Brevard County has been very fortunate during the DeepWater Horizon oil spill.  We have reviewed our area contingency plans with both Jacksonville Coast Guard Sector and Miami Sector; the only tar balls found on our coast turned out to be processed oil from a boat and not from DWH; 211 and Keep Brevard Beautiful Coast Watchers, along with our ocean lifeguards, were our front-line sentries and reporting points for any oil pollution sighted;  and our volunteers and professionals were all leaning forward in the event any oil did enter the loop current and ended up within our coast or lagoon. Based on information provided by the Miami Sector Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Brevard's CoastWatch program and 211 reporting has been discontinued.

Any further sighting of petroleum spills or tar balls should be reported directly to the county warning point at 321-637-6669 or to Emergency Management at 321-637-6670.

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Since the oil spill began on April 22, there has been no impact to Brevard County’s 72 miles of coastline. Our beaches remain unaffected and are open for business. See our live beach cams.

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The initial Brevard County meeting with state and federal agencies, local environmental groups and experts, and local volunteer groups was held on May 6. It included presentations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Unites States Coast Guard (USCG), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and County staff on the status of the spill, projections of plume dispersal, contingency planning and local coordination efforts. Brevard County's Emergency Management and Natural Resource Management, Keep Brevard Beautiful, 211 Brevard and other key partners monitored the situation, shared information and updated plans.  

Brevard County Office of Emergency Management participated in daily conference calls with all the members of the Florida Peninsular Command, and attended a meeting with the South East Florida Area Planning Committee on May 13th at Port Everglades. Brevard is part of the Miami Sector Command and the Jacksonville Sector Command, and Brevard County Emergency Management is the lead agency for coordination with both sector commands. Brevard County Emergency Management continued meetings with both sectors on a weekly basis and continued to take the lead in supporting early warning and workable mitigation action plans and inclusive communications between agencies.  The Florida Peninsular Command positioned early warning vessels in the Florida Straits and the area of the Dry Tortugas to provide early identification of entrainment of oil in the Gulf loop and movement through the Florida Straits.  The US Coast Guard remains the lead agency for the federal response to the spill, while Florida DEP is the lead agency for the State of Florida.

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For general information:

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response      

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

Deepwater Horizon Response is on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/DeepwaterHorizonResponse

You can follow Deepwater Horizon Response on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/Oil_Spill_2010

Interactive map with current information on the oil spill

http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/  

Info on claims for property damage:

http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/Claims/damages_property.asp

Info on all types of claims:

http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/Claims/default.asp

Spill response funding for agencies:

http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/Response/default.asp

Safe Seafood Consumption

For Florida information:

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been designated the lead state agency for responding to potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along Florida’s shoreline.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

Because oil is a hazardous material, volunteer opportunities are limited for unaffiliated, untrained volunteers. This site has up-to-date information for people looking to volunteer their time and talents.

http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/

Coast Guard PPT - May 6 briefing

Coast Watch Volunteers announcement

You can follow the Florida Department of Envrionmental Protection on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/FLDEPalert

Florida Oil Spill Information Line, available from 8 AM to 6 PM daily: (888) 337-3569

State Offers Guidance for Protecting Florida's Shoreline from Oil Spill Impacts

Florida SERT Natural Resource Damage Assessment

What to Expect in South Florida fact sheet

Jobs:

Florida has set up a website to help job seekers find and apply for cleanup and recovery work related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com is a dedicated portal through Florida's official online job bank, the Employ Florida Marketplace, that currently lists more than 3,500 positions related to the oil spill.