Much of the oil boom that has been placed in the Gulf of Mexico to protect Florida’s coastline from the BP oil gusher will now have to be removed because of the potential for tropical activity in the Gulf.
The State Emergency Response Team along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday said the removal of supplemental Tier 3 boom will take place within the next 72 to 96 hours.
Following the Deepwater Horizon incident, BP deployed protective boom along the most sensitive areas of Florida’s coastline.
Counties also deployed supplemental Tier 3 boom to further protect areas using funds from the $50 million awarded by BP.
DEP chief Mike Sole said that during a tropical storm boom can cause additional damage to the natural resources that we are trying to protect from oil spill impacts.
Given the current oil spill trajectories and the tropical activity in the Gulf of Mexico he said removing the boom is the best decision for Florida’s communities.
The removed boom and associated equipment will be temporarily stored in a secure location to protect it from weather-related damage and to also protect fragile coastline from impacts caused by dislodged boom.
Following the tropical activity, should further oil spill impacts be projected, officials will redeploy the boom.
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