Florida Deepwater Horizon Response July 28, 2010
TALLAHASSEE – Under the leadership of Governor Charlie Crist, the State Emergency Response Team and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are actively coordinating and responding to the Deepwater Horizon incident.
Message of the day: Florida Gulf Recovery Jobs
The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation and its workforce system partners, Workforce Florida and the state’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards, continue to connect Florida’s job seekers with employment opportunities via Governor Crist’s Florida Gulf Recovery Jobs website. Since Governor Crist announced the website, more than 14,600 positions related to response and recovery efforts have been posted and more than 44,600 people have registered and applied for these and other positions. The average wage for positions filled to date is nearly $20/hour.
For questions about oil spill-related work opportunities, please call 1-877-362-5034 or see Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.floridajobs.org/oilspill/Oilspill_faqs.htm.
Current Situation
· The State Emergency Operations Center is activated at Level 1 or full activation.
· The State continues to focus on mitigating impacts to Florida’s shoreline.
· Currently Deepwater Horizon is not discharging any oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
· All supplemental Tier 3 boom is being removed in the Northwest Florida counties.
· State reconnaissance teams operating by air, land and sea continue to identify potential impacts and are actively coordinating with cleanup teams. View the latest reconnaissance reports.
· Four Florida branch offices are fully operational in Northwest Florida. These branch offices bring together federal, state and local agencies to streamline response efforts.
· Although sporadic sightings of tar balls may continue, Florida’s shoreline is not expected to receive additional impacts over the next 72 hours.
· No tropical activity is expected in the next 48 hours.
· Oil Impact Notices are posted for all Escambia County and Walton County Gulf beaches, as well as designated beaches in Okaloosa County. Signs may remain in place until local authorities determine that beaches are no longer impacted by the oil spill. Learn more.
· A portion of coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County is closed to the harvest of saltwater fish, crabs and shrimp. Learn more.
Learn More About Florida’s Response:
· Visit www.deepwaterhorizonflorida.com to learn more about Florida’s response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, sign up for daily updates, view tips for businesses and consumers, find a listing of Unified Command, BP and Florida phone numbers, and more.
· The Oil Spill Information Line is available at 1-888-337-3569 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week. Persons with disabilities can contact 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (voice).
