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'LIKE RUNNING A HUGE TAB': Okaloosa continues to gear up as Walton endures the brunt of oil onslaught (PHOTOS)
While large amounts of tar balls continued to wash up on Walton County beaches Tuesday, Okaloosa County’s oil forecast for the rest of the week is “looking pretty good,” officials say.
All the equipment needed for the boom and barge operation to keep oil out of Choctawhatchee Bay has arrived, said Dino Villani, Okaloosa County’s public safety director.
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To see photos of locals and visitors hitting the beach in Destin, click here.
The fish are still coming in at the docks, click here.
To see photos of captains partaking in booming practice Tuesday, click here.
To see photos of tar ball cleanup in Bay County, click here.
To see photos of boom prep and small tar balls near the West Jetty, click here.
To read more about the Umbrella Plan and see a diagram, click here.
To see photos from cleanup command in Walton County, click here.
Tar balls coated the beach as far as they eye could see in Camp Creek. See photos click here.
To see the latest oil trajectory map, which shows impacts on local beaches, click here.
Villani said he saw no barges in the pass Tuesday afternoon, but called the operation “a work in progress” and said it would likely take most of the week to set the barges in place.
Villani said he’s keeping his fingers crossed that the area will continue to be spared.
“It looks like we got a little reprieve here for a while,” he said. “We’ll hang on to that as long as we can.”
In Walton County, several significant areas of tar balls were reported by the State Emergency Response Team on Tuesday afternoon, from Grayton Beach to the Bay County line. At Seaside, tar balls were “continuous” and “getting thicker,” one report reads. At Camp Creek, the beach was becoming “filled” with tar balls.
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Fewer scattered tar balls also were reported at Okaloosa Island west of the pier. Dime- to half dollar-sized tar balls littered about 100 feet of beach, according to SERT. In Destin, a few tar balls were reported, but beaches were found clear.
Okaloosa County is opening up some back-bay waterways that have been closed to boat traffic, Villani said. Booms will be repositioned if the threat of oil becomes more imminent.
Villani also said the county is trying to expedite its funding request with BP PLC, and planned to meet with a BP representative this morning. He said Sen. Bill Nelson’s Monday visit helped.
“It’s like running a huge tab,” Villani said. “Pretty soon we’ll have to pay the tab.”
No tar balls were reported on Santa Rosa County beaches, but an oiled beach ball did wash up, according to a county news release.
A few tar patties and “possible” oil mousse mixed with sea grass was seen at Gulf Islands National Seashore, according to a SERT report.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration trajectories showed the oil slick holding stationary Tuesday before a shift to the west-northwest today. Oil is expected to continue hitting Northwest Florida through midday Friday.
At Pryor Middle School, 130 people were being trained to pick up tar balls on local beaches. Jobs Plus referred the group of mostly unemployed people to cleanup contractor P2S, said Steve Fleury, a human resources manager. They will be paid $18 per hour.
Fleury said the company has been in the area for about a month, and has hired about 1,200 people to clean Okaloosa and Walton County beaches.
Keith Benoit, a safety consultant from the Petroleum Education Council, instructed workers Tuesday. He said they were being trained how to handle tar balls, but not emulsified oil, such as mousse, that gives off a toxic odor.
Workers received safety training, reviewing all the potential hazards they could encounter, Benoit said. They learned how to work through BP’s system. Cleanup crews wear special gloves and protective clothing to handle tar balls, and must decontaminate to avoid spreading oil beyond the beach.
Collected tar balls are hauled to plants and incinerated.
“It’s hazardous waste, so they can’t just put it in the garbage,” Benoit said.
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