ESCAMBIA COUNTY FLORIDA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Escambia County Florida

Local Action Plan
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

May 2, 2010

Larry Newsom, Interim County Administrator (850) 554-3047

John Dosh, EOC Director (850) 393-4944
Sandra Jennings, Bureau Chief (850) 554-2751
Keith Wilkins, Deputy Bureau Chief (850) 554-3069

For Technical Support/Plan Questions:

Robert Turpin, Division Manager, Marine Resources (850) 554-5869
Tim Day, Environmental Programs Manager (850) 554-3073
 Escambia County, Florida
Local Action Plan
Introduction

As floating petroleum from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (the Mississippi Canyon Bock 252 incident)
threatens, Escambia County Florida Board of County Commissioners is compelled to work with British
Petroleum, Inc. and State and Federal agencies to protect public health and environment. County staff
possess valuable local knowledge and skills that are available for coordinated prevention and response
efforts. Review of the Area Contingency Plan reveals small but significant omissions of actions that are
specific to the present threat of floating petroleum approaching the Gulf Coast of Escambia County.
Pensacola Bay System is Florida’s 4th-largest estuary, with hundreds of square miles of enclosed waters and
hundreds of linear miles of shoreline.

Prevention of floating petroleum entering into Pensacola Bay and Perdido Bay is one of Escambia County’s
top priorities. Responding to oil washed up onto Gulf beaches will be much more efficient and timely if those
recovery resources are not spread around inland waterways and shorelines. Escambia County submits this
Local Action Plan (LAP) to the appropriate state, federal, and other agencies in an effort to share ideas and
coordinate response to the present threat.

Strategic placement of boom at points of entry for Gulf waters into Pensacola Bay and Perdido Bay
concentrates floating petroleum for efficient removal by skimmers. This approach takes advantage of
incoming tide and the natural constriction of waterways width, allowing deployment of boom configured
roughly parallel to tidal current. Water is directed towards skimmers, thus preventing or minimizing oil
entering Pensacola Bay System and Perdido Bay System.

A staged-level approach to boom placement is advised for the most comprehensive capture and diversion.
Because Perdido pass is in Alabama and not controlled by Florida, Staging Level 1 is assigned to Boom-and-
Skimmer systems places at Innerarity Point and in Old River at the Florida-Alabama border. Diagrams
indicate the greatest possible extent of boom deployment and should be considered as the most extreme
possible scenario. Due to the possibility of the Staging Level 1 boom approach not preventing petroleum
from entering inland waters, Staging Level 2 placement booms are in order to protect isolated inland
waterways and shorelines.

Until floating petroleum approaches the Florida-Alabama Gulf coast, it is impossible to predict the precise
location(s), extent and amount of time the Boom-and-Skimmer equipment would need to be deployed.
Because some of the likely boom placement is in or near federal navigation channels, great care will be
required to avoid or minimize impacts to vessel traffic. By using on-the-water (and possibly aerial)
reconnaissance, precise boom placement may capture maximum floating petroleum with little or no impacts
to navigation. By preventing ingress of floating petroleum into bays and other inlands waterways, substantial
negative environmental impacts can be avoided, saving extensive cleanup expense over months or years.

Criteria considered

Prevention of entry of oil into bays and inshore waters

Proximity to gulf/inshore passes and critical entry points
Economic and environmental resources
Linear efficiency of boom (boom length to area)
Staging Level 1

- East Pensacola Pass Booms with Skimmer (9000ft @ 30O20.337’N; 87O17.584’W) *Crosses Federal
navigation channel (Figure 1)
- West Pensacola Pass Booms with Skimmer (1200ft @ 30O19.862’N; 87O19.537’W) *Crosses Federal
navigation channel (Figure 2)
- Ft McRae Boom (600ft @ 30O19.729’N; 87O18.986’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure 3)
- Old River Booms and Skimmer (1200ft @ 30O17.042’N; 87O31.096’W) (Staging Level 2 if Perdido Pass Booms
& Skimmer are in place & effective) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure 4)
- Innerarity ICW Booms and Skimmer (3000ft @ 30O18.561’N; 87O27.424’W) (Staging Level 2 if Perdido Pass
Booms & Skimmer are in place & effective) *Crosses Federal navigation channel (Figure 5)

Staging Level 2

Perdido Bay Area

- Innerarity Point (400ft of boom @ 30O18.986’N; 87O29.890’W) (Figure 6)
- Bayou Garcon (900ft of boom @ 30O19.354’N; 87O26.547’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 7)
- Weekley Bayou (200ft of boom @ 30O21.136’N; 87O24.955’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 8)
- Tarkiln Bayou (200ft of boom @ 30O21.546’N; 87O25.377’W) (Figure 9)
- Heron Bayou (400ft of boom @ 30O24.718’N; 87O22.598’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 10)
- Bayou Marcus (200ft of boom @ 30O25.834’N; 87O20.433’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 11)
- Fringing seagrasses & emergent marsh (between Tarkin Bayou & DuPont Pt) (9200ft of boom between
30O21.320’N; 87O25.623’W and 30O21.889’N; 87O26.399’W) (Figure 12)

Old River/ICW/Big Lagoon Area

- Perdido Key Coves (400ft of boom @ 30O17.641’N; 87O28.390’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 13)
- Spanish Cove (1700ft of boom @ 30O19.365’N; 87O19.700’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 14)
- Redfish Coves (600ft of boom @ 30O18.980’N; 87O21.518’W) (Figure 15)
- Big Lagoon State Park (300ft of boom @ 30O18.542’N; 87O24.175’W) (Figure 16)
- Siguenza/Gongora East Channel (200ft of boom @ 30O18.322’N; 87O25.146’W) *Crosses non-federal
navigation channel (Figure 17)
- Siguenza/Gongora North Channel (500ft of boom @ 30O18.378’N; 87O25.280’W) *Crosses non-federal
navigation channel (Figure 18)
- Kees Bayou (500ft of boom @ 30O18.708’N; 87O28.358’W) (Figure 19)
- Grande Lagoon Basin (200ft of boom @ 30O19.173’N; 87O23.484’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation
channel (Figure 20)
Staging Level 2 (cont.)

- Holiday Harbor Marina (Request Marina Owner permission) (400ft of boom @ 30O18.572’N; 87O26.340’W)
*Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure 21)
Pensacola/Escambia Bays Area
- Bayou Grande (900ft of boom @ 30O22.290’N; 87O16.298’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 22)
- Bayou Chico Western Arm (400ft of boom @ 30O24.277’N; 87O15.681’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation
channel (Figure 23)
- Bayou Chico Northern Arm (200ft of boom @ 30O24.657’N; 87O15.524’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation
channel (Figure 24)
- Bayou Texar (600ft of boom @ 30O25.127’N; 87O11.551’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure
25)
- Project Greenshores (2000ft of boom @ 30O25.007’N; 87O11.807’W) (Figure 26)
- Davenport Bayou (600ft of boom @ 30O22.700’N; 87O16.226721’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation
channel (Figure 27)
- Star Lake (100ft of boom @ 30O22.953’N; 87O15.917’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure
28)
- Mackey Island Mitigation Site (800ft of boom @ 30O32.497’N; 87O10.721’W) (Figure 29)
- Bruce Beach Marsh (100ft of boom @ 30O24.230’N; 87O13.364’W) (Figure 30)
- Fringing seagrasses & emergent marsh (Mackey Bay) (1100ft of boom @ 30O32.615’N; 87O10.986’W) (Figure
31)

Santa Rosa Sound Area

- Pickens Intertidal Lakes (2000ft of boom @ 30O19.374’N; 87O13.841’W) (Figure 32)
- LaFitte Cove (200ft of boom @ 30O19.749’N; 87O10.000’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel (Figure
33)
- Little Sabine Bay (200ft of boom @ 30O20.383’N; 87O08.901’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation channel
(Figure 34)
- EPA Cove Eastern Outlet (100ft of boom @ 30O20.245’N; 87O09.309’W) (Figure 35)
- EPA Cove Western Outlet (1100ft of boom @ 30O20.185’N; 87O09.485’W) *Crosses non-federal navigation
channel (Figure 36)
- Big Sabine (4500ft of boom between 30O21.520’N; 87O02.762’W and 30O21.166’N; 87O02.762’W) (Figure 37)
- Range Pt (200ft of boom @ 30O21.084’N; 87O04.688’W) (Figure 38)