Four Branch Offices Along Florida Panhandle Serve as Front Line for Oil Spill Response Efforts

System provides increased coordination and local knowledge

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --- With another opening in Port St. Joe last week, the Florida Panhandle now has four branch offices dedicated to providing coordinated and rapid oil spill response efforts to nearshore and inland waterway areas.
The branches, under the joint tactical direction of the U.S. Coast Guard and BP, are responsible for beach cleaning, implementing the Vessel of Opportunity programs, and boom deployment and maintenance.
“The focus of the branches is to manage our response efforts in a smart, coordinated manner that draws on local knowledge of the region,” said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Joe Boudrow, Deputy Incident Commander for the Florida Panhandle region.
Coast Guard men and women, BP contractors, and representatives from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, and county representatives will continue to work around the clock to mitigate the impact along the Florida coastline. The goal of this organizational effort is to more quickly and efficiently coordinate critical assets such as skimmers, cleanup crews, reconnaissance teams, Vessel of Opportunity boats and wildlife response teams.
Branches are currently located in Pensacola, Destin, Panama City, and Port St. Joe. They serve Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, and Jefferson counties.
For more information, please contact the Mobile Joint Information Center at 251-445-8965.

 

http://www.oysterradio.com e-mail manager@oysterradio.com with comments