Local Oil Spill Updates

Citrus County’s top emergency operations official continues to believe that oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster will not reach the local coast.

“This oil leak is not affecting Citrus County,” sheriff’s Capt. Joe Eckstein said. “I don’t expect it to affect Citrus County at all.”

Eckstein told the Crystal River City Council on Monday that the oil slicks that are threatening Florida’s Panhandle should not find their way this far south.

“We’re not going to have what you’re seeing on TV,” said Eckstein, who heads the Citrus County Emergency Operations Center.

Eckstein said the county worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to develop a plan specific to the county’s sensitive coastline to prevent oil from coming ashore — even though he doesn’t think that will happen.

He said booms are designed to stop oil slicks. Tarballs or other hardened clumps of oil would get beneath a boom, Eckstein said.

Eckstein encouraged local officials to be cautious, but prudent, about the disaster.

He said, for example, that some local governments are already spending money to protect their communities from oil even in areas where oil is not expected.

Unlike a natural disaster, the state will not reimburse communities for spending money on preparations.

“Any money spent on prevention is going to be on our dime,” he said. “We don’t want to pull a trigger if we don’t need to, because we’re going to get stuck with the bill.”

BP is responsible for any potential cleanup.

Councilwoman Maureen McNiff asked if hurricanes or tropical storms could change the oil slick’s direction. Eckstein cringed.

“That’s my worst nightmare right now,” he said, referring to tropical weather. “If a tropical storm comes, you deal with it. The oil’s there, there’s nothing we can do about it. If a storm comes, all bets are off.”

In other business Monday, the council:

— Agreed in concept to place a 9/11 memorial in the lobby of City Hall at the request of businesswoman Renee McPheeters. City Manager Andy Houston will bring back to the council a potential design and price.

— Approved unanimously an agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly called Swiftmud, regarding the Three Sisters Spring property.

The agreement calls for Swiftmud to utilize about 30 percent of the property’s 57 acres for stormwater.

Agencies, led by the city of Crystal River, are hoping to buy the property from a group of investors. Houston said Swiftmud is providing about $2 million toward the purchase price.

— WHAT: Informational oil spill workshop.

— WHEN: 9 a.m. Friday.

— WHERE: College of Central Florida (formally CFCC) conference center.

— SPONSORS: Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, EDC, Workforce Connection.

— ON THE WEB: Live stream at www.chronicleonline.com.

Local officials are inviting the public to learn more about the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at a workshop next week in Lecanto.

The workshop is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 18, at the new conference room of the College of Central Florida (formerly the Central Florida Community College) Lecanto campus. The workshop will address the present status of the oil spill, local preparations, and responses to the economic impacts of the spill. For information about the workshop, call 795-3149.

Several local agencies are sponsoring the workshop, including the county commission, sheriff’s office, Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council, Tourism Development Council and Workforce Connection.

On Wednesday, oil from the spill remained more than 150 miles away from the coast of Citrus County and no tarballs, tar patties or sheen have been found here.

Officials aren’t expecting an oil slick along the Citrus County coast, Lt. Bob Wesch, assistant director of Citrus County Emergency Management, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. “I would say that based on conversation with (Citrus County Emergency Management Director Capt. Joe Eckstein) and information gathered from the daily conference calls, Citrus County shouldn’t get any oil slick along our coast. If we do experience anything related to Deepwater Horizon, it will be in the form of tar balls or patties,” Wesch wrote.

A contingency plan is in place for Citrus County in case an oil slick reaches the area. The plan identifies sensitive areas like estuaries and marshes to be protected.

“We routinely update the ACP (Area Contingency Plan) to ensure that we have all sensitive areas identified. In fact, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission experts and county officials just participated with us to update the plan,” Eckstein said in a press release Wednesday.

He said in the event the oil sheen approaches the county shoreline, BP’s authorized contractors will use a process called “skimming” to collect the oil before it impacts Citrus County shores, according to the press release. If tarballs or tar patties are headed this way, booms will be used to protect Citrus County’s sensitive areas. The Coast Guard already has booms allocated for that purpose in Citrus.