©2005 Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners

Deepwater Horizons Oil Spill Response

Wakulla County is on alert and taking proactive measures in monitoring the recent explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform; currently releasing a reported 5,000 barrels of oil per day in the Gulf of Mexico. An Executive Order was issued by Governor Crist and amended to include Wakulla County in the State of Emergency declaration. In addition, Wakulla Board of County Commissioners has issued an emergency proclamation declaring the County as a local State-of- emergency at the May 3, 2010 Board meeting.

Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management, Department of Public Safety, County Staff, St. Marks Refuge, US Forestry and the local Coast Guard Auxiliary, has begun pre-planning measures in an effort to safeguard our coastline.  This spill of national significance is being handled by BP, with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection serving as the lead agency at the State level for Florida. A local effort has been initiated with volunteer agencies to develop training for volunteer responders, should they be needed. If you are interested in learning more, please call 1-866-448-5816.

To report on the following issues please see the contact information below:

BP is currently working on efforts to coordinate and deploy marine fishing vessels for use in the comprehensive response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  BP wants to contract with vessels for hire (shrimp boats, oyster boats, etc) to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico.  The response contractors are already collecting information on vessels.  Please contact BP to participate in the Vessel of Opportunity Program.  Specifically BP needs the owner’s name, dimensions, characteristics (including length, draft, horsepower, etc) of the vessel, and any other pertinent information you can provide.

BP has established a local claims office at 3010 Crawfordville Highway. Individuals who file claims must call the 1-800-440-0858 claims toll free telephone number. After speaking to the company, individuals will receive a claim number and can begin speaking to local representatives to have the claim reviewed and processed. A representative is open each day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to handle residential or commercial claims.

Additional Contact Information is provided below:

For general assistance contact Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management at 850-926-0800. We will continue to provide updates on this critical event on this website.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions regarding seafood from Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Follow this link to get more information on eligibility and requirements for the Vessels of Opportunity Program.

• Vessel of Opportunity Information Sheet
• Vessel of Opportunity FAQ’s
• Vessels of Opportunity Training-May 24, 2010

• BP Claims Fact Sheet
• BP Claims Policy
• May 4, 2010 Volunteer Florida Encourages Floridians to Become Volunteers
• Oil Spill Response Contact Numbers
• Small Business Association to Open Business Recovery Centers in Florida
• Training Opportunity – BP Module 3 Hazmat
• Wakulla County Boom Plan
• Wakulla County Emergency Management Situation Report August 15, 2010
• Wakulla County Emergency Management Situation Report August 18, 2010
• What Floridians Should Know About Reporting Oil