Cooperative Assessments Within Florida

Tampa Bay Oil Spill

Date of Spill: August 10, 1993
Size of Spill: 330,000 gallons of #6 Fuel Oil
Area Impacted: Pinellas County Florida
Trustee MOA Signed: June 1995
Consent Decree Signed: April 1999
Funds Available: $2.95M for Restoration Project

Projects:

1 Responsible Party Implemented Project
9 Projects to restore natural resource injuries & service of an ecological nature
14 Projects for lost recreational Services

Lessons Learned:

  • Focus on restoration
  • Consensus Decisions
  • Patience
  • Public Participation
  • Innovation
  • Data Sharing
  • Framework for Cooperative Planning
  • Funding Procedures

State NRDA Collections Authorized Under Chapter 376, Florida Statutes

  • Compensation based upon gallons spilled, location, all type, habitat impacts
  • Funds deposited into Florida Coastal Protection Trust Fund
  • Funds can be used for a wide range of projects not limited to restoration of damaged resources
  • Collected over $1.6M for over 2,200 coastal oil spills
  • During state fiscal year 2000/2001-received special appropriation and funded 30 restoration projects for a total of $1.1M

State NRDA Claim for 23 Oil Spills

Spills occurred between 1992-1999

Size of Spill: 200 to 6,400 gallons

Claim filed with NPFS: June 26, 2003

Claim approved by NPFC for 21 of the 23 spills: October 7, 2003

Received: State received payment of $705K to fund 7 restoration projects around the state

Projects:

Coastal Island cleanup near Jacksonville
Wetland restoration project south of Tampa
Wetland and beach restoration projects (4) in Martin County
Augmenting sea turtle lighting enforcement

Lessons Learned:

  • Utility of SIMAP Model
  • Spill size not directly related to damage
  • Avoid granting “Act of God” defenses
  • Standard restoration costs vary widely
  • Did not capture lost recreational use data

Florida Mystery Spill

Date of Spill: August 8, 2000

Size of Spill: 1,500 gallons of heavy oil

Cleanup Completed: August 16, 2000

Joint Claim to U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC): January 8, 2003

Claim Approved by NPFC: November 24, 2003

Trustee MOA Signed: March 1, 2004

Areas Impacted: Broward and Palm Beach counties, Florida

Funds Available: $2.21M including $1.2M for restoration

Projects:

8 Restoration Projects Including:
Sea Oat Planting
Mangrove Restoration
Construction of dune walkovers
Creation of shade areas
Purchase of beach wheelchairs for state park
Augmenting sea turtle lighting enforcement in 2 counties
Educational signs on seabird entanglement and rescue

Lessons Learned:

  • Built upon NRDA experience from Tampa Bay Oil Spill
  • NOAA Regulations provided sound pattern for claims
  • Gained Substantial claims experience with NPFC
  • Consensus Decisions
  • Funding Procedure

BP Oil Spill (Deep Water Horizon)

Date of Spill: April 20, 2010
Size of Spill: 134 million gallons of oil product
Area Impacted: Northern Gulf of Mexico
Consent Decree Signed: July 2, 2015
Funds Available: $3.252B for Florida Restoration Projects

Projects:
Restore and Conserve Habitat
Restore Water Quality
Replenish and Protect Living Coastal and Marine Resources
Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities
Monitoring, Adaptive Management, Administrative Oversight

Lessons Learned:
Built upon NRDA experience from Florida Mystery Spill
Focus and new on restoration
Public Participation
Data Sharing across Gulf States
Funding Procedures

Office of Emergency Response, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 659, Tallahassee, FL 32399
850-245-2010

 

 

Last Modified: Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - 07:34pm