be our first level of response if and when oil enters Tampa
Bay. We are contacting the community volunteers that have completed the
training program to find out their current abilities to support the
program. If needed, Tampa Bay Watch will also establish a new round of
volunteer training for interested community volunteers who could
support this effort.
Texas: Harte Institute
Other Agency Involvement
For information about the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, see www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
In Florida, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been designated the lead state agency for responding to potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along Florida's shoreline.
The FWC provides fisheries information and is working with DEP, county governments, water management
districts and several federal agencies to conduct pre-impact
assessments, including sampling of water, fish, shellfish and habitats
along the Florida coastline and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Join with us, the
Snook Foundation to
be a part of the solution. Your membership helps us fund gathering the
real
story and truth.
More: How to Protect/Use Your Boat during the Oil Spread
On the ground in Louisiana with Brandon and Jon
