Franklin County commissioners and emergency management officials began preparing this week for potential impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill which is threatening the entire Gulf Coast.
The oil spill happened on April 20th after an explosion on an oil rig offshore of Louisiana. The rig is now pumping an estimated 200000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico and authorities have not yet figured out how to stop the flow.
Franklin County as well as 12 other Gulf Coast counties is now under a state declared state of emergency. Franklin County has also declared a local state of emergency because of the oil threat.
Franklin County is not taking any chances; it began preparing a response to the spill this week in case the oil should make it to the Apalachicola Bay.
On Tuesday the county commission approved the membership of a contingency planning committee which is tasked with looking at the county’s existing oil spill response plan to make sure that the plan is comprehensive and effective for the local area. The 25 members represent all of Franklin County and include citizens from each city, government representatives, commercial fishermen, health officials and other people with specific skills that could help create an effective oil spill plan
Franklin County has also agreed to work closely with Gulf County on any response to the oil threat. Gulf County Commissioners attended Tuesday’s meeting and said that both counties will benefit from working together and sharing manpower, equipment and expertise.
Also on Tuesday the commission made an official request that the state open the entire bay to oyster harvesting for the next month so that oystermen can make some money now. The fear is that the fishery could be devastated if the oil comes to the bay, and oyster harvesters do not have the savings to weather a prolonged closure.
Currently people with boats are being asked to sign up in case their boats can be used to help deploy boom or in some other way combat the oil spill. People can contact the Franklin County Seafood workers Association to register their vessels or go on-line to franklinemergencymanagement.com for more information.
The Emergency Management office has also set up a hotline where people can get the most up to date information on the oil spill 24 hours a day. You can reach the hotline at 653-9877.
Currently the Apalachicola Riverkeeper are coordinating local volunteer efforts like beach clean-ups. You can find their website at www.apalachicolariverkeeper.org.
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