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